Evening star., 1928-06-21
U.S.LEADS IN SNAKE
LEATHER TANNING.
Iung|es and SWamps of Trop.
les Furnish Most of the
Reptiles Used.
BY ]. c. ROYLE.
,ecisl Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, June 2l.--The United
States has taken an unQuestioned posi-
ton as world leader in the tanning OF
reptile feathers.
More feet are Shod in the coverings
provided by reptiles today than at any
previous time in history of the world,
and these cold-blooded animals have
taken an important place in the tre-
mendous parade of animals which give
their skins each year to make feathers
parade including cattle, sheep, goats,
calves. kangaroos and horses, which.
marching four abreast. would encircle
the globe and lap over 5000 miles.
In the last year the American leather
industry, according to figures furnished
by the American Leather Producers. an
organization Of competing tanners, used
a million lizards, 100000 alligators and
10000 snakes The rate of consump-
ton today is even higher. More than a
million alligators are expected to yield
their outer covering before the end of
1928.
From Swamps Of Tropics.
Most of the reptiles come from the
lungles and Swamps Of the tropscs. They
are skinned and the skins salted on the
ground. but the additional processes are
completed in the United States.
The reasons for the enormous growth
of the reptile leather tanning industry
are easy to understand, according to
Louis j. Robertson. president of the
largest alligator leather producing COM
pany. in the United States.
1t is because American women.
with their short skirts and colorful
hosiery and clothes, must have great
beauty and variety in their Shoes" he
said. These reptile feathers are so
distinctive in their colors and mark
ings that they lend themselves we'll for
this purpose, Another reason is that
the tough, Scaly nature of various rep
tile feathers enables them to with
stand wear and abrasion of all sorts.
That Is what nature intended them for.
The tanners, after overcoming a good
many technical obstacles. have learned
how to impart permanent gloss to
these skins. so that shoes made of them
need almost no care to enable them to
look their best"
While most OF the huge volume OF
American-tanned reptile leather goes
into shoes, additional outlets have been
found for it. Thousands Of cigarette
lighters now are incased in Snakeskin.
Some OF the luggage made Of alligator
skins Is produced here, but much of the
more expensive type that Americans
buy abroad Is made in Europe frorA
skins tanned here. The next biggest
outlet to shoes is in women's handbags
Most Snakes Too Small.
While the United States is an un-
questioned leader in the tanning of
reptile feathers, the country itself does
not furnish many of these reptiles, de-
spite the large number Of rattlers and
lizards in the States. Most of the
snakes are too small to yield satisfac-
tory skins, and the lizards are difficult
to capture.
Many alligators are taken In the
swamps and bayous of the Gulf States,
but more are captured in Mexico and
Central and South America, and a
few come from Madagascar and India
They do not come from alligator
farms" The industry knows that alli-
gators grow too slowly for that Few
alligators are large enough to yield a
skin until they are 20 years old. and
the required average is much closer to
so years.
The principal snakes used for leather