The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-07-18
LEATHER FROM ODD SOURCES.
Many Uses for shark and Eei skins- Beit.
ing From Sturgeon.

| Aside from the leather that h made
! from the skins Of seals, walfuaes. otteFr,
&c there = leather obtained from other
deni1ens of the sea. not to speak OF queer
sort Of leather manufactured OF the SKINS OF
fishes
The skin Of sharks .. Of a beautiful bur
nLshed gray or hluish color. II resembles
finely grained lee her. inAsmuch AZ u shows
many fine tiny prickles ST all one way
These are quite invisible TO the naked eye,
but so many are there ami 50 nnsly set are
they, giving the dried skin its rich enect.
that one derives a decidedly unpleasant
effect IN rubbing ones hand over The sharks
skin in the direction opposite to that IN
which they point
This property OF shark skin renders IL
especially valuable for the manufacture OF
-shagreen The skin being both tough
and easy TO work. u h susceptible to Use
for many PURPOSES wheTeto decorative
leaih effects are desired.
Despite It's lumpy armor the sturgeon
affords = valuable and attractive leather.
II has been found that when the hony plates
are removed the patterns thereof remain
on the skin. lust as the patterns OF alligator
scales remain on alligator leather, . cir
cunlstance that adds much To the value OF
the product. From the surgeons that
abound ON our Pacific coast and In the great
lakes there Ia procured tough leather
that II utilized for the making nj lace-
to Join leather betting in machinery, and
II l. said the lace- frequently outwear the
betting itself
In Turkish waters there Is found a sirik-
ingly unattractive fish called the -aogel
rsh. which u by some held TO he kind OF
shark, and from this IL obtained an ex-
tremely high grade % green leather. niue
esteemed In the Ottoman dominions
In Russia certain peasant costumes are
trimmed with the skins Of food fish. the
turbot. and in Egypt men wear sandals
made from the skins Of fish caught In the
Red Sea In our own country too the cod
has been utilized in a similar manner, for
there has been no little Use made in Glouces.
ter, Mass OF the skin Of The humble cod
for the making OF leather for shoes and
gloves
bel skin serves for many purposes. among
them being the manufacture Of leather for
binding hooks and for braIdinR into whips
The garftsh. fresh water fish found along
otrr coasts possesses skin that IL capable
Of n polish so smooi h that IL resembles ivory.
u has been used for he making Of pict
frames and lowell Caskets Ia II said that the
skin Of this fi-h was employed by certain Of
the Indian tribes To make an armor. No
tough and hard IL II that h Il claimed q
breast plate made thereof will turn knife
or a spear We are even assured that OF the
finer specimens Of armor constructed of
this n-h hide thsre we're some capable Of
rendering harmless the blow OF tomahawk
Queer uses are made Of the inte-tines OF
the Valrus and the sea lion Tho former are
made into sails for boats nv the Eskimos
q nd the latter are slit and stitched together
to form hooded coats said to he far superior
to rubber ss waterproof garments
In the utilization OF odd materials for
making leather even the frog does not
"a IL