^>^. ' -, ^. oo^ 'lA v^ z 9^/^ '. .t ^-' ■^^%^ -^ ^V^^c^JH'' " ^^^^ ^ , , , , ^. * .0 ^. ^ ^0 O vA' Kx>;r — '^ : .^- ''-r- ', ^, ''p ■0- K ., -i^ <"^f ,0 ^'-r. '/^ V- ..^^ ^^ ,0 o o -5,- .'^■^ c "-^ ^ '■ oSr' "^ ,^^^" iV -s- Oo oV .-.'? ><< '*«■ 3- N V^- -/^ ^ » o s ^ ^ ^^' ./-. ci-. ' %' o>- %.^ .^^ ^^- '/ v-' » r-jr ° !? . - - « V5fe,, 1 B , PRACTICAL TANNING: A HANDBOOK MODERN PROCESSES, RECEIPTS, AND SUGGESTIONS TREATMENT OF HIDES, SKINS AND PELTS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION, INCLUDING VARIOUS PATENTS RELATING TO TANNING, WITH SPECIFICATIONS. LOUIS A. FLEMMING, AMERICAN TANNBB. SECOND EDITION, IN GREAT PART RE-WRITTEN, THOROUGHLY REVISED AND MUCH ENLARGED. ILLUSTRATED BY SIX FULL-PAGE PLATES. PHILADELPHIA : HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO., INDUSTRIAL PUBLISHERS, BOOKSELLERS AND IMPORTERS, 810 Walnut Street. LONDON : CROSBY LOCKWOOD AND SON, 7 Stationers' Hall, Coukt, Lxjdgate Hili.. 1910. ^ ^^3 ^^r Copyright, by HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO., 1910. Printed by the WICKERSHAM PRINTING CO. Ill to 117 East Chestnut Street, Lancaster, Pa., U. S. A. CCI.A259772 P /S7 ^dZ PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. In presenting to the Leather Industry and to the dealers in, and the consumers and inspectors of, hides, skins, pelts and leather, as well as to the dyers of leather, this new, revised, enlarged, and systematically arranged edition of his Practical Tanning, the author has this to say, for himself and for his book : Like its predecessor, this volume embraces the results of his own ex- perience, his study and research, and the experiences of the many practical men with whom it has been his good fortune to come into association and consultation ; and the book has been so carefully and thoroughly revised throughout, as practically to be considered as hav- ing been rewritten. Nothing whatever has been incorporated into it that has previously appeared in any American or English book — his own alone excepted — and it is intended to present the newest and best American practice of this now great and progressive industry. He has diligently consulted the leading American trade papers and v/here it has been found possible, in the text, given due credit; but he would here acknowledge his special obligations to The Shoe and Leather Reporter. This volume is, as its title implies, essentially a practical treatise, and the details of that practice are given with such clearness and pre- cision, such absence of confusing technicalities, as is believed to de- mand nothing more . As a typical illustration of this thoroughness , the author would refer to the section devoted to Sheepskins. There will be found complete directions for handling these skins from the time they are received by the tanner or the wool-puller until they are turned out as finished leather. In the Appendix will be found descriptions of various processes of tanning, unhairing, coloring and finishing skins and leather that have been recently patented by their inventors. These processes are given, not with the idea of advertising or recommending them, but rather to enable the reader to learn of processes that are a little out of the or- dinary practice ; in which new materials are used or old ones employed (v) vi PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. in new ways. Some of these processes[^are undoubtedly of value, while the value of others may bejquestioned. However, to read them, one and all, will, it is believed, add to the tanner's knowledge of his art. The first edition of Practical Tanning having been received by the trade with such distinct favor ,^as"weirabroad as at home, it is believed that this one, so great an advance in value over its predecessor, must also prove a further help to the tanner, and a marked success generally. In conclusion he would state that the volume has been supplied with such a full table of contents, and such an exhaustive index as to render references to any subject or detail in it prompt, easy and satisfactory. L. A. F. Hillsdale, Michigan, April 4, igio. CONTENTS. SECTION ONE. The Manttpactuee oe Side Leather. PAGE Soaking green-salted hides; Most approved method of soaking; Object of the soaking process. ...... .... 1 Effect of too long soaking on salted hides; Water for soaking; Softening hard water; Effects of careless soaking ........ 2 Soaking dry hides; Unhairing sun-dried hides 3 Methods of liming; Liming for upper leather; Starting the liming process . 4 Washing the unhaired hides and after-treatment; Quantity of lime required . 5 Sulphide of sodium process .......... 6 Methods of bating; Bating with lactic acid ....... 7 Bating with a bacterial bate ... "...... 9 Commercial bates; Bating with chicken manure . . . . . .10 The piclding process; Pickling with sulphuric acid and salt . . . .11 Methods of splitting; Splitting out of lime . • 12 Splitting out of sulphate of alumina and salt pickle; Splitting after tanning; Splitting out of acid pickle ......... 13 Processes of chrome tanning for side leather; Process for acid-pickled grains . 14 One-bath process for acid-pickled grains ....... 15 Process for alumina-pickled grains; Processes for unsplit sides . . .16 Mode of ascertaining when the hides are tanned; Eetanning; Washing and shaving ............. 17 ' Practical methods of coloring chrome upper leather; Dyeing with natural dyestufls; Light tan; Dark tan . . . . . . . . .18 Ox-blood; Chocolate brown; Alizarine red-brown ...... 19 Alizarine brown ; Mordant for aniline colors ....... 20 Palmetto mordant; Peachwood-fustic mordant ...... 21 Gambler mordant; Use of tartar emetic. ....... 22 Dissolving aniline dyes; Titanium mordants ....... 23 Dyeing chrome side leather black; With logwood and bichromate of potash, 24 With logwood and titanium salts; With logwood and copperas; AVith log- wood and nigrosine ........... 25 Fat-liquors for chrome side leather; Process of fat-liquoring . . . .26 Receipts for fat-liquors for colored or black leather and for chrome side leather ............. 27 (vii) Vlll CONTENTS. PAGE Tat-liquors for heavy English or storm grain leather, for colored leather, for grained chrome leather, either black or grained, and for colored or black grain 28 Fat-liquors for dull finished leather, for leather colored with basic aniline colors, and for heavy grain chrome leather ...... 29 Fat-liquors for soft leather, colored or black, for chrome side leather, and for smooth glazed, boarded and dull finished leather . . . . .30 Finishing chrome side leather .... .... 31 Dull finish; Glazed finish; Boarded finish ....... 32 Finishes for chrome side leather; For glazed and bright boarded finish; Dull .finish 33 Gun-metal finish; For oil or storm-grain leather; Another finish for heavy grain leather ............ 34 Finish for colored leather; Chrome side glove and mitten leather; Coloring for grain finish . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Mode of producing light and darker tan colors and a yellow shade; Fat- liquor receipt ............ 36 Finishing; Chrome bag and belt leather ....... 37 White side leather; Tanning with sulphate of alumina; Pickling; Prepara- tion of the tan liquor .......... 38 Fat-liquoring with acid fat-liquor; Finishing . . ... . .39 White chrome leather; Treatment with flour; Preparation of a suitable fat- liquor; Finishing ........... 40 Another mode of preparing good white leather; Chrome side patent leather; Pickling and tanning .......... 41 Coloring and fat-liquoring . . . . . . . . . . 42 Staking and finishing ........... 43 Vegetable tanning processes for side leather; Material used for this purpose; Process of tanning; Tanning with hemlock and quebracho extracts . . 44 Tanning with quebracho and palmetto extracts 45 Tanning with palmetto extract ......... 46 Tanning with gambler; Combination process of tanning 47 Pressing and splitting; Ketanning processes ....... 48 Retanning with gambler and sumac; Eetannage for hemlock-tanned leather . 49 Retanning with palmetto extract, and in combination with quebracho; Addi- tion of bisulphide of soda to the retanning liquor; Clearing the grain with alum and salt ............ 50 Coloring and finishing vegetable-tanned upper leather; Outline of the process; Application of fat-liquor .......... 51 Manner of handling all kinds of combination-tanned sides . . . .52 Fat-liquoring leather; Fat-liquor formulas ....... 53 Stuffing for imitation kangaroo and dull printed sides; Fat-liquor for hemlock- quebracho and quebracho-palmetto tanned leather . . . . .54 Fat-liquor for bright printed or boarded grains; Eeceipts for yellow flesh; Re- ceipts for blue flesh . . . . . . . . . . .55 Finish for bright boarded grain leather 56 CONTENTS. ix PAGE Finishing bark-tanned kanguroo side leather. . . . . . .57 Preparation of a sig to be used on kangaroo sides, of a logwood liquor, and of a black or striker; Coloring side leather ....... 58 Fat-liquor for colored Russia leather ; Process of preparing the sides for Russia leather with sumac. ......... 59 Vegetable-tanned patent shoe tipping; Requirements of good strong tipping; Tanning tipping hides .......... 60 Another retanning process ......... 61 Preparation of the retan liquor, and of the fat-liquor; Manufacture of bag and case leather ........... 62 Liming ............. 63 Bating; Pickling; Tanning .......... 64 Clearing and bleaching the grain ; Usual practice of bleaching leather . . 65 Bleaching and coloring; Finishing rough leather ...... 66 Preparation of the acid bath ......... 67 Finishing; Receipt for waterproof linish for colored bag and case leather; Finish for colored and russet leather ........ 68 Seasoning which gives a nice black luster that is lasting; Finishing imperfect grains into patent tipping; Retanning . . . ' . . . .69 Fat-liquoring; Manufacture of Goodyear welting; Hides from which the best welting is made; Tannage suitable for welting ...... 70 Bleaching to remove stains; Materials largely used as welting and their preparation ............ 71 How to prepare hides for tanning into lace leather; Hides for lace leather; Preparation of the hides; Pickling ........ 72 Tanning; Yellow lace leather; Method of making leather especially suitable for belt, shoe and leather laces . . . . ". . . . .73 Another way to tan the leather ......... 75 Fat-liquor for lace leather; Oiling and iinishing . . . . . .76 Alum-tanned lace leather .......... 77 Dubbing used to stuff the leather and mode of stuffing . . . . .78 Old method of making lace leather; Preparation of lace leather that is soft and strong ............ 79 Another composition for lace and whip leather; Stuffing alum- tanned hides, dried and moistened ........... 80 Raw hide lace leather; Preparation of the tanning liquor; Another process . 81 Other methods of making lace leather; Tawed lace leather . . . .82 Picker leather; Liming .......... 83 Bating; Tanning ............ 84 Stuffing; Tanning and finishing splits; Source of splits . . . . .85 Tanning splits ............ 86 Retanning rough splits; Working splits into Goodyear; Softening and stuff- ing heavy splits ........... 87 Stuffing for wax splits; Finish for the back . . . . . . .88 Soap black; Flour paste 89 Finishing splits into Goodyears, chair splits, etc. ...... 90 X CONTENTS. SECTION TWO. The Manufacture or Sheepskin Leather. Soaking sheep pelts; Methods of removing the wool Formulas for depilatory liquors .... Liming after removal of the wool; Sulphide of sodium process . . .95 . 96 . 97 93 94 for chrome tanning . 99 . 100 . 101 . 