Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1917-02-01
Hides Are Valuable

| for the actual value involved as the
hides and skins of cattle and calves
killed from natural or other causes
A great many people thing that hides
are valuable only when taken from
animals slaughtered for beef. While
a hide taken off in this manner usu-
ally is more attractive to a tanner
hides from dead animals, il removed
within a reasonable time command
full value. Horse hides also COM
mand a good price, although not as
much as COW hide, as the leather
cannot be used for sole leather pur-
poses.
When an animal dies it should be
skinned as soon as possible, espe-
cially in warm weather
Care should be taken in skinning
not to cut or score the hide any
more than necessary as each cut
or score makes a damaged piece of
leather, and as it costs no more to
tan a good hide than a cut one tan
ners naturally are more anrious to
buy hides well taken off.
In skinning, knife with a slightly
curved edge should be used, the most
practical one being about seven
inch blade. The throat should be cut
lengthwise, not crosswise, and in this
way the entire head may be skinned
out Every bit of hide should be
skinned off, skinning the legs clear
down to the hoof. As calf skins are
used only for upper leather and other
fine grades the heads are not used,
and the head on these should be
skinned out only to the ears.
Calf skins bring at ali times the
highest price per pound and are
classed as a calf skin only when the
skin weighs fifteen or under in its
green state. Heavy veals, where the
skin weighs over fifteen pounds and
under twenty-five pounds are classed
as kip and command a slightly higher
prices than hides, being used mostly
for heavy boot uppers. A hide that
weighs over twenty-five pounds, even
though 1t may be taken from what
in many cases would be called a veal,
is classed as hide, as all hides over
this weight are tanned into other
than upper leather grades, such as
light harness, strap, saddle, betting
and sole leather stock.
After the hide has been removed
it should be thoroughly salted on the
flesh side with coarse salt If 1t is
to be held for any length of time.
Hides, it should be remembered will
spoil as easily as fresh meat, and in
warm weather especially should be
given prompt attention. Salt to
about onethird to one-half weight
of the hide should be used, leaving
the hide lay flat on the floor until
such time as it is disposed Of.
If the hide is to be shipped at
once and this as a rule is done a
small amount of salt should be put
on the Flesh side and the hide rolled
up into a bundle and tied tightly
with wire, or placed in gunny sack.
Hides can be rolled into compact
bundle by throwing the head in
about a third Of the length of the
hide, turning in the two sides, one
on top of the other, making the
bundle about foot wide and rolling
tightly from the head end Always
bundle hides hair side out.
Where no salt is available it is
fairly safe to ship green where they
will not be in trasit over one or two
days and with the rapid transporta-
tion of today, your returns should be
received within the course of two or
three days.
Hides are subject to damage by
rats, dogs, ETC., and should not be
left laying around, direct shipment
to some reliable hide dealer usually
being more satisfactory, than wait
ing for the junk man. Shipments of
hides can be made by express, auto
freight, freight or by parcel post.
OF course, where shipment is made
by parcel post hides must be thor
oughly wrapped and free from any
leakages.
There is considerable natural
shrinkage in green hides which
should be taken into consideration
in estimating the value of your ship
ment, the ordinary hide shringing
in transit about two to three pounds.
Hides which have been salted for
two or three weeks and are then
classed as cured hides will not, di
course, shrink so much in transit.
And while they command a higher