The Arizona sentinel., 1879-06-14

were done when the tanning rrocess was completed.
 When 1t Is determined to split, the hides are put through the splitting machine, and the two resulting sides-the grain and split-are again put into the revolv- Ing wheels. and afterward laid away to have the tanning process completed. Sometimes thick hides arc split into three pieces. When the leather Is fully tanned the first thing done is to cleanse IL 'ron'
 the impurities of the taE-pit. Ihis i'
 complished by wheel, or "drum scruo-
 ber.n which consists of a drum "ho''
 about six or eight feet in diameter 'o"' VI
 five feet wide. made strong enough to re-
 slst the hammering process oi the fe'o''-
 ,, aide. of tanned leather, which are
 made to "thrash" around m tue inhe'
 ,rf.ce of the wheel as It revolves slowly,
 sbout twenty revolutions per minute
 Tn. inner surface of the wheel IS furnished with pins or projections which carry the s;des around with the motion until they are raised sufficiently from the bottom to violently agitate the dbre by their drop ping down, and by the friction caused by the sides rubbing against each other the surfaces are cleansed. When the sides have been thoroughly cleansed in the way described, they are laid in packs to drain. and then hung up 10 dry on poles or fences in summer, or under cover in win. ter. The leather is then dampened and stuffed. Stuf1ing consists of imprcgna- ting the leather with mixture of oil and tallow This is done by hand, or by a machine similar to that just described When treated in the revolving drum, steam is let in to geep the stuffing mate- rial in soluble state, so that 1t can work its way more readily into the pores of the leather. This Is the best and most expeditions way of stuffing leather, and is also most effective ill its results. When fully treated ill this way the sides are taken to the drying loft, where they are allowed to remain for some time, when they are put through machine which scrapes of the superfuous oil or tallow. The next process is called whitening, which means the making of perfectly smooth surface on the side of the leather intended to be blackened. This operation is accomplished by machine called the Union Leather Whitening Machine, which, with one operator, in day of ten hours, will whiten upward of 200 sides, of the average measure of 20 feet each. If this work were done by hand, good days work for a whitener would be 50 sides. After the whitening process the leather is blackened on the flesh or split side, with mixture of lamp black and oil. It is then dried thoroughly and put 1 through the glossing machine, which gives it smooth ard polished surface It is now ready for asserting into various even thicknesses and assigned to the va- ried uses for which it is best fitted It is then measured, and made into rolls of ten or fifteen sides each and is ready for the manufacturer. Buff leather Is where the grain or surface of the side is taken off by hand with knife called "slicker" By this manipulation split leather is made to initiate calf skln. and is very largely used. In the manufacture of fancy feathers, such as grain, enameled. polished and pebbled, the finishing is done on the grain side, most ly by machines of various kinds. These various fancy feathers, as well as buff leather. are made principally in Woburn, Winchester, Stoneham and Hudson, Mass, the kip and wax-kip varieties being made largely in Salem and Peabody. Morocco leather is produced in Haverill, Lynn and Peabody. There is no sole leather made il massachusetts, exec pt in Cummington, and there only on small scale. This va- riety is made in some of the other New England states, in New York and Canada in large quantities, and is produced by Boston capital to a considerable degree. The process O. turning out sole leather is altogether different from that just de. scribed Instead of the raw hides being placed in lime water to take of the hair. they are dampened and hung up in sweat pits or cham bers, where they undergo a sweating process, which makes the hair easy of removal. These chambers or pits are built of stone, usually into side hill
 and their tops are covered with earth to
 prevent the evaporation of the moisture
 necessary to the process. The pits are subdivided into rooms or stalls, and q temperature of about seventy degr, es is maintained The hides are kept in these pits from five to seven days, when they , are ready for beaming," that is, remov ing the hair, and unnecessary matter or