102 for this purpose . . 10.3 Methods of drenching sheepskins . Another method; Drenching with bran . Pickling with sulphuric acid and salt . Pressing the grease from pickled sheepskins; Processes Tanning with sulphate of alumina and chrome liquor FoiTuula for preliminary tawing .... Manner of tanning pickled sheepskins . Dyeing chrome-tanned sheepskins black, and formulas Process of giving the skins a tannin mordant, and coloring the flesh sides blue and the grain sides black . . . . . . . . . .104 Dyeing black and refinishing sheepskins that have been colored and finished; Fat-liquore for chrome-tanned sheep and lambskin leather. . . . lO-'i Methods of coloring chrome-tanned sheepskins; Mordant for aniline dyes; Tanning material most commonly used in dyeing sheepskins; Tan colors on sheepskins. . . ... . . . . . • . 108 Chocolate-brown on sheepskins 109 Brown on sheepskins; Anilines valuable in dyeing chrome-tanned skins. . 110 Ox-blood or wine color on sheepskins . . . . . . . .111 Dye for shoe and glove leather; Brown on shoe and glove leather . . .112 Green on chrome sheep leather 113 Yellow glove and mitten leather, and formulas for the purpose; Coloring chi'ome-tanned sheepskins after fat-liquoring; Preparation of the mordant; Formula for coloring 114 Finishing black-glazed sheepskins; Clearing the grain; Formula for seasoning. 115 Formulas for seasonings for glazed finish 116 Good way to clear the grain of greasy matter; Seasoning for dull finish; Fin- ishing colored sheepskins; Formulas for seasonings . . . . .117 Good seasoning for black glazed sheepskins; Glazed finish on colored sheepskins. 118 Finishing sheepskin glove 'leather and various methods for the purpose. . 119 Flesh-finished chrome sheepskins; Skins used for the pui'pose; Tanning the skins 120 Treatment after tanning; Coloring and fat-liquoring 121 Drenching and pickling sheepskins with formic acid ; Mixture of formic and lactic acids; Bran di-enching 122 Mode of pickling; Pickling with acetic acid . . . . . . .123 Sheepskins for jacket leather; Pressing to remove the grease; Tanning the skins. ............. 124 Coloring and finishing; Formula for the finish; White sheep leather . . 125 Preparation of the tanning liquor 126 Sulphated oil or acid fat-liquor, and its use; Tanmng with alum and salt . 127 CONTENTS. XI PAGE Preparation of a tanning solution; Another way to tan with alum and salt . 128 ^^^nother good way of tanning sheep and lambskins . . . . .129 White chrome-tanned sheep leather; Pickling sheep and lambskins . . 130 Tanning white sheep leather; Bleaching liquor ...... 131 Treatment with flour; Fat-liquors for these skins 132 Finishing chrome-tanned skins; White Napa leather, and modes of tanning it. 133 Original process of tanning white Napa leather ...... 134 Tanning with alum, sumac and oak bark; Preparation of the tanning liquor. 135 Coloring black Napa leather; Use of direct blue paste for coloring the flesh side blue; Preparation of a good sig ........ 136 Coloring alum-tanned leather; Preparation of a so-called nourishment . . 137 Washing the skins for coloring; Chamois leather, and its production . . 138 Oiling and beating the skins; Finishing processes . . . . .139 Various methods of treating the skins . . . . . . . .140 Coloring chamois skins, and a practical method for the purpose . . .141 Bleaching chamois skins; Removal of the excess of oil; Prepar? an of the bleaching liquor ........... 142 Preparation of sulphurous acid; Sheepskin-fleshers, and mode of tanning them. 143 Tanning with basic alumina liquor; Fat-liquoring 144 Tanning with ahmi, salt, egg-yolk, and flour; Chrome-tanned fleshere . . 145 A process for sheepskin fleshers to be used in the manufacture of gloves, for bindings, etc. ............ 146 . 147 . 148 . 149 . 150 . 151 Receipt for tanning Vegetable-tanned sheepskins; Hemlock tannage . Most satisfactory way of tanning .... Use of oak liquors; Quebracho tannage Combination tannage . Modes of tanning ....... Sumac tannage; Sheepskins for upholstering pui-poses; sheepskins into what is called Spanish leather for furniture and automobiles. 152 Methods of coloring vegetable-tanned sheepskins; Washing and sorting the skins; Good way to color the skins; Use of titanium-potassium oxalate in leather coloring . . . . . . . . . . .154 Ih^eing the skins black . . . . . . . . . . .155 Method of handling the skins for soft, black leather; Advantage of dyeing with logwood and titanium salts ........ 156 Coloring with aniline dyes; Ox-blood ........ 157 Oxblood on vegetable-tanned skins; Brown . . . . . . .158 Red; Shades of tan, green, yellow, brown, etc. . . . . . . 159 Treatment for dark greasy skins; Fat-liquoring . . . . . .160 Seasonings for colored skins .......... 161 Finish for embossed sheepskins; Methods of embossing; Skivers . . . 162 Use of skivers; Drenches for the grains ....... 163 Pickling liquor; Materials for tanning skivers and modes of tanning . . 165 Finishing skivere . . . . . . . . . . . .166 Roller leather; Qualities required of roller leather; Tanning the skins . . 167 Tanning woolskins; Soaking, washing and scouring ..... 168 XU CONTENTS. Tanning; Preparation of tanning paste . Bleaching; Degreasing ..... Tanning with gambier; Chrome-tanned woolskins Practical method for this pui"pose .... Paste for the flesh; Coloring .... Good shade of tan ; Tanning with alum, salt and hemlock extract Dyeing woolskins black ....... 169 171 172 173 174 175 177 SECTION THEEE. The Manufacture of Calf Leathers. Importance of the beamhouse work; Soaking of green-salted skins for chrome leather 179 Benefit derived from the use of borax in the soaks; Danger in using old stale soaks 180 Soaking dry skins; Importance of keeping the skin-substance intact . . 181 Methods of liming and bating calfskins; Liming in arsenic limes . . . 182 Preparing the skins with lime and sulphide of sodium; Various methods em- ployed in liming ........... 184 New process of liming skins ^. ......... 186 Bating or drenching; Bating with lactic acid; Bating with a fermented lactic acid bate 187 Fermentative bating with lactic acid . . . . . . . .188 Bating with bran ; Bating with manure . . . . . . . .189 Pickling; Process of chrome-tanning; One-bath process . . . . . 191 One-bath process with sulphate of alumina and sal soda. .... 192 Two-bath process of tanning. . . . . . . . . .193 How to color chrome-tanned calfskins; Preparation of the leather for the re- ception of aniline dyes; Application of the dyes. . . . . .194 Washing the skins ........... 195 Gambier and fustic mordant; Gambier mordant; Quermos extract mordant . 196 Sumac mordant; Palmetto mordant ........ 197 Clearing the grain and setting the color with tartar emetic; Receipts for ox- blood shades ............ 198 Alizarine brown on chrome calfskins; Chocolate brown with dyewoods and aniline dyes ............ 200 Light and dark tan shades; How to dissolve aniline dyes .... 202 Process of coloring after fat-liquoring; How to dye chrome-tanned calfskins black; Dyeing with logwood and titanium salts ...... 203 Dyeing with logwood and bichromate of potash ; Dyeing with logwood and copperas; Dyeing with aniline black ........ 204 Fat-liquors for black and colored chrome-tanned sheepskins .... 205 Oiling and drying the leather ......... 208 Dampening and staking; Glazed finish; Border or box finish .... 209 Smooth dull finish ; Seasoning for glazed finish ...... 210 Gun-metal finish; Sea.soning for chrome-colored calfskins . . . .211 CONTENTS. xm Calfskin glove and mitten leather; Sorting and liming the skins; Process of bating ......... Pickling the skins; Two-bath chrome system of tanning. Tan shades on glove and mitten leather Light yellow on glove and mitten leather Chrome wax calf leather; Skins for this purpose; Retanning Fat-liquoring ........ Blacking; Paste ........ Finish, and its preparation; Vegetable tannages for calfskin upper leather Gambler tannage ....... Dongola leather ........ Tanning with palmetto; Q.uebracho and palmetto tannage; nage ......... Qiiebracho and hemlock extracts tannage; Receipts for fat-, table-tanned calf leather ...... Giving two applications of fat-liquor .... Sumac mordant for colors ...... Titanium mordant for colors ...... Coloring and finishing of vegetable and combination-tanned calfskins; Prepar- ations for blue and yellow flesh ......... 228 229 230 231 232 233 Quebracho tan- liquors for vege- 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 221 222 223 225 226 227 Dyeing leather upon the grain, and materials used .... Receipts for strikers; Dyeing with logwood and titanium salts Russet and fancy leather calfskins; Preparation of the skins for this object Bating, and materials employed for this purpose ..... Vegetable tanning processes; Tanning with quebi-acho extract Tanning with hemlock and quebracho exti-acts combined, and with quebracho and palmetto extracts; Fat-liquoring ........ 234 Tat-liquors; Preparation for coloring ........ 235 Coloring ............. 236 Black leather 237 Finishing; Bleaching hemlock-tanned skins; Light russet color on leather . 238 Preparation of the bleaching liquor, and of the fustic liquor .... 239 Dark msset color on leather .......... 240 SECTION FOUR. The C^oiiOKiNG ajstd Tanning of India-tanned Skins. Use of India-tanned skins; Washing the skins ...... 241 Importance of thorough washing ......... 242 Coloring the skins ........... 243 Dyeing the skins black ........... 244 Black glazed finish; Receipts for seasoning ....... 245 Smooth dull finish and receipt for seasoning; Finish for colored skins . . 246 Various ways of finishing India -tanned skins; Retanning with chrome liquor. 247 Finishing India-tanned leather into book-binding leather; Shaving and color- ing the skins . 248 XIV CONTENTS. PAGE Coloring to obtain marble effects ......... 249 Giving grain or the morocco finish to the leather ...... 250 Uses of the splits taken from India-tanned leather; Skins for boarded gi*ains. 251 Ooze or suede leather; Properties and uses of this variety of leather; Skins suitable for the purpose; Methods used in finishing India-tanned ooze leather ............. 252 Chrome leather from India-tanned kips; Eetanning and finishing this kind of leather . ' . . .253 Washing the kips ............ 254r Coloring and finishing the leather; Patent tipping from India-tanned kips . 255 SECTION FIVE. The Manufacture of Goatskin Leather. Soaking the skins; Loosening the hair; Liming ...... 257 New process for liming goatskins; Bating; Essential qualities of goatskin leather ............. 259 Bating with bird dung; Preparation of a chicken manure bate . . . 260 Test for determining when the skins are bated ; Apparatus for bating . . 261 Manipulation of the skins after bating; Bating \\dth formic and lactic acids . 262 Bating with puerine; Pickling with acid and salt; Beamhouse process for cab- retta skins. ............ 263- Process of tanning goatskins; Tanning by the two-bath process . . . 265- Preparation of the second bath . 266 Washing the skins 267 Method of acid tanning different from the regular two-bath process . . 268 Another patented method .......... 269 Tanning with one-bath processes ......... 270 Tanning with sulphate of alumina, sal soda and chrome liquor; Tanning with sulphate of alumina and chrome liquor . . . . . . .271 Method of keeping skins for some time after they are bated .... 272 Methods of dyeing goatskins black; Dyeing with logwood and titanium salts; Dyeing with logwood and bichromate of potash; Dyeing with logwood, acetic acid and nitrate of iron ......... 