Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-02-27
THE WAY OF A GLOVE
FROM THE RAW SKIN TO THE DAM
TY FINISHED PRODUCT.

Telling Finishing Touches.
Relatively few buyers of gloves are
familiar with the many separate proc
esses which d glove must undergo be-
fore it is handed over the counter, and
this article aims TO describe clearly
cred and fashioned into the finished
article. All classes of skins are treated
differently, but for purposes of illustra-
ton let US take the mocha or Jun
dressed kid" Mocha is a CONNER
cial name, and the first known of mo
cha" skins was when a cargo of coffee
was shipped from Ara bia. In the car
go Were two bales of skins of an I'M
known variety; hence the name was
adopted as mocha This skin has
gained a reputation for fineness of col
or and finish and for durability. 1t is
an American production which foreign
tanners have vainly attempted to imi-
tate for several years, but owing to
climatic conditions they have never
succeeded. Mochas come from Ara
bia and are a species of Il haired sheep
growing a short woOlly hair. The
skins are taken off the animal by the
natives in manner peculiarly their
own. They are opened at the back suf-
ficiently to get hold of the pelt, and
then the skin is turned and pulled off
the animal without a cut in the length
till the head is reached, when it is cut
off square at the neck. The skins are
stretched on sticks and hung up in the
sun to dry and cure. They are then
poisoned with arsenic to prevent worms
from breeding during their long voyage
10 America. where upon arrival in bales
they are selected for weight and quail
ity and repacked in compressed bales
of 200 to 300 skins each, according to
the weight of the skins, and are sold
to the dealers and tanners by the piece,
the weight of the skins ruling the price.
One of the reasons why American leath-
err dressers have made such progress in
dressing these skins is that for many
years the American market has re-
ceived the entire product and by han
ding them in such large quantities is
able to determine the style of tanning
and finishing for which they are best
suited.
When the skins arrive at the tan
merry are COuillCu anu SuObANldCA
by practiced hands. They are then put
into watts of clear fresh water to soak
out the poison and other foreign sub
stances. They are usually kept in these
watts twenty-four hours and taken out
and drained and put back in clear
fresh water again for another day or
two, when they are removed and put
in the lime watts, where they remain
for three or four weeks, but are lifted
about every ten days in the interval.
They are then haired and fried and
after being thoroughly washed in plain
water and then in pure are put into
the tan watts, where they stay about
week. Afterward they are hung up in
a hot room to dry. When thoroughly
dried they are taken down and stored
away in q cool room to lie lin the
crust" for three or four weeks, when
they are again handled to put the fin
ish on them. They now go to the glove
manufacturing department. where they
are piled on latticed shelves, about
twelve dozen in a pile, to allow them
to age. Care must be taken in piling
up the skins so that air can circulate
around and between all bundles, and
II Is very that IOOiu DG
kept thoroughly dry so that the skins
do not gather moisture. The skins
must be taken down and shaken out
frequently and changed about so that
they get n uniform amount of fresh
air. The skins should be kept in this
state for at least three months, and
six months would be much better.
They are then turned over to the as
sorters. who usually work at tables
facing the north light and examine ev-
cry skin infinitely for quality, weight
and fineness and must determine for
what colors they are best adapted.
To inexperienced eyes this looks like
very easy task, but asserting skins
in the white is one of the most difficult
and responsible positions in a glove
factory. 1t is on the judgment of these
men that large amounts of money that
are invested in stock months in adj
vance of actual demand are lost or
made. After asserting for coloFs the
skins are sent to the coloring depart
ment, where the surplus tan is washed
out. Then they are egged and when
dry are finished on a fine bucktail
wheel. The color is put on, after which
AACy hnAcDC0 again lIC OuChldI
and after being properly aired and
dried out are ready for the assorters
in the glove department. who assert
the finished stock for the classes of
gloves they are best adapted to be cut
into.
When a cutter receives a batch of
skins his first duty is TO examine them
carefully and see il he can produce the
quantity of gloves they are taxed to
cut. He then dampens them to prepare
them for ''dowling," which is the term
used for removing the flesh from the
skins left on by the dresser, and also
to make the skins as nearly uniform in
weight as possible The skin is spread
on a marble slab to its fullest extent
in one direction, and the cutter shaves
or pares of the flesh little at time
with n broad fat knife which Is kent