The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1893-05-26
The KID GLOVE INDUSTRY.
REMARKABl.E FACTS aGEANEO
FROM coNsULAR REPORTS
Colts, Calves, Dogs, Goats, CATS Nass slss
and Rabbits, but Rarely inc NaN'
Supply the Material.

colt skins, dog skins, cat sk1ns, 1,
rat skins and goat skins ana o
"nlv rarely of real kid skinP Ihls
,.a,,,s To he the fact il we are to beheve :,
ne combined assertion Of q large num-
ha, of consular officers who have re. =
noIted to the State Departments OF 8
Washington on the subject In answei !
70 INQUIRIES sent out shortly a1ter NJ
Blaine resigned from the head OF vha'
department. These reports come ron on
Prague, Antwerp, Brussels, kouen, oS.
Ettienne, Berlin, Breslau, Ken, mnn
helm, Milan, Cadiz, Seville, dotsen
berg and st. Petersburg, ana thereiIre
may be supposed to furnish some sa
BILE information about the eio'o
try of the Old World. ,sos
A statement is these reports lmPresees
one particularly with the large Pr
portion of skins Of animals othes I'LL
kid used in the manufacture Oh wha'
are popularly known as k1 e'ose1,
10 fnrnish the bulk of the material used,
hnt according to some reports the sKlns
pssS ><sssS ces
7 to be sure, but Genuine kid skin
seems to form very small proportion
| Of the material used in the manufac-
ture of so-called kid gloves. At Prague,
Austria, sheep and lamb skins, and
practically nothing else are used in the
manufacture of the 8, 400, 600 pairs OF
, gloves turned out there annually. In
Russia nearly all the fine gloves are
made of colt skins, and large numbers
are turned out. The dog skin gloves
are said to be especially an English
production. At Seville, mostly skins
q of young sheep are used. In France,
) generally, the materials chiefly en-
:. ployed are sheep, goat and kid skins,
j but Consul Williams, writing from
a Rouen, adds: Scat and rabbit skins,
o admirably colored, are made to initiate
all kinds of furs. Rat skins are used
"a chiefly for making thumbs OF ordinary
- gloves" The very best material, the
" reports state, is the youngest Kids,
even those prematurely born, or whose
mothers are killed to obtain the skin
g of their unborn offspring being the
III highest priced for the finest quality.
i'd The preparations of the skin from
tho time they leave the unfortunate
ne animals until they are sewed into gloves
g is detailed by the various gentlemen
la who have rendered this voluminous re-
port to the State Department., The
"a skins are usually obtained dry from the
le farmers who raise these animals and
ne after being soaked in water and trod-,
den by men with naked feet until sofq
n and pliable lime is added to loosen the
40 hair and after this work the process OF
ne softening and tanning the skins begins,
The refuse from sheep and cattle yards
and dog pounds is used in tanning the
IL skins, and the tread process with bare
H. feet goes on meantime. After the ten
in ming process is completed, which usually
takes weeks, the skins are treated to a
he fulling bath of yolks of eggs, which
saa saaa6slsy q ssss Sssd pna N
81 this work seems to have depressing
ng effect on the omelet industry of the
II. glove districts, for Consul Williamt
humorously remarks, after calling at
le, tention to the quantity of the yolks Of
ns eggs used in this work, that this ex
al. plains why omelets generally look pale
at restaurants and hotels, for they are
,as made up of two whites and one yoll
. {" and paid for as if made with two com
est plete eggs. The skins, after being
tanned, are dyed to give them the
proper color, and the dyes are usually
of the best made from dye woods, a.
the aniline dyes are not suitable fol
this purpose.
In the manufacture of the glove.
lte great skill is required, and only the
'e- most ingenious, intelligent and trained
lys men are permitted to operate in she
cutting of the gloves. The skins are
q carefully cut up into small sections by
hand, barely large enough to make one
ny way as to make al little waste as pos
ir. sible in cutting the skins. These are
stretched to the proper shape before
IN the form of the glove is cut with the
'ea die, dozen or more being cut with
ch one movement of the cutting press
N. The sewing is mostly done by machines
though in some instances the gloves are
,er sewn by women at their homes, where
,is they get about three cents pair fol-
nd sewing four button gloves, and carr
rn about 80. 30 per week.
The fact that the gloves coming from
Russia are made from foal skins is sc
vi little known that brief extract from
Consul General Crawford's report OF
N this subject will be of interest. HI
ID says: 1.-THE bulk of fine gloves mad,
in Russia are made from foal skins
rk There is very little done in this coun
ce try in the manufacture of gloves from
lls sheep, goat and kid skins. In tn,
y' preparation of foal skins, it should b,
uS said that they are of very difficult fab
rication and require much hard labol
re to work them sufficiently soft and deli
Of cate. II is claimed that there is an ar
s- in the preparation Of foal skins fol
w gloves that the Russian workmen have
ID in very great perfection as compared
10 with foreigners 1t is doubtful whether
foal skins could be prepared sufficient
L. ly cheap, where hand labor is dear, t,
y compete with other skins on the gen
~ eral market. The experiment has beer
V L Triad it,E