273 Dyeing with logwood, permanganate of potash, and iron liquor . . . 274 Dyeing with logwood and copperas; Processes of coloring chrome-tanned goat- skins; Most common method of coloring with aniline dyes .... 275 Preparation of the skins for dyeing; Temperature of the coloring solutions . 276 Sumac mordant; Garabier mordant ........ 277 Fustic mordant; Palmetto mordant; Other mordants; Clearing the grain of grease ............. 278 Dyeing with natural dyestufis; Light tan; Dark tan ..... 279 Ox-blood shade; Chocolate brown; Dyeing with aniline dyes; Keceipts for some popular shades ........... 280 Water for dyeing; Coloring after fat-liquoring with sulphonated oil . . 281 Fat-liquors for colored and black goatskins ....... 282. CONTENTS. XV PAGK Receipts for fat-liquors ........... 283 Oiling, drying and staking . " . . . . . . . . . 285 Clearing the grain of grease and receipts for this purpose; Receipts for season- ings for glazed finish ........... 287 Dull finish 289 Processes for white goat leather; Tanning with sulphate of alumina . . 290 Tanning with alum, flour and salt ........ 291 Mocha castor glove leather; Liming, drenching and tanning the skins for this purpose ............. 292 Treatment for colored skins .......... 293 SECTION SIX. Chkome-Tanned Sole Leather. Most essential points to be observed in the manufacture of this leather; Se- lection of hides; Soaking the hides ........ 294 Liming the hides ............ 295 Bating; Pickling 296 Processes of pickling with sulphate of alumina and salt, and with sulphuric acid and salt; Methods of tanning ........ 297 Tanning hides pickled with alumina and salt ...... 298 Tanning liquor for acid pickled stock; Fat-liquoring and water-proofing the leather; Chrome-tanned harness leather; Precautions in handling the hides. 299 Liming; Bating; Preparation of chicken manure bate ..... 300 Bating with lactic acid; Pickling; Processes of tanning .... 301 Betanning ............. 302 Blacking and stuflang; Preparation of the logwood liquor and of the stuffing. 303 Finishing the leather; Chrome-tanned belt and strap leathers; Hides for this purpose; Tanning the butts ......... 304 Fat-liquoring the tanned butts, and preparations for this puipose; Eetanning the trimmings ............ 305 Strap leather; Beamhouse treatment and tanning; Fat-liquoring; Finishing, and preparation of the finish for this pui-pose ...... 306 SECTION SEVEN. The Manufacture of Genuine Kangaroo Leather. Properties of kangaroo skins, and their derivation; Softening and soaking kangaroo and wallaby skins ......... 307 Use of sulphide of sodium in the soak; Liming ...... 308 Bating and drenching; Bating with bacterial bate ..... 310 Bating with lactic acid; Bating with bi-an ....... 311 Pickling; Chrome-tanned kangaroo leather; Two-bath process . . . 312 One-bath process ............ 313 Methods of dyeing kangaroo skins; Receipts for dyeing the skins black . . 315 Fat-liquor formulas . . . . . . . . . . .317 XVI CONTENTS. Oiling and drying the leather; Staking and tacking; Finishing; Di-essing for glazed finish ............ 319 . 320 . 321 . 322 . 323 . 324 Vegetable-tanned kangaroo skins; Quebracho-tanned kangaroo Combination-tannages ........ Finishing combination-tanned leather . . . . Dongola tannages ......... Yellow flesh on quebracho or combination-tanned leather. Blue or black flesh on quebracho or combination-tanned leather; A patented method of finishing kangaroo leather. ....... 32o SECTION EIGHT. Methods of Bleaching Leather. Bleaching sole leather; Wyandotte Tannei*s Alkali and Wyandotte Tanners Soda; Laws governing the results of bleaching; Consumption of bleaching material by sole leather tanners. . . . . . . . . 327 Apparatus for bleaching; Amount of alkali required for bleaching. . . 328 Invariable action of an alkali; Calculation of the amount of alkali to keep the bleach strength at its full efficiency ........ 329 On what the amount of alkali required depends; Bleaching bag, strap and collar leather; Single-bleach formula. . . . . . ... 330 Double bleach; Kinse liquor . . . . . . . . . .331 Production of a still lighter color; Bleaching with sumac, boi^ax and sul- phuric acid . . . . . . . . . . . . 332 Bleaching with sugar of lead and sulphuric acid ...... 333 Bleaching with gold dust washing powder and acid ..... 334 Bleaching with hydrosulphites; Pi'eparation of hydrosulphites . . . 335 Bleaching with bisulphite of soda, with sodium peroxide, and with pemianga- nate of potash ............ 336 Bleaching, stufling and finishing russet skirting leather. .... 337 Bleaching with borax and lactic acid ........ 338 Clearing leather with alum and salt . . . . . . . . 339 Bleaching with oxalic acid . . . . . . . . . . 340 Bleaching chrome leather; Bleaching with tanning material, alkali and acid. 341 Amount of alkali to be added to the solution of tanning material; Constitu- tion of the acid bath ........... 342 Procedure in bleaching hemlock-tanned sole leather ..... 343 Maintaining the acidity of the acid bath; Advantages of this mode of ti"eat- ment ............. 344 Method of bleaching sole leather by hand; Bleaching and finishing russet leather ........ 34o Colorless dressing for russet leather ........ 34(i Bleaching mill-stuffed harness leather ........ 347 CONTENTS. XV 11 PA(iK SECTION NINE. The Tanning of Furs and Hair Skins. Dry tanning; Preparation of the tanning paste 349 Good formula for the tanning paste; Tanning with bran, alum and salt . 350 Tanning with gambler, alum and salt; Washing greasy skins . . . 351 Chrome-tanned furs and hair skins; A good tanning process for this purpose. 352 Another process; Pickling the skins; Preparation of the tanning bath . . 353 Another good tanning process ......... 354 Oiling alum-tanned skins; Tanning dogskins . . . . . . 355 Keceipt for deodorizing furs and skins; How to clean furs; Cleaning dark and white furs ............ 356 Tanning of hides for robes, coats, etc.; Soaking the hides; Use of borax and of salt solution for softening 357 Ti-eatment of hides in a partially tanned condition; Alum and salt process . 358 Dressing or cutting down to a light substance; Eetanning .... 359 Combination-tannage; Softening and cleaning the hides .... 360 Tanning of calfskins and other hair skins . . . . . . • 361 SECTION TEN. MlSCEIiLANEOITS PROCESSES OP TaNNING, CoEOEING AND FINISHING LEATHER. How to make and use acid fat-liquor; Acid fat-liquor of castor oil . . 362 Acid fat-liquor of neatsfoot and cod oils 363 How to use the acid-treated oils; How to color chrome-tanned skins with sumac and aniline dyes; Method of mordanting ..... 365 Another method of preparing the skins for aniline coloring; Process of dyeing. 366 Eetanning with gambler and sumac; Good retanning liquor for harness and other leathei-s • • 367 Retanning of bark and extract-tanned leather; Retanning with sumac; Tan- ning with gambler, sumac and oak extract ...... 368 Process of coloring chrome leather after fat-liquoring, described by Mr. Charles Lamb 369 Degreasing skins and leather; Removal of the natural grease in sheepskins . 371 Removal of the natural grease from pickled sheepskins; Treatment with naphtha . . .... ....... 372 Purification of skins from gummy matters due to the use of an unsuitable oil, 373 Method of degreasing leather and degreasing plant; Degreasing of sheepskins; W. Eitnei''s vicAvs on this subject . . . . . . . . 374 Mode of degreasing sheepskins in Argentina ....... 375 Constitution of sheepskin fat; Retanning degreased sheepskins . . . 376 Pigskin leather; Washing and degreasing pigskins ..... 377 Unhairing, liming and bating pigskins ........ 378 Tanning pigskins; Quebracho tannage ........ 379 Tanning with siimac, oak bark and alum 380 XVlll CONTENTS, pagf:. Treatment with sumac after tanning; White pigskins ..... 381 Mode of tanning white pigskin leather ........ 382 Treatment of dry hides and skins; Loss by prolonged soaking; Means for hastening the process of soaking ........ 383 Advantages of sulphide of sodium as a softener; Prevention of decay . . 384 Office of any material that is used to remove the hair; Process of using sul- phide of sodium upon dry hides 385 Treatment of skins for some kind of leather 386 Preparation of goatskins for tanning; Manipulation of hides for sole leather . 387 Plumping dry hides that are to be split after unhairing; Titanium mordants on chrome and vegetable-tanned leather; Compounds of antimony as mordants ............. 388 Distribution of titanium in nature; Characteristics of titanium . . . .389 Advantages of titanium mordants. ........ 390 Examples for one hundred pounds diy vegetable-tanned, and for one hundred pounds of wet chrome-tanned goat, sheep, calf skins, etc.; Titanium for black leathers with logwood ......... 391 Examples for one hundred pounds of dry vegetable-tanned skins, and for one hundred pounds of wet chrome-tanned leather 392 Blacks with aniline colors; Example for two hundred and fifty pounds of dry vegetaWe-tanned skins lightly retanned ; Remarkable properties of titanium potassium oxalate ........... 393 Notes on the manufacture and application of fat-liquors; Importance of the discovery and application of the fat-liquors to the success of the chrome leather industry; Pui-pose of the fat-liquor; Use of oil in the old days of bark-tanned leather 394 Robert Foederer probably the inventor of the emulsified fat-liquor; Definition of an emulsion; Emulsifying agents; Use of soap as an emulsifying agent . 395 Sulphonated oils; Turkey oil and the use of castor oil in its preparation; vSul- phonating fatty acids 396 Sulphonating linseed oil and oleic acid; Casein and its use as an emulsifying agent; Egg yolk as a constituent of fat-liqiaoi-s 397 Potash soaps as a soap constituent of fat-liquor; Objections to soda soaps; Test for distinguishing between potash and soda soaps 398 Fig soap; Objections to rosin oil; Alkalinity or acidity of fat-liquoi-s . . 399 Removing spots and stains from leather, and various methods for this purpose. 400 How to retan chrome leather ......... 402 How to test neatsfoot oil; Cold test; Maumene test 404 A process of fat-liquoring 405 Production of a fat-liquor that contains no soap and only the smallest possible quantity of soda; Mode of using these new fat-liquors .... 406 Preparation of the new fat-liquors 407 The recovery of chrome residues, and processes for this purpose . . . 408 Oiling chrome leather; Oils suitable for the grains of chrome leather . . 409 Formic acid in leather manufacture; In coloring . . . . . .411 In finishing, pickling and drenching ........ 412 CONTENTS. XIX PAGE In plumping; Acidity of a tanning liquor; Method of depilating with sulphide of sodium and lime . . ; . . . • • • • • ^lo Advantages of the use of sulphide of sodium; Method of using patented depil- atory crystals with lime; Process if the hair is to be saved, and if it is not to be saved .......••••• ^l* Distillate tannage, and the theory of it; Materials used for distillation; Ad- vantages of distillate tannage 415 Fat-liquoring with Kromoline S; General method of using this fat-liquor . 416 Coloring chrome-tanned skins with sulfamine dyes; Drenching with lactic acid; Sheepskins ........... 417 Goatskins; Horsehides, coltskins, cowhides, etc.; Heavy upper and patent leathei-s ........-•••• '*1° Eate to he u-sed where an extra fine grain is wanted 419 Advantage of mellowing a new bate by adding a part of an old bate, and an example of this method; Amount of lactic acid to be used .... 420 To dye China goatskins black; An English process of dyeing goatskin rugs . 