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

The leather nan WIS h,!sy ho;stinG
brw..ilas of leather UP from the cellar
by means of a pulley rope, weighing it
and loading it on the cart which stood
ut the door ready to carry the load to
the shoe manufacturers. He looked
up, however, at q question and paused
to wipe the perspiration from his brow.
'.Tell you about leather? Well, that's
a long story. You see, there are so
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
ers, which are prepared each in one
certain way.
''The green skins come from the
great stockyards in Chicago and Kan
sas City to the tannery, which is gen
orally built cn the bank Of q pure
stream and near woodland. At the
tanrery the hides are at once placed in
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 a long trough
anu run through sort OF slide, While
heavy hammers pound them to a great
er softncss and pliability. Water is
played on them in q steady stream.
"When the work in the trough is fin
ished. the hides are placed back in the
watts, and they soak there little more
for 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 q man to stay in one Of
these pits, owing to the fumes Of am
monia which issue from the hides
after they have been confined for lit
tie while. They are powerful enough
at times to overcome person. But
the workmen know what they are
about and do not imperil their lives by
remaining too long in the place.
hides are ready for scraping. 1t takes
6 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 at 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 all the hair and the
small particles Of flesh so that there is
not a shread of it left Each skin is
gone over thoroughly and tossed into
still another vat filled with n liquid in
which there are small strips Of hcm-
lock bark. The hemlock bark has
hardening tendency on the skins. In
some cases acids are used in addition
to the bark.
Tanners have an instrument they
call barkometcr with which they test
the strength Of the liquid. 1t would
not do to nave it too strong or the
skins would be burned. So they are
generally put first into 4 weak solu-
ton. The bark juice, or whatever
you want to call it, perincates the skin
through every pore. The next process
is that Of drying. Then the dry hide is
rolled and coating Of fish oil spread
over it to give it the peculiar gloss
which you notice in leather The skins
are next stored in a 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 shoemen. That is the way
that sole leather is prepared"
.What is the best. kind Of ieather?
'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 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 q
buffalo hide for less than 5000. These
hides here" said the dealer, pushing
some with his foot, I'VE sell for % or
"a cents q pound, and they range in
weight from IL to IA pounds. New
York Sun.