Gunnison news-champion., 1924-02-01

same: tie Tayhide would stnxf - -
colnpose in fFun feur to ten da.s -
the expesimsnt WouId fnil. ] did -
use corrosive sub1imats, caEholie aei1.
wood vinegar, or any Of the conmoI
aatisepties, since wished to, and d
conduct all my tanning experimeutG
thruout with the agencies ~ found =
their natural state.
do not Question that . practical
tanner can bride cauaigre root wikh
chemicals - that 4 will Be . valunb1o
as well as m efficient tanning agency.
Canaigye root occurs in the send.
arid sections Of Western Colorado
along the San Miguel and Dolores
rivers, and to . limited extent h
Shavanah Valley, . few miles west Of
hLontrose. II was in Shavanah valley
that secured the supply Of roots for
M experiment, and in talking with
the farmers Of the vicinity, learned
that the root could be cultivated sue
cessfully. One farmer told me that
from his experience in combating the
plant on irrigated land-wlrich had
been the plants natural habiiat-ho
was convinced that he could raise zoo
bushels per acre per crop. But since
l am inclined to believe that two years
would be necessary to produce a crop,
this would only mean an annual yield
OF 100 bushels per acre.
1t seems to me evident that there
is a sufficient supply of natural tan.
min in Western Colorado to supply
tanneries with the means of producing
economically the reliable leather Of
olden times. II is equally evident
from conversation with business men,
farmers and citizens that tanneries in
this section Of the country would be
exceedingly welcome and well patro-
nized. Practically every city or town
of any size is supplied with soft noun
tain water. The cost of common lab
or will perhaps be somewhat higher
than in Eastern cities, or California;
but the field is here, and it is large
and merits investigation.
AUTHORS NOTE
During the summer season of 1928,
after the above article was written,
followed up the line on Douglas fir
bark Commonly called red spruce),
secured in the experiments at Mont
rose, and tanned several calf hides
thoroly with this material. The ac-
tual tanning of large pieces of raw
hide more than met the results ex-
pected thru the superficial experiment
with this material at Montrose. Points
demonstrated in 1928:
THE Douglas fir bark is valuable
for tanning from the cambium layer
to the outside weather-worn surface
of the bark.
2.-Positive and satisfactory results
were secured with only the outside
hark from frooo ,.yh;rh hod hoor d>~A
thirty to fifty years; which points to
the remarkable preservative power Of
the tannin in this material. In one
instance II was calculated that the
layer of the bark used was made 200
years ago, yet the solution made with
only the bark and hot water was
thoroughly active and satisfactory
and strip Of calfsl<in rawhide was
thoroly permeated by it in 48 hours,
the solution being, Of course, of maxi
mum strength.
S.-From six to ten pounds Of the
bark will tan pound of leather, de-
pendent on the fineness to which the
bark is ground, and the care in utiliz-
ing the solution.
4.-While the cambiup or inner
layer of bark on any tree carries
larger per cent Of tannin than the
outer layer, in the case of Douglas
fir the outer layer of the bark is Of
decided value, and SO impervious to
teaching from weather that the bark
of dead trees may be used with en-
tirely satisfactory results.
-Oo
Oville Fields Of Salida, has been a
guegt at the ]. F. Patton home the