421 Bating with molasses; Souring molasses; Mode of using the sour molasses . 422 Bating with dermiforma; Influence of temperature on bacteria; Variation in the quantity of dermiforma used . ... . . . • 423 Mode of using dermiforma; The bran drench 424 Various methods of preparing bran drench 425 Bating with dog dung- Preservation of dog manure; Quantity of dog dung required for various kinds of skins ........ 426 Bating with a combination bate; Process for making grain leather from splits. 427 Fat-liquoring of the splits; To dye colored leather black .... 428 Practicable drum process for vegetable-tanned skins; Principle upon which this process is based. .......... 429 The dongola process ........... 431 Use of the process as a two-bath process; Tanning liquors employed . . 432 I'rocess of tanning hides in a dongola or combination tannage . . . 433 The use of borax in the tannery; Use of borax by the Egyptians and the Romans; (jenei-al usefulness of borax ....... 434 Beneficial effect of borax as an addition to water ...... 435 Bleaching properties of borax; Employment of borax in the preparation of fat-liquors and logwood liquors; Tanning Avith palmetto extract; Principal characteristics of palmetto extract, and its advantages over gambler . . 436 Source of palmetto extract, and percentage of organic tanning material con- tained in it ........... . 437 ITse of palmetto extract in tanning various kinds of leather .... 438 Tanning calfskins and grains of split hides with palmetto extract; Eetanning chrome leather with palmetto extract ....... 439 Tanning with chestnut extract; Principles upon which the successful use of extracts is based ........... 440 Function of chestnut extract; Various ways of using this extract . . . 441 Tanning with quebracho extract ......... 443 The quebracho tree and derivation of its name; Properties of quebracho extract • 444 XX CONTENTS. PAGE Important point in using quebracho extract; Use of the barkometer in testing quebracho extract . . . . . . . . . . . 445 Tanning snake skins; Tanning with alum and salt ..... 446 Tanning with bark or extract; Tanning with salt, alum and gambler; How to tan deerskins ............ 447 Oil tannage; Sumac tannage; Alum tannage. ...... 448 Grambier, alum and salt tannage; Indian tannage; Chrome tannage . . 449 Grading and classification of green calfskins; First, drawn or fisted off; Sec- ond, regular No. 1; Third, good No. 2; Fourth, proof No. 2; Fifth, culls. 450 Subdivision of the skins according to weight; Slunks ..... 451 The manufacture of seal skins; Classes of real seal skins; Effect of the water used upon the resultant leather; Levant grain ...... 452 Liming, unhairing, and baling the skins ....... 453 Tanning 454 Blackening; Walrus grain seal . ... . . . . . . 455 Tanning and dressing seal skins for leather work; Varieties of seal skins used for this purpose; Soaking and beamhouse work. ..... 456 Splitting; Bating, scudding and drenching ....... 457 Tanning process; Tanning the splits . . . . . . . . 458 Treatment for split linings . . . . . . . . . . 459 Finishing operations; Splits for white shoes ....... 461 Rapid tanning process for sole leather ........ 462 One-bath chrome process . . . . . . . . . . 464 Formula for the liquor; Pickle; Tanning; How to dye colored chrome skins black 465 Tartar emetic and antimonine in leather dyeing . . . . . . 466 A new development in chrome tanning. ....... 467 Fii-st lesson taught by experience in tanning chrome leather. . . . 468 Description of the new method employed . . . . . . . 469 SECTION ELEVEN. Receipts, Formulas and Miscellaneous Information. How to neutralize chrome leather; Dressing for leather furniture . . . 471 Water-proof leather dressing in paste form ....... 472 Harness blacking; Oak stain for hemlock leather; Oil black .... 473 How to make castor oil soap; How to soften hard water; How to clean vats and drums ............ 474 How to remove stains from the hands; A good chrome liquor . . . 475 Potash soap; Preparing defibrined blood; To make leather waterproof . . 476 To prepare striker for table coloring; To clean white fur rugs . . . 477 Blacking for the edges of chrome leather; To presei-ve blood; To harden leather . .478 Ivoiy or castile soap fat-liquor; Castor oil fat-liquor ..... 479 Coloring process for vegetable-tanned skins; Blacking for vegetable-tanned skins 480 CONTENTS. xxi PAOE. Bleaching the flesh of hemlock-tanned harness leather; Receipts for making sig .............. 481 To remove grease stains fi-om leather; To remove tannin from leather, Good fat-liquor for light chrome leather ........ 482 Whitewash for hide cellars and beamhouses; To bleach skins with the hair on. 48!^ Dyeing chrome and ooze leathers black without logwood; Logwood liquor . 484 Dyeing chrome leather with logwood and niti-ate of iron ; Final dressing for box calf ............. 485 High grade shoe polish; Finish for combination box calf leather; To prevent the pleating of light skins during glazing . . . . . . . 480 To boil logwood chips; The prevention and treatment of chrome sores . . 487 Acid burns ............. 489 Bright blacking varnish for shoe leather . . . . . ... 490 Lactic acid in coloring leather ......... 491 How to get a blue-black with nigrosine; How to clean barrels; To keep patent leather soft and to restore the gloss; Formula for producing plump leather; Soaking ............. 492 Liming; Bating; Tanning; Fat-liquore for combination-tanned leather . . 493 P^uropean fat-liquors ........... 494 Fat-liquor for fancy shades recommended by Prof. Procter; Fat-liquor recom- mended by Jettmar; Chrome alum tanning liquors ..... 495 To prevent colored leather from fading ....... 498 Black for wax calf, kip, upper and splits; How to prepare side leather or skins for blacking and for yellow-backing kang-aroo ..... 499 Blacking for harness leather, kangaroo leather, chrome leather and other black stock . . . . . . . . • , • . . 50O APPENDIX. Various Patents Relating to Tanning, with Specifications. Coloring chrome leather with permanganate of potash, patented by William N. Norris 501 The use of permanganate of potash in coloring leather, patented by William N. Norris . .• 503 Leather for pneumatic tires and other special pui-poses ..... 504. Pneumatic tire leather, patented by Philip Magnus ..... 505 Tanning with catechu, septfoil root, aleppo galls, hops and gum Senegal, patented by George A. Sweetman ........ 506 Leather for organ pipes, patented by Bruno Trenckmann .... 507 Coal tar in sole and heavy upper leather, patented by Loftus Harley Francis. 508 Tanning with terra japonica, alum, gambler and extract of ci"ane's bill, patented by Horace M. Murray ........ 509 Tanning with gambler, blackberry roots and witch hazel, patented by Sher- man Brown; Utilizing spent tanning liquors to increase the weight of leather, patented by George W. Childs ....... 510 A new process of tanning with metallic salts. . . . . . . 511 xxii CONTENTS. PACK Tanning with poke root, alum and gambier, patented by Ira D. Burrows . •'il 2 Process of making leather for furniture, upholstery, carriages and automo- biles, patented by Leon Feval .513 Alum tawing, patented by A. Warter and H. C. Koegel . . . .516 Tanning with azedarach, gambier, tannic acid, alum and oil of cedar, patented by James B. Tompkins; Tanning with sumac, alum and salt, patented by William MacMillen 517 Nitrate of soda in sole leather tanning, patented by John Campbell . . 618 New method for belt and shoe leather laces, patented by James C. McConnell. 519 Tough and waterproof leather, patented by Horatio W. Southworth; Treat- ment for pickled skins, patented by Otto P. Amend ..... 521 Lactic acid in plumping and tanning leather, patented by Sigmond Saxe . 522 The manufacture of intestinal leather, patented by Bruno Trenckmann. . 524 Manufacture of parchment-like skin, patented by Bruno Trenckmann; Tan- ning with persimmon bark, broomweed, gambier and alum, patented by James L. Martin ........... 527 Leather for horse collars, harness pads, etc., patented by Julius Engelke . 528 Process for lace, belt and glove leather 529 Process for lace leather . . . . . . . . . . 531 Soft watei-proof leather, patented by G. W. Hersey ..... 532 Nicotin in leather tanning .......... 533 Treating leather with the waste sulphite liquors of wood-pulp mills, patented by William H. Teas 534 Pyroxylin in finishing varnish for patent leather, patented by Bj^ron B. Goldsmith ..." 535 Process of finishing upper leather, patented by C. E. and H. A. Lappe. . 536 Patent process for weighting sole leather, patented by Hugh Mackay . . 537 Tanning with gambier, golden seal, acid, and sweet fern .... 538 Tanning with bark liquor, saltpetre, alum and Glaubei-'s salt, patented by J. W^. Hitt; Turkey- red oil in tanning and oiling leather .... 539 Alum tawing with Turkey-red oils; Oil tanning or chamoising; Tanning and plumping leather with formic aldeh3'de, patented by Messrs. Dolley and Crank 541 Leather for handle grips and a compound for this pui-pose, patented by Anthony T. Johnson; Process for rendering leather watei-proof, patented by Charles Bohm 545 Chrome tanning with glucose, glycerine, steam aiid saccharine substances, patented by William G. and Albert C. Roach ...... 546 New method of chrome tanning ......... 550 The Schultz process of chrome tanning. . . . . . . . 551 Original formula for this process ......... 552 Metallic zinc in chrome tanning, patented by W. N. Norris. . . . 553 Tanning with chromium chloride and chromium hyposulphite, patented by N. J. Pilar ' . . .555 Tanning with chromic salt, patented by Henry Camiichael .... 556 Tanning with a cupric salt, patented by H. Endemann. . . ... 559 CONTENTS. xxiii PAGE Reducing with hydrogen dioxide, patented by Samuel P. Sadtler . . . 560 Reducing with sulphate of iron and acetic acid, patented by S. Chadwick . 5.62 One-bath process of chrome tanning ........ 563 Tanolin (the Martin Dennis process), made by the Martin Dennis Chi-ome Tannage Co. ............ 564 Process of alum and chrome tanning, patented by George W. Adler . . 566 One-bath process, patented by Joseph W. Smith ...... 568 A new depilatory, patented by John Campbell and William A. Rushworth . 569 Depilating with sulphide of sodium and chalk, patented by H. Holmes; Pro- cess of depilating in drums, Pierson and Moor's patented process . . 570 Depilating with caustic soda and calcium chloride, patented by John and Ed- ward Pullman ............ 571 Liming process, patented by Charles Burkhalter . . . . . . 572 Depilating with lime and copperas, patented by William J. Ward . . 573 Improved process of beamhouse work, patented by the Intei-national Sulphide Process Co. ; Process of liming furs, patented by .John and Edward Pull- man 574 Methods of using patented depilatories. . . . . . . . 576 Bating mth bichromate of potash, patented by Henry Schlegel . . . 580 Bating with dilute muriatic acid, patented by Ai-nold H. Peter . . . 581 Bating with excrementitious substance and sulphur . . . . .582 Bating with sulphuric acid, Glaubei-' s salt and borax, patented by N. Wilson. 583 Bating with hyposulphite of soda, acid, and salt; Bating with Turkey-red oil and sal ammoniac ........... 584 Bating with pancreatic extract, patented by Otto Rohm .... 586 Bating with glucose, sulphur and yeast, the Oakes patented process, of bating hides and skins ........... 