News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1890-01-02
A NEW INDUSTRY.
THE MORRISVILLE TANNERY COMPA-
NY'S BUILDINGS.
EQUIPPED WITH THE LATEST MODERN
IMPROVED APPARATUS-AN EVIDENCE
OF MORRISvILLE'S PROSPERITY.

EQUIPPED WITH THE LATEST MODERN
IMPROVED APPARATUS-AN EVIDENCE
OF MoRRIsvILLE's PROSPERITY.
A bawling calf, good for nothing to
the dairyman except as to his skin;
thick-barked, deep-shaded hemlocks
in the sugar-place-a nuisance to the
sugar-maker; and the world of trade
calling for soft leather. These are
conditions that complement each 9th
er, and the meeting place for all three
we are glad to describe below, it being
one of the chief industries of Morris
vile. The hemlock does not furnish
all the tanning material, though 1t
furnishes an indispensable part IN or
der to certain qualities of leather.
Oak extract is also in requisitiOn by
the barrel.
Down upon the fiat, in the bow Of
the beautiful Lamoille, north of the
Morrisville railway station, a new
and very noticeable set of buildings
has been erected this past summer by
the Morrisville Tannery company at
a cost of $4,000. Messrs. Webster
& Stafford, formerly proprietors OF
the Stowe tannery, are the occupants.
The most prominent roof covers
the three-story drying-house and cur
rying-shop, in size 96x4S feet. The
lower story is store-house for the
skins as they arrive, and in the front
| of the second floor is the office.
The tannery department proper is
| in a long, low ell 134X12S feet, with
store-roOm for fuel 42x1S feet. En-
tering from the street one sees on his
right the lime-pits, slush and drench
wheels, pumps and conductors, and
all other apparatus for preparing the
skins for the actnal tanning process.
| On the left are the tan watts, which
are water-tight square tubs" 4hx9
x4 feet in size, packed in blue clay,
with pumping apparatus and open
and concealed conductOrs-all "abc'
| to Mr.. Webster and his staff. but
| Greek to the newspaper man, whose
tanning was done years ago at
| home.
Further on are the engines, bark
burning furnaces, bark-mill, bark
| teaches, and bark-sheds, with chance
on one side for teams to unload, and
on the other to unload from the cars.
A siding has been put in from the rail-
road, a convenience enjoyed by very
few other companies. The raw mate
rial can be unloaded direct from the
cars. and the finished leather packed
and shipped with no long intermedi-
ate hauling by team. Everything is
most modern and practical after its
kind, and with the genius of trained
men to handle it, the bawling calf's
skin is soon ready for the knight of
the squeaking boot. There are now
80 men employed in and about the
works, with a capacity for at least
20 more, making the full force so
men. This number is to beput on at
once.
In order that the relative size OF
this plant may be appreciated wegive
the figures, which the gentlemen men
toned have allowed us to copy:
Two steam engines, one of 40 and
the other of 80 horsepower; Two
go horsepower steel boilers, with
tan-burning furnaces; 2 slush-wheels,
drench-wheeis; bark-leaches, with
capacity for 8 cords each, fed from a
steam jet invented by Mr.. Webster,
which keeps a stream of hot liquor
pouring through the leach all the
time; steam pumps and 4 vertical
centrifugal pumps; 4 junks, 2coolers,
81 handlers, 81 layer-ways, II soaks,
II lime-pits, 4 WATERWAYS, working
watts, 2 steam-heating watts; capacity
of bark-mill Is cords per day.
Mr.. E. W. Webster, who is in charge
of the mechanical department, is a
thorough tanner-an expert, who has
worked at all branches of the bust
ness and thoroughly understands it.
Mr.. &. II. a, Stafford will handle the
Office nr,e eres1soses9 on t5i dc They
are both thorough business men,
'Eawake from 6 in the morning till 10
at night, and after time if necessary, :"
and they are most pleasant gentle
men socially.
A few words more in regard to the
tannery. 1t is the largest and best
equipped in the state. 1t has annual
capacity of 100000 skins. When
it gets to running at full blast there
will be As, 000skins undergoing treat
ment at all times. Three months
will pass over before the present lot
of hides will be ready for shipment;
but the workmen will be paid every
Saturday night. Hereafter the hides
are to be skived and secured ia addi-
ton to the other work. All heprod-
uct is to beconsigned to Geo. E. Dus-
tin, Boston, treasurer of the Morris
vile Calfskin company, He succeeds
c. j. Bishop & Co. in this branch of
the business.
Morrisville may well be proud of
this additional evidence of the solid
prosperity she has gained. 1t is
compliment to the shrewd business
instincts of Webster & Stafford that
they chose to locate here above all
places in the region.