Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-11-25
ORIGIN OF MOCHA LEATHER
Where the Material for the Manufnc-
turc Of Gloves Comes From.

ON. q. Hughes In Glovers Review)
The dusky native tending his fock II
Mocha sheep along the sun-bsked coast
OF British East Africa and on the swell.
tering plains of Arabia knows as little
Of the faraway lands that are the ulti-
mate destination Of the pelts u the ami
mails he guards az does tl~ average
wearer OF Mocha glove OF the origin %
the leather from which It Is made
About thirty years ago, when the last
Of the antelope disappeared forever from
the Western plains OF America, the CUES.
ton Of a skin which might be rubstitut.
ed in the manufacture Of leather was a
serious one TO the glove manufactu
OF Fulton county. New York, and other
centres OF the industry. Up to that time
antelope skins had been extensively
dressed into leather known as doeskin,
from which very good quality OF glove
was made.
Lightweight deerskin and channels
dressed lambskin were resorted to, but
they did not prove satisfactory. and the
problem was causing no end Of worry
to manufacturers when an epoch was
marked in the leather dressing business
by the discovery that tho skins OF the
haired sheep Of Africa and Arabia could
be made into leather which was even bet
ter than that OF antelope for glove pur-
poses: 1t was NJ S Northrup, q pioneer
glove manufacturer OF Jamestown, n. Y,
who after patient experimenting Sue
ceeded In producing the first leather from
| the skins of these animals.
The name Of Mocha It no doubt derived
from Mocha, a town In Arabia from
where it Is said the first skins were
/ -trxir 80 ~ 10
seems to be more or less buried in oh.
security. However. the greatest number
OF skins come from British East Africa,
although what are known as the white
head variety Of Mocha sheep are raised
to some extent In Arabia and parts Of
! Persia
The skin OF the black head Mocha,
which is grown in samoliland. on the
west side Of the Red Sea, gives a larger
spread and in other ways is the most
| desira BILE for glove leather There is also
the variety known as the red head. These
designations apply to the color Of the
head Of the animal the hair on the body
being black and white red ana white or
all white. according TO tho variety.
! The Mocha market of the world Is at
Alden, at the southern end ~ Arabia and
there are never more than eight or ten
buyers residing there at the same time.
and they practically buy The supply OF
Mocha skins for the world excepting
what skins are bought through native
dealers. These buyers keep native COLI
lectors at the principal points 10 which
skins are brought by caravans. The skins
are taken in boats across the Gulf Of
Alden TO Alden. whre they are sorted and
baled. about three hundred in bale &C.
cording to size and weight, ready FOR
shipment.
When delivered by the natives 10 the
collectors the skins have been sun dried.
The carcasses are eaten. the meat being
about the ony kind consumed by the
natives Before the skins are baled
native women sprinkle each skin with
rapthalne TO prevent its destruction by
worms on the long voyage. The bales
are wrapped in carabas made of mat
ting woven by the natives, and those for
America are shipped TO Marseilles.
Trieste. Naples, or Genoa and shipped TO
New York.
So far the supply Of Mocha skins has
been equal to the demand, although last
season the quality was not as good IS
usual owing to protracied dry spell
which caused a scarcity of feed. Winter
is the marked time for the hest skins, as
the summer skins are not 50 desirable
for glove leather. The best grade Of
pclts come from the bnck sheep. The
manufacturer of Mocha leather involves
a number of operations; In fnct no other
leather goes through so many processes
as does Mocha.
In the coloring Of Mocha leather dye
wood form the basis Of the colorins
matter with the addition Of aniNnes to
give the various shades. The skins are
either colored in rotary drums or the
color il brushed on. the later being tho
process used for the more expensive
goods Grays and reindeer are the most
popular shades for Mocha, but the
leather is peculiarly adaptable for color
Ing and almost any hue may be obta'ns~