587 Index 589 PRACTICAL TANNING. SECTION ONE. The Manufacture of Side Leathers. Soaking Green-salted Hides. — It does not matter in what condition hides are received, nor the kind of leather into which they are to be made, they require soaking and softening in water as a preliminary and preparatory process before any attempt is made at tanning them. The hides are first trimmed, the tails, shanks and pates being cut ofT in the hide cellar; then they are soaked. The most approved method of soaking is to hang the hides in the water, which should be clean and soft. If the water is hard, five pounds of borax dissolved in hot water should be stirred into it to make it softer and to increase its softening and cleansing power. The hides should be hung in the water, from tail to head, and left therein for twenty-four hours. They should then be taken out and split into halves or sides, the water in the soak-vat run off, fresh water run in, and the hides put back and soaked twenty-four hours longer. Splitting into sides can also be done after the second soaking. The object of the soaking process is to soften the hides and to remove from them the salt, dirt and blood that adhere to them. While the hides must be thoroughly softened, they must not be allowed to become flaccid. As the soaking pro- cess comes at the beginning of leather-making processes, it is a matter of much importance that the hides are thoroughly cleansed and softened in order that they may be worked the more satisfactorily through the processes that follow. 2 PRACTICAL TANNIK^G. Salted hides, when they are soaked too long, lose gelatine, and this results in loose and spongy leather. On the other hand, if they are not soaked enough to accomplish the objects aimed at, they do not go into the lime in the right condition, and the grain has serious defects. The water should be changed once or twice during the process. If the hides are very dirty and salty, two changes are necessary; if only ordinarily salty and dirty, one change is sufficient. The changing of the water hastens the softening and makes the hides cleaner. Hides soaked in hard water absorb the water readily, and hence become soft in a short time. It is claimed, however, that hard water containing the salts of lime and magnesia tends to afifect the substance of the hides. It is well known that different results are obtained in tanneries from the use of dififerent kinds of water, but it is always safe to use clean, soft water. Hard water is softened by the addition of borax or sulphide of sodium. Usually hides are sufficiently soaked by being suspended in the water twenty-four hours, then removed and resoaked in fresh water for another twenty-four hours. No exact rule can be given, however, as much depends upon the thickness and condition of the hides and the temperature of the water. It is important that all blood, dirt and salt be gotten rid of in the soaks. These substances, especially the blood, dirt and refuse, soon putrefy in water, the putrefaction readily injuring the hides. For this reason and also because of the unpleasant odor, it is not good practice for a tanner to use water over and over again for successive lots of hides. Old, stale water cer- tainly softens hides in a short time, but usually at the expense of some desirable quality of the leather. Sometimes the defects that result from careless soaking are not noticed until after the leather is tanned, and then no one can tell what caused them, and the blame is laid to improper treatment in some other portion of the work. Pricked and pitted grain are among the effects of careless soaking. The former is in appearance simi- lar to what would be the effect of puncturing the grain with THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 3 pins. This is caused by soaking hides too long, especially in hot weather. Pitted grain is similar to pricked grain, only the holes are larger. The hides begin to decompose before they are taken out of the water, and no subsequent treatment can remedy the defect. The hides for sole, upper, harness and other kinds of leather are soaked alike. At the end of the soaking process the hides are removed from the water, drained, split into sides if not already in sides, fleshed, pinned together into a chain and passed into lime. Soaking Dry Hides. — This class of hides require longer soaking and thorough working to get them into the soft, pliable condition that is required before they can be fleshed and limed. The following method of soaking dry hides is as good as any that can be used : For every hundred gallons of water in the vat, dissolve twelve ounces of sulphide of sodium in hot water and pour the solution into the water, plunging thoroughly. Put the hides into the water and let them soak twenty-four hours. If the water is soft, less sulphide may be used. At the end of twenty-four hours, take the hides out of the water, put them into a dry mill and run them in it thirty or forty minutes ; then place them in a pile or piles, cover them up and let them lie twenty-four hours ; then put them back into the same water in which they were soaked before and let them soak twenty- lour hours. From this soaking run the hides in a dry mill one-half hour and then flesh them. After fleshing put them into clean cold water over night, then lime them. The hides should be split into sides before they are run in the mill. Another good way to soften dry hides is to put them into a strong salt solution. In this the hides may remain three or four days or until they are flexible; they may then be worked in a hide mill or drum and resoaked in salt water until they are soft. Before the hides are limed, the salt should be gotten rid of either by soaking or washing in clean cold water. Sun-dried hides should be unhaired with sulphide of sodium as it swells the fibers and freshens up the withered grain more 4 PRACTICAL TANNING. than lime alone does or lime and red arsenic. Owing to the difficulties encountered in softening dry hides, many tanners neglect this class of stock. And yet when the hides are prop- erly soaked and unhaired with sulphide of sodium, very nice leather can be made from them. No class of hides requires more thorough treatment than dry hides. Having been dried in the raw state, they are almost waterproof, and as they are thick and heavy they are softened with considerable difficulty. Frequently, too, before the hides were dry, decay set in, which, although not noticed in the dry hide, becomes apparent when the afifected hide is soaked. Then every spot that was not perfectly cured or that was tainted with decay will appear either by the hair coming off, the grain peeling, or by portions of the hide rotting away. Soaking with sulphide of sodium, supplemented by working in a dry mill will be found to be the most satisfactory process that can be used on dry hides for upper harness and sole leather. Methods op^ Liming. Liming for Upper Leather. — Green-salted hides intended for soft, supple leather, chrome or vegetable tanned, worked through a liming process as described below will be found to be sufficiently limed for unhairing in six days. Exact quanti- ties of lime and sulphide of sodium can be used, namely, eight pounds of lime and one and one-half pounds of sulphide of sodium for every hundred pounds of hides. To start the liming process, slake one and one-half pounds of lime and add it to the water in the vat; and plunge up well. Reel the chain of sides into the prepared lime, taking care that each side is spread out flat and not rolled or twisted. After the hides have been in the lime twenty-four hours, reel them into the second lime, made by slaking one and one-half pounds of lime for every hundred pounds of hides and adding it to water in a vat; leave the hides in this lime twenty-four hours. Then make up the third lime with the same quantity of lime as the second lime and allow the hides to remain in it twenty-four THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 5 hours. Reel them into the fourth lime, which should also con- tain one and one-half pounds of lime, and leave them in it twenty-four hours. The fifth lime should contain one pound of lime and the hides should remain in it twenty-four hours, then be reeled into the sixth lime which should contain one pound of lime and one and one-half pounds of sulphide of so- dium. This lime should be warmed to 75 degrees Fall. ; and the hides should be left in it twenty-four hours, then reeled into warm water, and after two or three hours unhaired. The position of the hides should be changed every day ; and fresh lime should be used every day, the hides remaining in each lime twenty-four hours. After the hides are unhaired, wash them for fifteen minutes in a wash-wheel with running water, then place them in warm water and work them over the beam and then bate them. The above-described process produces very uniform leather. The sulphide of sodium in the last lime helps to remove the fine hair, as it is very essential that leather finished on the grain be free from fine hair. By using definite quantities of lime and sulphide for definite quantities of hides it is a com- paratively easy matter to have the packs run uniform. The hair should come olT easily and clean. Unhairing out of new lime gives hard, plump hides, a condition that is desirable for chrome tannage and for splitting out of lime. The hides, after unhairing, can be split, or they can be bated and pickled and then split or bated, pickled and tanned and split after they are tanned. Although eight pounds of lime will unhair one hundred pounds of hides, softer and more supple leather is obtained by using ten pounds in six limes, starting with a pound and a half and using two pounds each day until the hides reach the fifth lime, which should contain two and one-half pounds of lime and one pound of sulphide of sodium. Either of these pro- cesses will produce satisfactory results for chrome or vegetable tanning. If the hides are to be split out of lime, they should be un- 6 PRACTICAL TANNING. haired, put into warm water and worked by hand over the beam, then put in cold water over night to harden for spHtting. Sulphide of Sodium Process. — Excellent results are secured by immersing hides in a solution of sulphide of sodium for three days and then liming them for two or three days. While this is a good process for both green-salted and dry hides, it is especially suitable for the latter, as it plumps and freshens them more than any other process does. A strong sulphide solution is made by boiling sulphide of sodium in a barrel and letting it stand until the next day to settle. The sediment should be discarded and only the clear liquor used. Sufficient water is run into a vat and enough of the dissolved sulphide is added to make a six-degree liquor. After the liquor has been thoroughly plunged and stirred, the hides are put in and left in for twenty-four hours. They should then be hauled out, the liquor plunged up and the hides put back for twenty-four hours. To hang the hides in the liquor is better than to simply throw them in. At the end of the second twenty-four hours the hides should be hauled out, the liquor plunged up and the hides put back again for twenty- four hours longer. If dry hides are being treated a little stronger liquor may be used after the first twenty-four hours than on green hides. Six degrees barkometer is the strength for green hides. Three days in the liquor is generally sufficient time to accomplish the results of the process, but very heavy and dry hides may be left in a day or two longer. The hides should next be washed in a wash-mill with run- ning water for thirty minutes ; then put into lime liquor. Two pecks of lime should be used for one hundred average sides. It should be thoroughly slaked, added to the