The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1885-09-03


Morocco" manufacture deals with
the little goat and sheep skins for
ladies' wear. Goat-skins in their raw
state come to the market "dry sailed"
They are soaked, lined, unhaired. and
tanned in a similar manner to largo
skins, but they are tanned with sumac
and gambler, instead OF with coarse
bark, as these produce softer finishes.
Being small, compact, and OF fine tex
ture, they ere desirable for high fin
ishes, which do not "crack" if the skin
is properly treated in tanning. Goat
skins retain the whole of the grain and
flesh, except thin shavings OF flesh re-
moved from the back and neck to pro-
cure even thickness. Glove finishes on
small skins are generally procured by
"alum- tanning" The unapproachable
French kid and French glove leather
are fruits of years of experiment. and
TO rival their excellent quality is the
laudable aim of progressive morocco
manufacturers everywhere. The skin
of wool bearing animal, or sheep-skin,
is inferior in quality, or service to a
goat-skin. It's texture is loose, or
"spongy," absorbing liquors so readily
that il can be tanned in O short time.
1t absorbs moisture in the same man
uer in wearing, so that in wet countries
il is i'll adapted to hard service. Sheep
skins are used for Innings and facings
in almost every pair of shoes made, and
the best selections only are used to
make upper leather. We buy most of
our South American sheep-skins from
England ain the pickle" as high duty
on wool makes it cheaper to have the
"wool-pulliLg" done in England. and
let the skins come to us as our raw ma
terial. The English thus have great
hold on the wool-pulling and sheep
skin market, and, further. their famous
Southdown sheep furnish us with our
'skivers." The skiver is large-sized
split sheep-skin used for Innings and
facings.
Small skins are finished on the grain
side, being glazed" or figured as de-
sired. Sometimes kid fish is nsed,
sometimes pebbled figure. and often
the poor sheep are made to masquer-
ade as alliga.ors. The race of alliga-
tors and seals would long ago have been
extermiDated to satiate the fashions de-
mands for fancy-colored feathers for
reticules and portmanteaus had not the
docile goat or sheep again appeared in
history as a sacrifice Russia leather"
too, is not now an unknown quantity In
the accomplishments of the American
tanner. The late Hon. Marshall jew
ell, one of Americas most distinguished
leather merchants, when Minister to
st. Petersburg accepted On invitation
to visit tannery. In the course of the
inspection he noticed mixture in some
barrels in an obscure part of the build
ing, into which he dipped his fingers,
prompted no doubt by practical curl
osity. On returning to his apartments
he discovered on his hand the odor of
Russia leather as the result of his ex-
pertinent. He afterward learned that
the liquor contained asafntida and
birch tar, and that the materials used
were selected because of their cheap
ness, and not because they produced a
peculiar fragrance. He sent home sew
eral barrels of the ingredients, but in
the mean time Russian knowing the
secret of the manufacture had come to
New Yorl and, after attempting to
set up ar factory of his own, en-
tered the 3 zee of an American firm,
who with otners have since developed
the manufacture so that little is now
imported from Russia.-H. ~. Nea0-
hall in Hny er'S Magazine.