Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-12-02
PRODUCED FROM HIDES.
WHERE LEATHER COMES FROM AND
HOW IT IS PREPARED.


HOW IT IS PREPARED
States Comes from south Amsrtca-Ths
Different Methods OF Tanning-Cuttine
Millions Of soies by Machinery.
Since The day that Adam and Eve ex-
changed hg leaves for furs the human animal
has had habit Of clothing himself in the in
tegument stripped from his dumb brothers
How, when, OF where hides were first con-
verted into leather no wise man ever pretends
70 know. Doubtless the process was evolved
not invented
Leather certainly sntedates the earliest rec
ords. and no savage tribe, however low in
the scale. has yet been found ignorant of
some way u dress skins American Indians
IN especial, are past masters of the art Rude
~ are their processs>. deer. bear or buffalo
robes dressed by them are far ahead OF those
that white men supply while the buckskin
Of their moccaSins, leggins, and SO on is a
positive luxury to the touch. So soft and pli
ant is it
HEAVY IMPORTATION
Neat cattle furnish hides for more than half
and after them the East Indian buffalo and
the sheep Horse hides are incon iderable ia
amount and uf low value Pigskin used for
saddles i IN limitei demand and supply.
i'ossiiin and ratskiu for gloves are mere items
Of account, not at ali equal to the kangaroo
sam, which has qIIte superseded some grades
oi calf, while deer hides furnish glove leather
as well as that for variety of other needs
In 1886 New York imported from all sources
about 900 worth of leather In 1889
the amount fell to little over So 600 900
The home supply Of hides is far below the de-
mand IN spite of ali the cattle upon our 10, 900
western hills, not to mention the plains of
Texas or the ranches of New Mexico Mexico
herself sends US many hides, both of steer
and goat Indeed, she ranks next to South
America, from whence come two-thirds of
our importations
The heaviest, consequently the best, OK
hides come from Buenos Ayres. They weigh
over twenty pounds each and fetch sixteen
cents per pound. Big fortunes have come out
OF making flint hides-that is, purchasing
the hides from the plainsmen, soaking them
for weeks in saturated salt water, then dye-
ing and selling them. The advance in price
Is nominal, but each hide takes up ten pounds
or so Of salt, and this yields big profit be-
sides cost and carriage. New Orleans is the
main seat of the business in North America
as it is also the entrepot for hides of all sorts
The twenty pound OK hides all 60 to sole
leather. Cow skins and those from young
cattle furnish the kip skins of commerce, and
the hides OF animals a year old or under all
the several dozen varieties of calfskin.
For cheap work, both kip and calf are often
split-that is, divided by machinery into two
nv Ill
VIII wear for day, or maybe a week, but is
about the most unsatisfactory investment the
bargain seeker can make
The first thing is to cut the hides in two
Then they are soaked in lime water four days,
milled for six hours to free them from looseped
hair, then washed clean and left for four days
to sweat. After that comes the acid hath.
lasting five to ten days, and next the tan
watts, six III number filed with ooze Of vary
ing strength, in which the hides remain from
five sixty days Once the process stretched
over year
Modern invention has reduced it one-half
II Is claimed that the new electric process
will make good leather in a months time. but
so far that remains to be demonstrated. at
least on commercial scale.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF TANNING.
Ia. = - -, a'1 'ne po"oere 81
tsrriny IT, hart, :. - 10 sppiy
- :. -, -. -' e'Ouuu auu
W 'AiAAe oo]e ioI ene
-. - az AZ i mn tof
e aN.s On, On 80. a "en as oark INTO sort
double o,an,;,r 80 -, :. - = eiaI.eu, n MAKES
tb,,,, ii, -, 'e'' '0@e' az iess
o. ,k-o',rI 81.
-, - eI-, I-e NA's' 'ne h,oes are
. "saiH' sOiaPeu aiie" on tne nesn slde,
wi ieu Win tahnsf OIL, whose source Is
snose COO hNers that are not fresh enough
.O' Aiodic4ne, 'neh sseatn orleor pressed De-
49, ho' roneis, ana sent 70 market the
SUES oi soie ieAlner tnat every body knowx
ihe pulk OF IL Is nemlock tanned That
Dark Is cheaper and gives 3 harder finish,
which Is thought to stand rough usage best
Oak ieather fetches almost q cent or two
more In the pound, and Is invariably used for
hne footwear, as well as whenever leather OF
peculiar strength and toughness is requisite
There are many big houses in New York city
which deal In nothing but cut soles. They
ouy leather In quantity, cut II by machinery
III the most approved patterns, and can sup
ply shoe men with exactly what they want at
great saving OF time, expense and material
Kip skin goes through much the same pro-
cess-only less so. Being thinner, il requires
less time and care More chemicals, too. are
used In tanning it. and, when finished. much
OF 1t is blacked ready for the boot or shoe
maker. As much Of the best sole leather goes
TO the MAKER Of leather betting, SO the finest
Of kip goes to the harness and saddle make,-s