water and plunged. The sides should then be put into the liquor and left therein two days, being handled twice during that time. The lime is used to remove the sulphide from the hides. When the hides have been in the liquor two days they should be washed for twenty minutes in cold water, bated and pickled. Bating is done most effectively with sour glucose and lactic THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. / acid. The hides should be freed of all the sulphide of sodium before they are pickled and tanned. If preferred, splitting can be done out of the lime. This process destroys the hair but makes very plump and tough leather, which is compensation for the loss of the hair. Dry hides that are not thoroughly softened in the soaks, when put through this process are plumped, softened and freshened in a very satisfactory manner. The workmen who handle the hides through the sulphide process must wear rubber gloves to protect their hands frorn the caustic material. Patented depilatory crystals can be used in place of sulphide of sodium. If the hides are split out of the lime the grains are then bated, pickled and tanned ; if they are split out of pickle or after tanning they are bated whole and then pickled. Opinions differ in regard to the best time for splitting. Personally the author considers splitting out of alumina and salt pickle the best method, but many good tanners prefer to split out of acid pickle and others out of lime. Methods of Bating. Bating with Lactic Acid. — A slow, mild fermentation of an acid rather than a putrefactive nature, appears to be the ideal condition to be sought after; and this can be satisfactorily obtained by allowing grape sugar or common glucose to sour and using definite portions of this sugar in combination with lactic acid on each pack of hides. I. The process is a simple one and is easily carried out in the following manner: Take one hundred pounds of grape sugar or glucose and dissolve it in thirty-five gallons of hot water in a barrel. Allow this to stand for two days in a warm temperature, when it will be completely soured. Prepare a paddle wheel with water at a temperature of 95 degrees Fahr., and put into it two and one-half quarts of the sour sugar solu- tion. For every one hundred pounds weight of stock to be bated, take one pint of lactic acid and put about half of this 8 PRACTICAL TANNING. into the paddle wheel before putting in the hides. When the hides are in, add the rest of the lactic acid slowly. Three to four hours is usually sufficiently long to run the goods in the paddle wheel. On being taken out, the goods should be thoroughly washed with water. The importance of this simple washing is too often overlooked and the necessity of it cannot be over- emphasized, if a good clear grain which Vv'ill color evenly is desired. For the second pack of hides, the bate liquor is run down about twelve inches in the paddle wheel and the loss made up with fresh water. The temperature is brought up to 95 de- grees, two and one-half quarts of the sour sugar solution is added and one pint of lactic acid for every hundred pounds of stock is taken as described on the first pack. Continue in this way, running off a little of the liquor for each pack, for six days, then run ofif all the liquor but retaining about a barrel full with which to mallow the new liquor, which is prepared with fresh water. It should be pointed out that the amount of sugar solution used, namely, two and one-half quarts per pack, is based upon the volume of the liquor in the paddle wheel. The average capacity of a paddle wheel is between two thousand and twenty- five hundred pounds of stock. The fermentative action of the sugar is, however, so mild that a wide range in the weight of the stock bated with the given quantity of the sour solution is permitted without any danger. 2. Another Method. — Another and simpler method of intro- ducing the fermentation into the bate is the following : Pre- pare a paddle wheel with water at a temperature of 120 de- grees Fahr., put into it two pails full of dry bran and allow it to stand over night. Next day bring the temperature up to 95 degrees, and take one pint of lactic acid for every hundred pounds of stock and put about half of it into the bate liquor, then throw in the hides, and add the remainder of the acid slowly afterwards. Run the paddle for three or four hours, then take out the hides and wash them well. For the second THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 9 pack run the bate liquor down about twelve inches and make up the loss with fresh water, bring up the temperature to 95 degrees Fahr., do not use any more bran but take one pint of lactic acid for every hundred pounds of stock and proceed exactly as described on the first pack. Continue in this way for six days, then run ofif all the bate liquor and make up a fresh liquor with water at 120 degrees Fahr., and two pails of dry bran, allow same to stand at least twelve hours and then proceed in the manner described. Either of these combinations has been found very satis- factory in the manufacture of side leather ; and with very little practice uniform results are obtained. Where full flanks, " good break," and fine even grain are desired these processes can be recommended. Inasmuch as they aim at definite proportions of definite materials to the weight of the stock to be bated, they repre- sent a distinct advance in the progress of leather manufacture in a department where rule-of-thumb methods and a good deal of guesswork have prevailed from time immemorial. The writer is indebted to The Shoe and Leather Reporter for the description of these processes. He has, however, used them in an experimental way and achieved perfectly satis- factory results from their use. 3, When lactic acid is used alone a little less than one pint of it is used for every hundred pounds of grains that have been carefully washed after fine-hairing. The acid is added to water at 95 degrees Fahr. and well plunged, then the grains are put in and processed for two or three hours, then taken out, washed, pickled and tanned. Sides that have not been split should be given more acid and be left two or three times as long in the bath as the grains of hides split out of lime. No matter what process of bating is used the hides should be washed in warm water afterwards and then pickled either with sulphuric acid and salt, or sulphate of alumina and salt. Bating with a Bacterial Bate. — Because of the thorough lO PRACTICAL TANNING. manner in which they rid hides of lime and sulphide of sodium or red arsenic, and because of the fine, silky, elastic grain and fineness of feel and texture that they produce, bacterial bates are in common use by the tanner of chrome and vegetable tanned side leathers. Dog, hen and pigeon manures are the materials in most general use. There are also bacterial bates on the market that the tanner can buy. They are much more cleanly to use than manures and more uniform in their action. Directions for these commercial bates are furnished by the manufacturers so they need not be given here. Bating with chicken manure is done in the following manner : The manure is put to soak in hot water in a tub or barrel sev- eral days before it is used ; and it should be stirred every day while it is soaking so that it will be made into a mash that can be strained. The water into which the manure is put should be about 150 degrees Fahr. temperature, but the mixture should not be boiled. Before it is used the bate material should be strained to rid it of objectionable foreign matter, such as cinders, gravel, feathers, etc. A paddle vat is better for the process than a vat without paddles. Suf^cient water should be run in and warmed up to 90 degrees Fahr. For grains that have been washed, use three pails of the strained manure for one hundred grains ; for whole or unsplit sides use five pails. Stir the material thoroughly through the water, and throw the hides in as quickly as possible so as to retain the heat. Run the paddle thirty minutes for split hides and then allow them to rest two hours, then run them for another half-hour, at the end of which time the stock should be soft and thin and ready to come out. The paddles can also be run one hour, then allowed to rest an hour, and then run thirty minutes, rested thirty minutes, then run ten minutes, when the hides should be suf- ficiently bated. Whole sides should be paddled one hour, then allowed to rest two hours, and then paddled an hour longer and should then be ready to come out. No hard-and-fast rule can be laid. THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 11 down for this process as so much depends upon the condition of the hides, some of which bate more rapidly than others. Some grains bate sufficiently in two hours while others require more time. The paddle vat should be so constructed that the liquor can be warmed while the hides are in it, by having a steam-pipe surrounded by a box with holes in it at one end. The paddle should be covered and have a door in the front end which can be raised while the hides are being put in or taken out. A covered vat enables a uniform temperature to be main- tained during the process. The bating can be done during the night by putting the hides in and running the paddle an hour before closing time. The next morning the paddle should be run one hour, and if the hides do not appear to be bated the liquor may be warmed to 90 degrees Fahr, and a little more bating material added. After the hides are soft and low, and as soon as they are in this condition they should be taken out, washed in warm water, or in warm water containing a little lactic acid, for ten minutes if split, and thirty minutes if not split, and then drained prepara- tory to pickling or tanning. The Pickling Process. Pickling with sulphuric acid and salt may be done in a paddle- wheel or in a drum. If the former is used dissolve forty pounds of salt for every hundred gallons of water in the vat ; then for every hundred pounds of hides add to the salt water ten pounds of salt and one and one-half pounds of sulphuric acid. Plunge the liquor thoroughly and put the hides in. Run the paddle for two hours if the hides are split and then take the hides out and place them over horses to drain. If the hides are not split, run the paddle two hours and let the hides lie in the liquor an hour or two longer, then take them out and let them press and drain before spHtting or tan- ning them. If pickling is done in a drum, use twelve gallons of water, ten pounds of salt and one and a half pounds of sul- phuric acid for one hundred pounds of hides. Run split hides 12 PRACTICAL TANNING. in the pickle one-half or three-quarters of an hour, and whole hides and kips one and one-half hours ; then horse them up to drain. Split hides are now in condition to be tanned in any chrome, vegetable, or combination process without further treatment. Whole hides can either be tanned, or split in pickled condition and then tanned. Splitting out of acid pickle does not produce as firm leather as splitting out of alumina and salt pickle or splitting after tanning. When hides are not split out of lime it is advisable to either pickle them with alumina and salt, and then to split them, or else to tan them whole and to split them after they are tanned. Methods of Splitting. Splitting out of Lime. — Hides to make good chrome leather should come from the unhairing machine firm and hard. If they are soft and flabby, they will make very poor leather, as there is nothing in the