The sun., 1916-12-29
COMMERCIAL USE OF THE HIDES Ann!
SKINS OF AQUATIC CREAT URES.
Marine Mammals and Fishes Supply feathers Of Varied and perh,.,
Inereasable Availability In Manufacture.

adapts itself to that shape. I,ein,
cordingly durable II will outlas, two
three calf leather soles. Ano,n..
recommendation apparent when /, ~
comes soft Is the in which .
absorbS water but allows no mois,,..
to penetrate II. Many shocs,r,nps =.
made from pOrpoisc leather. I'm,
does not begin to compare will n s,rin.
made from the beluga or white vhah1
skin. Comparing the porpoise s,rin.
with n made from bcinga, il has hoos
found that the beluga string will sn.'
tain Il weight of about 300 mound.
whereas ono made from porpuisc womb
only sustain a weight of about nino,'
pounds.
Because of its great tensile strcn,,b
beluga leather is well adapted In ,h1
manufacture of machinery boI.s
pieces of this leather have been cr,
from a single skin measuring six,,
feet long and fifteen inches wide.
Alligator skins have been utilized tor
leather making for many years. and
the demand sometimes far exceeds ~,
supply. There are several varieties -.
alligator skins on the market, vet cacr
differs from the others IN certain vol
DEFINED characteristics. and it is owing
TO these differences that each varie,,
has its own special use. The skins ara
used for a variety of purposes. and AZ
one time were largely used in tho
making Of shoes.
The skins of sharks, avs and dov.
hsh are very rough and studded vii
horny t~uberculous markings OF pr,.
tuberanccs, which are So firml, n,,I
TO the skin that they are not c,Sl
separated thcrcfrom. They take. how.
ever, n polish almost equal To- s,ou,
Formerly large quantities IT shari
skins were used for polishing WOO
ivory and other materials. for Nht.b
they are excellent owing to the
roughness. hardness and durabilt,
The skin Of the diamond shark is also
used to cover the sword grips Of army
sabres. and for this purpose is not sur.
passed by any material obtainablc.
Sturgeon skin is used quite ex,on
sively both in a commercial Va,
and for ornamental purposes. Some "
the skins are very attractive, cspo.
cially those found on tho E.iropc,r
coasts, which are distinguished h
of small but very horny bo,s,,
between which are numerous hor,
protuberances varying in form from
mere dot TO beautiful irregular shap.,
nearly half an inch in lonst.
These skins are very oily. howo,.r
half a gill of oil may no romo.,.
from the cavity beneath each Of yo..
eral Of the bosses.
The tails of beavers make , le,,b.
seen occasionally on the market. Til
Is a most %curiously marked loath,
being covered with unimbricatei scale.
Ike bosses of irregular outline. r.,
the bosses Is about u third az
in length. Very little ~ IT,.
is found on the market. f.,
used for the purpose of covering sm.u
VERY y and the like.
Water snake skins are tanned
TO some extent also. but tho dr.
mand for them il not large. Thcy ar
mn lack durability. Thcy a..
used more for tho novelty of tho m
and not for their wearing qualit..>
Ghrhsh or armorcd fish and frog
Used to a limited extent for le,'l..
purposes. Frog skin * thin and ,...
pliablc and possesses n delicate
not an especially attractive grain
Certain varieties of fish furnish ..a
leather. At Gloucester. Mas. -h
ma gloves hay" been made" from ,I.
skins of goldfish ard Of cusk. whll,
fish skins are used for .f,
'oles. In Russia ana siberia Tn, WON,
RIM their dresses with 'hc sk.u.
nc turbot. These skins are also ln-,'
IN Europe for binding book Ir.
u II making OF whips. In tn
lorth the skins of salmon. cod .r
fish are utilized for maxim. .u
)us garments. Tho skins ar, '.t.
rom the fish in blanket form and n
scales carefully removed. Tho, u
hen dried and aftcrward worked Al
scrapcr until they are pliihlc. WI.
inlshed this membrane resemble
loosely kidskin In appearance a.i
inlsh. being very 5 q as well. an!
as tough as parchment, The
re then dyed and sewn together
thread, generally made from t-.
kin.