The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-11-08
EOW HIDES ARE TANNED.

Process Is. e.. :thcr Muysit,e- From the
Fresl, SKIN tu thc Finished Article.
the leather nan WAS busy Lo:sting
bu., les Of leather UP from the cellar
! by l:leaIls of Il pulley rope, weighing IT
and loading it on the cart which stood
Mt the door ready to carry the load to
the shoe manufacturers. He looked
up, however ut Il question and paused
to wipe the pcrspiration from his brow.
Tell YOU about leather? Well, that's
long story. You sec, there are 80
different kinds of leather if there is
one, and the processes through which
the hides so between the time they
leave the stockyards and the time
when the shoe man gets them are
many and varied. There are steer
hides. calf skins. goat skins and 9th
crs, which are prepared each in one
certain way.
The green skins come from the
great stocliyards III Chicago and Kan
saS City TO the tanncry, which is gen
orally built cn the bank OF q pure
stream and near woodland. At the
tanrcry the hides are ut once placed i'll
great vats filed with fresh, cold water
and left there TO soak for two or three
days. The water tends to soften them.
Then the skins are put III Il long trough
anu run through Il sort Of slide, While
heavy hammers pound them to great
er softncsS and plability. Water is
played OH them in a steady stream.
'When the work in the trough is fin
ished. the hides are placed back in the
vats. and they soak there little more
for Il day or so. The next move is to
keep them four or five days in the
sweat pits. The sweat pits are dug out
in the sides OF the hills and the skins
are hung up In rooms inside. 1t is
dangerous for man to stay in one of
these pits, owing to the fumes Of am
mona which issue from the hides
| after they have been confined for lit
tie while. They are powerful enough
at times to overcome q person. But
| the workmen know what they are
bout and do not impcril their lives by
remaining too long in the place.
"Aftcr the turn in the sweat pits the
hides are ready for scraping. 1t takes
trained tanner to know just how
| long to keep them in the sweat pits.
When the thing is done right, the hides
| should be just about ut the point Of
| decomposition before they are taken
| out. Then bare armed men stand
| ready with long. sharp knives. which
| they work over the skins with both
hands, removing NIL the hair and the
| small particles Of flesh so that there is
not shread Of it left. Each skin is
| gone over thoroughly and tossed into
! still another vat filled with liquid in
| which there are small strips Of hem
| lock bark. The hemlock bark has Il
hardening tendency on the skins. In
some cases acids arc used In addition
| 10 the bark
Tanners have an instrument they
call Darkomctcr with which they test
| the strength of the liquid. 1t would
| not do to have it too strong or the
skins would be burned. SO they are
generally put first into weak solu-
| ton. The bark juice. or whatever
! you want TO call it, perlcates the skin
| through every pore. The next process
| is that of drying. Then the dry hide is
| rolled and n coating OF fish oil spread
| over 1t to give 1t the peculiar gloss
which you notice in leather. The skins
| are next stored in loft for two or
three days and afterward shipped to
| the leather sellers in New York and
other cities. We have nothing to do
| here but weigh them and send them
off to the shoeman. That Is the way
that sole leather is prepared"
"What Is the best kind of iealher?''
"The best quality of leather Is made
from hides that come from South
America, mostly from Buenos Ayres.
| A great deal of these hides we get
| from the big western cattle states.
The thicker skin Is the better for us.
! An old COW has a thick skin, but calf
skin is thin and only used for making
uppers OF shoes. Some hides are very
expensive. 1t would not be possible,
on account of their scarcity, to get a
buffalo hide for less than 5000. These
hides here" said the dealer, pushing
some with bis foot, 1--WE sell for % or
"a cents pound, and they range in
weir 1t from IL to u pounds. New
70. < Sun.
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