Year: 1861

Few arts are older than that of converting raw
hides and skins into leather; although the science
of tanning not understood before the commence
ment of the present century. The operation Is
purely chemical in its nature and should be studied
other chemical changes are where new COM
pounds formed by the union of unlike substances
which have aiIirty for each other Ii tannc |
acid in oak bark and many vegetables had no aili.
nifty for the gelatine in raw-hideS leather could
he formed by the aid of u dccoction of tanhark,
the tanning principle in other organic substances.
When understand that about eighty million |
pounds of leather are annually manufactured in |
Great Britain, and that with bark peeled from long |
cultivated forest trees, and therefore, most expen-
sive it should not surprise us that Sir Humphrey !
Davy, and other eminent chemists, as well as tan !
of large capital have investigated this impor- |
tant art with equal care and success Our army Is
wearing shoes made in England, Of British |
leather; while the population Of the British Islands
is about thirty millions. France with about thirty
six millions TO he supplied with leather, and tam
bark and tanning plants being quite as scarce as
they are in England, manages TO export many calf |
skins to other countries, some OF which may be
in Athens, Ga, and regularly worked up by its
ShOemakerS. Several million dollars worth OF su
mach trhus) are annually imported f ON the South
of Europe into the United States for tanning pur
poses. This plant can be grown in the Southern
States easily as in Sicily and Greece. Not half
of our goat skins, so valuable for making both
OleSSeQ ana OnuTcSSeu are S1Neu any
purpose; while hitherto we have imported shoes
and boots for female feet mostly, made from the
skins of goats and sheep, to the amount of unknown
millions. The manufacture of morocco and other


light leather will probably pay better in the South
than any other branch of business. But we are
better prepared to improve the tanning of other
leather which is already carried to some extent,
than to introduce the manufacture of morocco. 1t
is to promote such Improvement that this article is
written.


By soaking dry hides in warm water they can be
prepared for lining in half of the time required
when soaked in cold water When the lime vats
warmed by steam, or hot water, the hair soon
comes loose, and the hides easily prepared for
the ooze bark, and need little no assistance
| from the bate to deaden and remove the lime.
With sole leather at from sixty to seVenty-fve
cents pound, and uppe: leather dollar pound
| and over, tanner ought to dispense with the
| economical advantage Of heating appartuS. More


tannic acid be extracted from cord OF tan-bark
in forty-eight hours by steam or copper heater,
| than by cold water III two months. OF course, to
apply hot Ooze, too strcng cold tannic acId to
raw partly tanned hides will damage the leather.
| But having extracted the tanning principle from
bark, any substance that contains it, man who
understands his business will temper his fresh OOze


by the addition of old to suit the condition of the
skins hides to which it is TO he applied. 10 lay
away sole leather, harness leather upper leather
hides in bark, with cold water to extract tanning
elements from the bark is worse practice than 10


prepare coffee and tea for drinking by the use of
| cold sater alone If a woman eats a boiled potato


too hot it will burn her mouth and stomach; but is


this fact conclusive evidence that she should forever


try in vain to cook potatoes sufficiently in cold wa
| ter? Heat is chemical agent of great power and


value and we as far as any one from wishing to
| it used carelesS y or stupidity IN any art. Slow


tanning does not mean good tanning; nor does quick


tanning imply bad tanning. The whole process be-
| ing strictly chemical in its nature either may be


sadly defective from the lack of scientific knowledge.
All the geatine in the skin of an animal ought TO


be saturated with tan, or the tanning is detective
| This SaturatiOn cannot be well done In minute,
| but it need not take twelve months to effect the
| chemical combination. By little extra handling


O. hides and pressing out the etfete oOze and water


which fill their pores, their capacity for receiving


tan may be saturated, provided the ooze i'll


which they are handled is just right an dU re-
| spects.


1t is difficult to teach any mechanical art, or op-


erative science, on paper to thousands at ONCE


But in the matter of tanning rawhideS no point is


more important thar the power to strengthen OoZe


properly it parts with tan in forming leather


Nothing is gained but much is lost by keeping part


ly tanned hides for weeks and months in sour liquor


devoid of the tanning principle This is a common


error This aciditied liquor is far better than sim
| pie water to pump upon a leach and extract the
| strength of new bark whether cold or not All


Oozc should at last take this direction. Every tan


merry should nave AT least TWO leacheS SO Sltuautu


under the mill that ground bark will fall into both.


The upper leach should be high enough to draw


all liquids upon the bark in the lower leach, and


the bottom OF the latter should be high enough to


run all strong into all the vatS used for tanning
| purposes. These should all connect with common


reservoir, called junk from which the weakened


or effete ooze is pumped into the highest leach by


horse power, steam or water power. 1t will pay,


however to pump oOze by hand from every vat, and


often rejuvenate the same and thus expedite tanning


But this old and cold needs sheatlng draw all


the tannic acid from any bark in short time
, merry?


The writer once had thousand hides tanned in


such an establishment; and bank notes falling due,


rendered time element Of Importance, as is the


case in most New York leather factories. In this


instance, steam apparatus that had been made for


dstilling grain into whiskey was bought at low


price, and found capable Of boiling two cords of