Gunnison news-champion., 1924-02-01
THE TANN|NS
OF COLORADO
Interesting Study o +
Colorado Barks which
are Effective in Man.
ufacturing Leather.

ufacturing Leather.
On another page mention is made
Of series Of talks on tanning which
H. l. Spencer Is giving to the Boy
Scouts. Mr.. Spencer quite recently
spent six months Of study into this
matter. and his deductions are of
such interest that News-Champion
Is pleased to secure from him m
authoritive article, which win b Of
value to ill ranchers, hunters and
those interested in leather and tan
ming in our section.
(By Henry l. Spencer. U. s. Forest
Sevice)-
In the early spring Of 1921, during
the extreme slump in the price Of
hides, I discovered that the bark Of
the commdA western scrub cedar con-
tains . considerable amount of tan
min. and made some superficial ex-
periments to determine the action Of
this tannin on rawhide. Some posi-
tive results were secured thru the
combination of strong salt solution
with the ooze obtained by teaching
the cedar bark.
A live newspaper man got wind of
the tanning of cheap COW hides with
cedar bark, and l was prevailed upon
to write 4 short article Of the method
l employed. The article was supple
mented with the conclusions Of the
newspaper man and the whole, be-
lieve, published in q few newspapers
in Colorado.
A month later, following a natural
interest in tanning and tanning ma
terials, ] secured an experimental out
fit consisting Of q l50-gallon teaching
vat, q dozen barrels, supply Of glass
containers and few chemicals, and
devoted six months to searching for,
and experimenting with the natural
tannins to be found in Western Colo
rado; particularly in Montrose county.
The actual tanning experiments were
carried out solely with the natural
tannins-no salt or chemicals what
ever being used in the tanning process.
When one gets down to the actual
quest for these tannin- bearing trees,
shrubs and roots, II Is astonishing the
large number and variety he will find
to select from. Only few Of this
number, however, will yield positive
results in the tanning Of leather.
The combination Of vegetable, color
ing matter and tannin determines
largely the action Of the solution on
rawhide. This is exemplified in oak
tanned leather-while oak bark rs q
tanning material, is hemmed In by a
number Of competitors, the quality Of
the leather from It has never been
equaled. especially sole leather. The
natural combination Of extractives and
tannin in oak bark is more nearly per-
feet than in any material known.
OF the large number of tannin-pro-
ducing barks, leaves and shrubs l ex-
amined, only the few returning
positive results will be considered;
with the exception of one root, which
from the high percentage of tannic
acid 1t contains, deserves especial men,
ton. The materials will be taken up
in the order with which l was i'm
pressed with their Importance in re-
ference to the abundance of supply,
tannin contained, and the quality Of
leather produced. It is obvious that
were the supply of given material
limited to an insignificant quantity, it
would be useless to consider it, even
though it were an efficient tanning
agency, unless thru practicable
means of cultivation the supply can be
increased.
The two most important materials
considered-cedar bark and oak
brush-exists in such quantities in
their natural state that the supply is
practically inexhaustible.
Bark from the Western Cedar
(Juniperus Scopulorum)
In placing cedar bark first in inn
portance over oak brush, / feel that
very probably the longer period dur
ing which l had It under observation.
the more than adequate supply at
hand with which to work, and the
readiness with which the bark may be
secured from the trees ct any season
OF the year, are contributing factors.
The bark used was secured from
the cedar post yards in Montrose. The
entire thickness Of bark from cambium
layer TO outside was used, altho it il
not considered necessary to peel all
Of the thin under layer from the POSTS
after It has dried and is tedious to
secure. One man can peel appron-
mately 1000 pounds Of the bark from
the trees per day. Since there is .
small premium on peeled cedar posts
q sufficient supply Of the bark can be
obtained in post center at very
nominal cost.
The bark was shredded by hand and
leached In the 150-gallon vat, which
was set over a fire place with draught
pipe at one end. Heat was applied
until the water reached point just
below boiling, and the teaching ac-
rcI>< - =
the water was allowed to boil, It was
found that the shredded bark itself
underwent 3 sort Of tanning process
which consumed much Of the
strength Of the solution. The solution
secured was rich, reddish brown.
color, and would rapidly color q raw
hide . deep reddish brown. The color
ing would usually be thorough in four
Or hve days by suspending the raw
hide in . barrel filed with the solu-
fion and frenuenfl,z shiffinu. q "a -