process of making chrome leather that will fill the hides and make up for the lost substance. After the hair is removed, the sides should be washed in lukewarm water for fifteen minutes and then worked by hand over the beam for short hair. This work is very important, as it is im- perative that all fine hair be gotten rid of. And even if there are no fine hairs, working out the grain opens up the cells of the hides and makes the grain fine and clear. After this work has been done the sides are put into cold water over night to harden for splitting. The next morning they are ready to be split. In splitting the sides, a six-ounce grain from the ma- chine will finish up four and a half ounces of leather as it loses an ounce and a half going through the various processes. All tag ends and pieces of flesh should be trimmed from the sides before splitting is begun, so that there will be nothing to interfere with the hide feeding into the splitting machine freely. After the sides are split they should be run in a wash-wheel for fifteen minutes with cold water to open them up and remove the glaze caused by the belt knife. The next process is bating. THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 1 3 Splitting out of Sulphate of Alumina and Salt Pickle. — If it is desired to split the hides out of a pickle, they should be fine- haired, washed and bated and then pickled. The pickling with sulphate of alumina and salt is done in this manner: For every hundred pounds of sides dissolve four pounds of sulphate of alumina and ten pounds of common salt in six gallons of boil- ing water, then add six gallons of cold water and use the liquor after it has cooled to 70 degrees Fahr. Put the liquor into the drum, then put the sides in. Drum the sides in the pickle one hour, then horse them up smoothly and let them press and drain until the next day. Hides pickled this way should not be previously pickled with acid and salt. If the splitting ma- chine has a corrugated roll, the sides can be split right off the horse. If the machine has a smooth roll, the sides should be hung up to sammy, or pressed or put out on a putting-out ma- chine to get them into condition for splitting. The grains should be split at the same thickness that the finished leather is to be as they do not fall away like grains split from limed hides. Hides pickled with alumina and salt split just as easily as bark-tanned leather, and the splits are just as good as those taken from the limed hides. After the sides are split, the grains can be shaved while in the pickled condition and this saves putting them out for shaving after they are tanned. The grains are then ready to be tanned. Splitting after Tanning. — To tan the sides in a chrome process and then to split them is the practice of some tanners. The sides are tanned in a one-bath chrome process in a paddle- vat or by suspension ; and when they are well struck through with the tan, they are pressed and split. The pressing removes the surplus water and makes the leather drier and firmer. After pressing, the sides should be run in a dry mill until they are opened up and ready to split ; they should then be jacked the same as bark leather and split to the thickness that the fin- ished leather is to be. After they are split, the grains are shaved and retanned. Splitting out of Acid Pickle. — When hides are split in acid- 14 PRACTICAL TANNING. pickled condition, they are allowed to drain twenty-four hours after being pickled, and are then pressed to remove surplus liquor and milled to remove the press marks ; they are then split to the required thickness. Pickled grains finish about the weight they are when split. After splitting, the grains can be shaved or they can be shaved after they are tanned. Processes of Chrome Tanning for Side Leather. Process for Acid-Pickled Grains. — When hides are split out of lime, the grains are then bated, washed and pickled. The processes of tanning such grains are the same as for grains split from acid-pickled sides. The two-bath process is prac- ticed as follows : The pickled grains are weighed. For one hundred pounds of them six pounds of bichromate of potash and one and a half pounds of muriatic acid and twelve gallons of water constitute the first bath. The potash is dissolved in three gallons of boiling water ; then cold water is added to make twelve gallons of liquor, and to this the muriatic acid is added. The grains are put into a drum and processed in the solution for three hours or until the yellow color has pene- trated through the thickest grain. The grains are then taken out of the drum, placed over horses and allowed to drain and season for twenty- four hours. The second bath is prepared in the meantime. Twenty pounds of hyposulphite of soda are dissolved in four gallons of boiling water ; cold water is then added to make fifteen gallons of liquor. Three pounds of muriatic acid are stirred into two gallons of cold water. The sides are put into the drum with part of the solution of hypo- sulphite of soda, and the drum is set in motion. The muriatic acid solution and the rest of the hyposulphite liquor, mixed, are then poured into the drum through the funnel attached to the hollow gudgeon. The drum is run three or four hours, at the end of which time the grains are a blue color through and through and are tanned. The whole of the hyposulphite of soda solution can be put into the, drum and after the drum is started the acid should be added at once. When they are THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 1 5 tanned, the sides should be placed over horses for twenty four hours before they are washed and finished. Good leather can also be made by using five pounds of bichromate of potash and one pound of sulphuric acid for one hundred pounds of grains as the first bath, and sixteen pounds of hyposulphite of soda and one and a half pounds of sulphuric acid for the second bath, the tanning being done in the manner that has been described. One-Bath Processes for Acid-Pickled Grains. — i. The one- bath process of chrome tanning is much safer and more economical than the two-bath. One way to use the process is as follows: For every hundred pounds of grains, a solution is prepared consisting of two pounds of Glauber's salt, five pounds of common salt and fifteen gallons of water at 90 degrees Fahr. The grains are drummed in this solution forty- five minutes; then the drum is stopped, the grains are thrown back upon the pins and the liquor is drained out of the drum. Five pounds of salt and twelve gallons of lukewarm water are then put into the drum and the grains are drummed in the salt water ten minutes. In the meantime fourteen pounds of con- centrated chrome liquor are dissolved in six gallons of hot water. One-third of this is poured into the drum and the drumming is continued one half-hour. Then another third is added and the drum is run one hour; and then the rest of the chrome liquor is added and the grains are drummed until they are tanned, which takes five or six hours. The leather is then taken from the drum, allowed to drain for twenty-four hours ; then pressed and shaved if necessary, and then washed, colored and fat-liquored. It is always advisable to let the leather remain in the liquor over night after it is tanned, enough water being added to the liquor to cover the leather well. 2. In this process a liquor made of sulphate of alumina and sal soda is used. For every hundred pounds of pickled sides four pounds of sulphate of alumina are dissolved by boiling in five gallons of water, and in another vessel four pounds of sal soda are dissolved by boiling in five gallons of water. The 1 6 PRACTICAL TANNING. soda solution is then poured very slowly, and with constant stirring into the alumina solution, and the mixture is allowed to get cold before it is used. The sides are put into the drum with ten pounds of salt and eight gallons of water and are drummed ten minutes. The alumina-soda liquor is then poured into the drum and the drumming is continued for one hour. The liquor is then drained off, a few pounds of salt and ten gallons of water are put in with the sides, and the chrome tanning is then proceeded with in the manner described in the preceding paragraph. Process for Alumina-Pickled Grains. — The grains are put into the drum with ten pounds of salt and fifteen gallons of water for every hundred pounds of them and are run in the brine twenty minutes. Twelve pounds of concentrated one- bath liquor are dissolved in six gallons of warm water and poured into the drum in portions of one-fourth at a time at intervals of thirty minutes, and the grains are drummed until they are tanned through, which usually requires five or six hours. The leather is then left in the liquor over night, run an hour the next morning, then drained twenty-four hours, washed and colored. Processes for Unsplit Sides. — i. Sides that are not split until after they are tanned are tanned most satisfactorily in one-bath chrome liquor in a vat with paddles. They are bated, washed and pickled either with sulphuric acid and salt, or with sulphate of alumina and salt. For the tanning process a vat with paddles may be used. For every hundred gallons of water in the vat thirty-five pounds of salt are put in and dissolved. The hides are then put in and the paddles are run for half an hour. Con- centrated chrome tanning material is then dissolved with warm water until the solution stands 50 degrees Baume scale. When the hides have been in the salt water thirty minutes two quarts of the chrome liquor are added and the paddle is run an hour. Three quarts of chrome liquor are then added and the paddles run three hours. More chrome-material is then added and the hides are kept in the bath until they are tanned through. THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 1 7 The tan bath can also be made by adding three gallons of con- centrated chrome liquor to the salt water to start with and then addmg three or four gallons more for every hundred gallons of water as the tanning proceeds. When the hides are tanned, which is ascertained by the tan- ner cutting into one or more and noting the blue color clear through, and the dry, white fibers when scraped with a knife, they are taken out and pressed for splitting, milled in a dry- mill to open them up, jacked the same as bark-leather, and then split to the desired substance. The grains and splits are then put into a drum and retanned. For every hundred pounds of leather, five pounds of salt and ten gallons of water are put into the drum, and the leather is run in it for ten minutes. Two quarts of the prepared chrome liquor are put into the drum and the leather is drummed in the liquor an hour; then two more quarts of liquor are run into the drum and the leather is run for two hours, then drained for twenty-four hours, washed and colored. Retanning can also be done by putting the leather into chrome liquor in a vat; but the drum-method is the most expeditious. If the hides are tanned in a drum they need to be drummed more than twice as long as hides that were split out of lime or pickle. The processes of tanning pickled grains that have been described can be used in tanning unsplit hides, but they must be given more time. 2. Whole sides can be tanned with the two-bath chrome pro- cess by being drummed for six or seven hours in the first bath and seven or eight hours in the second bath. Hides tanned in a one-bath process are more easily retanned than those tanned in a two-bath process. The latter may be retanned with gam- bier or palmetto with benefit to color, appearance of the grain and feel. Washing and Shaving. — After the leather is tanned or re- tanned, as the case may be, it should be allowed to press and drain twenty-four hours, and then washed. The first washing 2 l8 PRACTICAL TANNING. is done in a closed drum with one pound of borax dissolved in fifteen gallons of warm water for one hundred pounds of leather. The leather should be washed for half an hour, then put into a wash-mill with running water and washed for an hour. All trace of acid and tanning salts should be washed out; the leather then struck out or pressed to remove the sur- plus water, and then shaved if it was not shaved before it was tanned. The next process is coloring. Practical Methods of Coloring Chrome Upper Leather. Dyeing with Natural Dyestuffs. Receipt No. i — Light Tan. — After chrome-tanned sides have been washed and shaved, they should be sorted, and those that are suitable for colors selected and weighed. A light shade of tan can be obtained on one hundred pounds of leather by using Yellow Fustic Extract. 