The Arizona sentinel., 1879-06-14
The Process HkAes x0 Through to
 Be Made inte Leather.

mat the business of taDDiDg the eklnt Of animals and converting the same intS upper leather is an immense one in thi: country can be inferred from the fact that the products of the Massachusetts tanneries alone amount annually tl about sl6o ooO,Ooo The processes throngl which the skins or hides are put to con vet them into leather are numerous and peculiar. but are the results of the bes experience of centuries, for tanned leather has long been used by civilized nations. But of late years great deal O laborsayinE machinery and ingeniou. devices for splitting and finishing the sur face of the leather used for the uppers o shoes, harnesses, etc. have come Into use so shat now, not only Is the tanning pro- cess hastened, but the leather Is made from the hide at much cheaper rate than 1t could have been produced formerly The hides used in this country for tanning are obtained from all sections of the roun- try, as well ss from South America, tbe east and west coasts of Africa, Australia, the islands of the Indian Ocean. and even India and China, and are either In the dried state, known as dry-fiint hides, or saIted or pickled. There are various kinds of sslted hides, such as dry salted, wet salted and green sslted, all denoting various conditions of the hides. The tan- ner, when be commences his work, is careful not only to classify his hides so as not to treat the flint and salted hides to. gether, but to select them as near alike in size and weight as possible, for 1t would not do to have hides (which are the skins of mature animals), (kips the skins of young anlmalsl and calf skins treated to. gether, as one kind would need more tan- ming than another, and the attempt to treat them ali together would, therefore, only result in an unequal tanning process, in which some would be tanned and oth- CTS only partially tanned. Thus hides for e0le leather are selected and treated to- gether, hides for uppers of strong boots or for split leather are treated together, as we'll as kip and calf hides, and thus a uniformity Is secured. Wax kip and split wax are made from hides, weigh from seven to eight ounces to the square foot, sd gre used for mems heavy cowhide oo>.s, plough shoes and brogans. Kip is mae into brogans and kip boots. Calf leather is used for finer wear
 The process for working the skins may be thus briefly described. Having selected the skins to be treated, they are first put 70 soak in water until they become soft. They are then divided into two sides, that is, the skin is cut into on the line follow ing that of the backbone of the animal. 1t Is then tseated to remove fhe halr. To accomplish this the sides are placed in 8 vat of lime water, and kept there three or four days. They are then taken out and put through rinsihg process. in a liquor made of hen or pigeon manure, called q bate" or "pure." which extracts the lime from the pores of the hide, the thorough removal of which is essential to secure pliability and good color in the leather. The hides are then beamed," that is, they are placed over nearly up- right plank, about eighteen inches in width, over which the currler leans, and with double-hsndled knife strips off the hair and superauous fibre on the flesh side of the hide. This latter Is called " flesh. ing" The hides arc next put into what are known as handlers" which consist of a system of wheels that revolye ln 8 very weak solution of tan liquor. It may be here stated that The tan liquor used i: made from the ground bark of trees ricf iu tannin, such as hemlock and oak trees and from the leaves of other trees, sucf as sumach leaves, etc. These barks ol leaves are ground up and put into boiler with water, and, by the heat applied, tht tannin Is leached from them. and tht water containing 1.-the tan liquor-i' drawn of and kept for use in the tanning vsts. The tan liquor, in which the hide: are first placed, colors the stock and set the grain. After this preliminary process Of tanning is completed, the hides arc im mersrd in 8 still stronger tanning liquor They are placed in vats piled one on tol Of the other, with enough ground bari sprinkled between each to keep then apart, SO that tte tanning solution cal freely penetrate all parts of each of tn aides In the vat. When the vat has it complement which varies from sixty [ ono hundred hides, the liquor to be use ,s let into it quite warm. This is calie laying away.
 Alter remaining !n this bath sufhcien lime to exhaust the tannn in it, tn leather IS taken out and laid in piles i