Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-01-02
THE AGE or LEATHER.
ope of the Oldest Commodit,es in ths
 World

HAghest antiquity. Long before the
 days of Noah's ark there were those
 who' according to Holy Writ, lived in
 tents and kept cattle. It is hardly to
 De doubted that these people who tend-
 ed Hocks and herds, which furnished
 them both with meat and drink.
 also made use of the skins of
 their animals for articles of cloth
 lng' and, therefore, very early acquired
 some knowledge of the tanners art
 In the book of Genesis mention is
 made of colored leather, and all evi-
 oences or an extraneous character go
 to show that some simple method of
 tanning and dressing the skins of ami,
 mals was known before even Tubal
 Cain learned the trade of a brass
 founder.
 The ancient Egyptians were skilled
 In the art of tanning leather, and manu-
 factured it in various ways and for
 various purposes besides that of fur
 nlshlng covering for the feet. Indeed,
 1t is to those builders of the pyramids
 that we are indebted for the first artis-
 tic forms of footwear; and so far as can
 be ascertained from history and the re-
 searches of archeologists the Egyptians
 were the first shoemakers who were
 worthy of the name.
 It IS a fact, too, that tanners of to-day employ very much the same methods as dld the anclents About the same ma terlals are used, and the processes are almost precisely similar to those in vogue hundreds of years ago. It is true that tanners of the present dav have found means of greatly shorten ing the time required to Sconvert a hide into leather, and that steam power and modern machinery have done much to expedite and improve the process of finishing the leather, but after all, the principles of tanning remain the same as they have from the first.
 Leather was very early used as cur rency, the Romans employing it for this purpose before either gold, silver or brass came into common use. History IS full of references showing that leather was used by the ancients as a sort of circulating medium of exchange. 1t IS said, on good authority, that so late as during the reign of Louis XII. of France the country became so inn poverished, and, as a conseouence. money was so scarce that little pieces of leather, with small silver nail driven, through each, were in general use as money. Some few specimens of this leather money are still in existence, but are only to be found in the possession of numismatists, by whom they are highly prized.
 However, the manufacture of leather has ever been 8 slow and tedious pro- wit dustrieS and even now, with improved processes of tanning and finishing, months are required for the tanner to convert the hide of an animal into leath- CT There is, too, popular opinion ex- tant that tanners do not make as good leather now from hides that are tanned in three months time as they used to turn out when nine, and even twelve months were necessary. This is a mis-. take.
 As matter of fact, better leather is made to-day from hides in from sixty to ninety days than was manufactured in the old way. It should be remem- bered, however, that hides are tanned, in precisely the same manner now they have always been. That is, the; some agencies are used for combining 1t with the gelatine of the hide and for converting it into leather. Modern tanners have simply discovered methods by which the tannic acid is made to penetrate more quickly into the pores of the slzin This is accom- plished partly by frequent manipula- tion of the hides while in the vats, and partly by special treatments for keen Nf fhn c1rS the tanning process. It is a fact well known to all tanners that any method or process which will hasten the union ot the tannic acid with the hide short ems materially the time necessary to it into leather.
 Of late years there has been much talk of tanning hides by electricity, and several methods have been tried. but with indifferent success There is no doubt, however, but that electricity does greatly aid in the tanning process. In the old days of tanning t1e hides. after being dehaired and made ready. were placed in the tan vats, and there allowed to remain untouched and un- disturbed for from nine to twelve and in some cases even longer. until the tannin in the liquors, thor oughly uniting with the hides, had con- Verted them into leather. But after a. time it was discovered that by putting 5he hides into a revolving wheel, or rum, which had first been partially filled with the tan liquors, the time nee essary to convert them to leather was greatly shortened.
 As early as 1925 an English tanner conceived the idea of forcing the tan liquors into the hides by hydrostatic By this method he greatly essened the time of tanning: and, as he lsed frame on which the hides had to be tackled before being put into the wheel, and as the hides had to be cut ;o fit these frames, thus causing con- siderable waste and damage, the pro- cess was abandoned.
 It is hardly to be doubted, however, hat with the spirit of push and enter prise now manifested by those en- yaged in the manufacture of leather