, 1888-02-23
DOWN IN TIE SWAMP"
TALK WITH AN OLD HIDE AND
LEATHER DEALER.

Reoee Of tho Trndo-HussfS Lonther,
4, Imported aud Home Bfads.
s'Comc into the hide house." said Mr..
Nal Horton, rs he led the way into o very
spacious receiving room for untanned
kides down In the ''Swamp," where the
Doather men most do c0ngrcgato. Hun.
Arsds and thousands Of hides were there,
bat the odors Of "Araby tho Blcst" were
afAr OH.
s'Nearly 100 varieties Of hides come into
mis- city BY varieties I mean skins from
different countries or localities. The man.
neR Of curing, the form of package, the
quality Of the grain--all these are differ
snt A good judge will tell at "A glance
whence tho hides come. Somo Of them
arc 30 expert that they can tell you not
enly the country which produces the
hides, but where there are several ship.
sing points ON the sumo river, like the
Para In South America, they can at q
Slance locate tho point from which the
goods were shipped. Europe, Africa,
Asin, Australia, North, Central end South
America oil contribrt2 TO the leather
supply Of the United States.
''Any tlmc that you SEQ bale OF white
mud cnrted about town you may under.
stand that tho heathen IIindoo tf eastern
India has sent over lots Of mud and o
small amount Of leather making material.
You see the hides arc daubcd with mix.
euro of clay and lime, called chuenam, tc
Keep the insects out There are nifty hides
in bale, and the purchaser expects them
10 average thirty pounds. Woll they
always do. Mud In cheap out there and
tho honest Hindoo is absolutely careless
Of the amount used 80 long rs tho proper
average is obtained Why, have seen
chunk of chuennm as big as table in one
u these bales.
"Those hides" pointing to heap, care
Texans. They are very large, you oh.
servo, and are dried over bush, IL fence,
almost anything In fact Ten of them
viii make u load rs big as con Of loose
hay. These hides here wc call tho1)ogota
book, owing to their place OF origin and
thc form of PACKAGE See, tho hides are
folded book like and are abous tho size Of
Che Doydell plates. The hides from Mon.
aevideo and other South American points
arc usually folded SO that they are about
nine feet long and two feet wide. You
ean pick out tho Orinoco hides, though,
readily. They are little wider, not
quite so long, and arc full OF holes along
thc border made by the stnkes which held
them to tho sand whilo drying.
SNOW look at these hides They are
genuine buffalo skins from Ip1ia. No,
not tho American bison, but tho real
buffalo of the naturalists. They make
the cheapest quality of leather, but still
very useful. Their grain, you know, is
the longest; hence their great utility for
countors and insolcs In boots and shoes.
Well, we turn out over 100000 of them
annually nlone, and there are others who
manufacture tho leather In considerable
quantities.
''The greatest obstacle to overcome In
preparing tho hides and shippin, them III.
most around tho world to New York is the
insects. Various methods aro employed
TO destroy or frustrate these pests. The
chuenatn method havo explained to you.
It's hard to tell which IL tho moro Oh.
jectionablc, the bugs or tho mud. The
South African hides aro what wc call
dry cure They arc rendered very dry by
long exposure to the sun before shipping.
In that condition they resist the attack ot
insects very well. Eut tho most success.
full method, and that most widely used, IL
fn dipping tho hide in g solution Of arsenic
before drying. This solution IL both a
preservatiye and an insccticide. Tanners
have COOL reason to prefer this style Of
cure. Hides so treated will weigh fully
80 per cent. moro when tanned into lcath-
er, while the chucnnm hides loSa from 70
TO II per cent. in weight"
"Whcrc do you get the best hidcs''
"The only good hides como from tho
temperate zone or from regions sufficiently
elevated to possess q similar climate.
Healthy cattle there have thick, natural
hair and skins Of good grain. But in tho
hot countries tho hair Is very thin, and
the grain Of leather made fromSueh hides
fs coarse and poor. On the other hand, in
the cold regions, tho hair becomes very
1ue, and so thick IN to mako n Kind Of
fur, which also destroys tho grain OF tho
leather. In the temperate zones tho win
ter hides arc better than those taken In
the summer. Tho grain Of the leather Is
then ut its best"
Leaving Frankfort street nnd tho region
OF sole leather, the reporter sought a
largo manufacturer Of fino feathers,
leading producer of tho American "Rus-
sin"
''what kinds OF leather do you maker'
queriel the reporter.
''All of tho finer kinds, including har-
ness, cnamelcd, colored, Russia, and en-
bosscd leather for furniture and wall
decoration"
"IIow does your Russia compare with
tho importedp''
sRussiaY Do you mean red leather? That
Is what the average American seems to
understand by tho term. But, in answer
to your question, can truly say that our
leather Is better than the genuine Russia.
WhyP Because our tannage Is better.
Let nc show YOU"
Two hides were brought; the one i'm
ported, the other home made Russia.
Tho reporter could detect no difference.
'The difference is positive and in our
favor" resumed the leather man, ns he
picked up the genuine Russia. folded il
and vigorously rolled the fold be-
tween finger and thumb. ''Now look"
said he, as no Strengthened out the fold.
"You see the surface is cracked and a
wrinkle remains. That is the weak point
I'm this article, which, by tho way, is of
tho best quality. 1t Is imperfectly tanned
and colored. Now try this piece Of our
There Is not the slightest
abrasion of the surface, you observe, nor
does any wrinkle indicate where the
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