Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1890-01-31
Wing BY ELECTRICITY.
w., OF Making Leather That WI
a New ..oyutiouiye the Trade


rho process OF converting hides into
~ .aar .s new followed. consumes n
lea'n n time varying from six To
sp', ,.a months. 1t also demands close
asution and good management as
a All as experience. Great care has to
soa varcised In the selection OF ma
~ ..,al else a lot OF choice hides are
=, ,.na At the expiration OF the tanning
~ ssor 10 have deteriorated into sec
Ta' ar even third quality leather.
" ""a and leather dealers general
! are accredited with being very
y .afnl and conservatives in all their
b,siness methods.
wit Win these facts In view 1t Is not
...nrisine that when 1t was reported
'..,, France that leather was being
,u.ned bv electricity, American tan
aars regarded the statement as a news
~, a.nsr sensation. Twenty-four hours
l r'.s considered pretty quick work
=. syen electricity. 1t was not until
~ doubting Thomases had seen and
~ that they believed. But now since
tanning by this process seems an as
snrod fact it is no longer regard
a az a sort OF transatlantic Offset to
aur electric sugar refining Every
,,em that can be CLEANED is thoroughly
dismissed and every source OF informa-
tou eagerv sought. That the earlier
s,.orts in this direction were failures
i. tr,,e, but this is largely owing to a
l.ck Of electrical knowledge on the
..rt Of the inventors. They
rare unable to economically pro-
auce an effective current. And
again, many experiments were
ueeessary to learn the strength OF
,te most effective current. But this
h time was learned. as was also its
most economic means OF production.
Ooly uniform current will give good
results.
The process as described by those
VINO have seen it is n very simple one.
The hides are placed in large cylinders,
which revolve upon horizontal axles.
The drum is filled with a decoction OF
t.nnin and closed. Provision is made
ior the passing of current OF electric
Ity through the drum. The drum is
kent slowly revolving until the process
Of tanning is completed. The length
Of time required varies with the nature
Of the hide. For the lighter skins,
such az sheep and goat. which used to
REQUIRE from three to six months, by
the electric process are tanned in twen-
ty.four hours The heavier hides, such
as calf, OK, COW or horse. require from
seventy-two to ninety-six hours By
the old-fashioned bark process twelve
months, or even more, would have been
taken.
The cost of production is greatly re-
duced by this method, for not only is
the saving in time, but in labor. The
actual cost of working is reduced over
dfly per cent. BY the bark process
the cost of tanning is from seven to
eight cents per pound of dry leather.
&agaiust that of three to four cents
by the electric methods. And again,
where a force of fifty men were re-
quired to produce a given quantity of
leather, only ten are needed to pro-
duce tho same by the new methods.
Heretofore large capital has been re-
qured to run tannery having a reg
ular weekly output. As hides often
require to lie in the tan watts nearly a
year, it will be seen that a great num-
Der must be in process of tannage in
order that a certain amount of leather
returned out each week. In addition
toextensive plant, heavy investments
are represented by the hides in tan
mage But the electric process COM
pletely revolutionizes this Hides pur-
chased on Monday have been convert
cd into leather and put on the market
by Saturday.
just what effect the electric current
mas upon the tannin is, as yet, ques-
uon OF dispute Some claim that its
elect Is upon the tannin. giving it
more active properties. Others saw
mat 1t eff cts the hide only. Prof. S.
r Thompson, who has examined the
process, thinks that the effect is to
open The pores OF the hide and so per-
nit more rapid access of the tannin
sOutlon' Another claims that the
current renders the gelatine more
ouole so that it is able to combine
MOre rapidly with the tannin. There
reason 10 believe that there is truth
oosh these statements, from the
'ae' lhat the leather is much more
niaha md nf .