2 pounds. Put the leather into the drum with twelve gallons of water at a temperature of 140 degrees Fahr. Start the drum, then pour into it through the hollow axle the fustic liquor made by dis- solving the extract in three gallons of boiling water. Run the leather in the dye one-half hour; then add Titanium Potassium Oxalate 4 ounces. Dissolve this in a gallon of hot water and pour it into the drum. Drum the leather fifteen minutes longer, then wash and fat- liquor it. Receipt No. 2 — Dark Tan. — For one hundred pounds of shaved leather use Red Fustic Extract 4 pounds. Put the leather into the drum with twelve gallons of water at 140 degrees, and after the drum is started pour the fustic liquor in and run the drum one-half hour. Then add Titanium Potassium Oxalate 6 ounces, dissolved in hot water, to the contents of the drum, and run the drum fifteen minutes longer. A nice shade of dark tan results. Th^n wash and fat-liquor the leather. THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 19 Receipt No. j — Oxblood. — This popular shade is obtained by- using natural dyestufifs in the following manner: For one hun- dred pounds of leather use Hypernic Extract 2^^^ pounds. Logwood Crystals 1)2 ounces. Leather Red % ounce. Dissolve these materials in four gallons of boiling water. Put the leather into the drum with ten gallons of water at 140 de- grees. Start the drum and pour the dye-liquor through the hollow axle. After the leather has been running in the liquor one-half hour, dissolve and add Titanium Potassium Oxalate 4)^ ounces and continue drumming for fifteen minutes. Then wash and iat-liquor the leather. Receipt No. 4. — Chocolate Brown. — For one hundred pounds of leather use Yellow Fustic Extract 2)^ pounds. Hypernic Extract 10 ounces. Logwood Crystals 3 ounces. Boil until dissolved. Put the leather into the drum with water at 140 degrees Fahr, and run the drum one-half hour after the dye-liquor has been put in. Then dissolve and add Titanium Potassium Oxalate 5 ounces. and drum the leather in the combined liquors fifteen minutes longer; then wash and fat-liquor it. Receipt No. 5 — Alizaritte Red-Brown. — A popular shade of red-brown is obtained by applying the following alizarine dyes in the quantities stated for one hundred pounds of leather : Alizarine Brown G 4 ounces. Alizarine Yellow R extra 4 ounces. Alizarine New Yellow extra ^ ounce. Dissolve the alizarine brown G by boiling in eight gallons of water, then add four gallons of cold water and use the solution at 170 degrees Fahr. Drum the leather in this solution fifteen minutes. In the meantime dissolve the other dyes in three gallons of boiling water and pour the solution into the drum. Run the drum fifteen minutes, then drain the liquor out and 20 PRACTICAL TANNING. fat-liquor the leather. It is also beneficial to the color to add one pound of extract of fustic dissolved in hot water to the contents of the drum after the second fifteen minutes and run the drum another quarter hour; then dissolve and add to the contents of the drum two ounces of bichromate of potash. Run the drum ten minutes, then drain the liquor out and wash the leather in three changes of warm water and then fat-liquor it. Receipt No. 6 — Alizarhie Brown. — For each hundred pounds of leather dissolve in six gallons of boiling water Alizarine Leather Brown B, No. 9052 12 ounces. When the dye is dissolved add cold water to make ten gallons and use at 170 degrees Fahr. Put the leather into the drum and after the latter is started pour the dye through the axle and drum the leather one-half hour. In the meantime dissolve in a gallon of warm water Yellow Fustic Extract i quart. Add this solution to the contents of the drum and run it for fifteen minutes. Then drain ofT the liquor, wash and fat-liquor the leather. Receipt No. 7 — Mordant for Aniline Colors. — For one hundred potmds of leather use Gambler 2 pounds. Extract of Fustic i pound. Boil in four gallons of water until dissolved; then cool down with cold water to make twelve gallons. Use at 130 degrees Fahr, and drum the leather in it one-half hour. Then dissolve in a pail of hot water and pour into the drum Titanium Potassium Oxalate 4 ounces. Drum the leather fifteen minutes. Then if acid dye is to be applied run off the spent mordant and run in the dye; then wash and fat-liquor the leather. If basic dye is to be applied after running in the mordant, if the mordant is all taken up, run the liquor off and apply the color. If the mordant bath is not exhausted it is advisable to wash the leather before running in the dye. Any shade of tan THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 21 or brown can be readily obtained on leather treated in the manner described. Receipt No 8 — Palmetto Mordant. — For any shade of aniline coloring palmetto extract serves satisfactorily as a mordant. Use from two to three pounds dissolved in four gallons of boil- ing water and then increased to twelve gallons by the addition of cold water. Add a little glycerine to the liquor. Apply the liquor to the leather at 130 degrees Fahr. Drum the leather in the liquor one-half hour; then add four ounces of titanium salts dissolved in hot water and after running fifteen minutes longer, drain the liquor out of the drum and run the leather in the aniline dye. This process produces full, even and permanent shades. Receipt No. g — Peachwood- Fustic Mordant. — This is a splen- did process for coloring chrome side leather the oxblood shade. Boil together in a few gallons of water Extract of Fustic i pound. Extract of Peachwood 2 pounds. Add enough cold water to make six gallons of liquor and use at 125 degrees Fahr. For one hundred and twenty feet of leather, more or less : Put the leather into the drum with ten gallons of water at 1 10 degrees and start the drum ; then pour in the fustic-peachwood liquor and run the leather in it one-haif hour. While the leather is drumming, dissolve Amaranth 3/R 12 ounces. Glycerine 8 ounces. in two gallons of boiling water; strain and add two gallons more of water. Add this liquor to the contents of the drum and run the drum one-half hour. Then stop the drum, take the leather out and rinse it in clean water. Empty the drum ; put the leather back and run it in a solution of two ounces of bichromate of potash for fifteen minutes. The leather is then ready for fat-liquoring. The color can be deepened by using a stronger fustic-peachwood liquor. For a light shade of ox- blood use more fustic extract and less peachwood. Sumac ex- tract may be used for the mordant. One dozen sides may be 22 PRACTICAL TANNING. given from one and a quarter to one and a half pounds of the extract, according to their size. , Receipt No. I o — Gambier Mordant. — Three pounds of gam- bier for one hundred pounds of leather prepare the leather for aniline coloring. Boil the gambier in four gallons of water; then add cold water to make twelve gallons of liquor. Use at 120 degrees Fahr. and run the leather in it one-half hour. Then dissolve four ounces of titanium salts in hot water, add it to the contents of the drum and run the drum ten minutes. Drain the liquor out and apply the aniline solution for the shade desired. Ouermos extract may be used with equally good results, the same quantity as of gambier being used. Receipt No. ii — Fustic Mordant. — Fustic extract is an ex- cellent mordant for tan shades. Use from two to three pounds for one hundred pounds of leather. Dissolve in boiling water,, then increase to twelve gallons by adding cold water, use at 1 20 degrees Fahr. Drum the leather in it one-half hour. Dis- solve and add four ounces of titanium salts and run the drum fifteen minutes longer. Then drain the liquor off and color with aniline dye. The Use of Tartar Emetic. — Chrome-tanned sides, previous to the application of aniline dye, must be prepared with some tanning or coloring extract in the manner that has been de- scribed. There frequently results imperfect and spotted color- ing due to uncombined tannin on the grain of the leather. To overcome this and to fix the color upon the leather, many dyers use tartar emetic. The leather is run in the sumac, gam- bier, fustic or palmetto bath, as the case may be, the required length of time. Tartar emetic dissolved in hot water is then added to the bath and the drum is run fifteen minutes longer. The leather is then rinsed off in warm water, the spent liquor run into the sewer, the dye liquor is prepared and the leather is run in it one-half hour, then washed and fat-liquored. When tartar emetic is used, no titanium salts or bichromate of potash is necessar}^ as it serves to clear the grain and to combine with the mordant to fix the dye upon the leather. THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 23 Since chrome leather is invariably colored before it is fat- liquored and dried, and since the drying and finishing of the leather frequently change the shade, it is very important that the dyer uses the quantity of dye that will color the leather the shade that is wanted when it is finished. The quantity of dye- stuff required to color a lot of leather depends, of course, upon the size of the skins or sides, and must be decided by the dyer. Before proceeding to carry on coloring operations on a large scale it is advisable to try a few experiments on a small scale, and in this way ascertain the exact quantity of dye to use. Dissolving Aniline Dyes. — Care should always be taken to have aniline dye completely dissolved before using it. A good way to dissolve aniline dye is to put it into a clean pail and to pour over it a gallon or two of boiling water ; keep stirring while this is being done. Then hold the pail under a copper steam-pipe and boil the dye thoroughly for ten minutes. Have another pail ready, over the top of which is spread a piece of cheesecloth. Pour the color solution through this into the pail, thus straining it. Then cool down with cold water and use at a temperature of 120 degrees Fahr. It is of great import- ance that the drum and skins be kept in motion while the dye solution is being put into the drum. The dye should be added a portion at a time until all is in the drum, then the leather should be drummed at least fifteen minutes before the drum is stopped. Titatiium Mordants. — The double titanium salt, Titanium Potassium Oxalate, is valuable material for the leather dyer. Applied to chrome leather treated with gambler, fustic, sumac, palmetto or other tannin, it unites with the tannin to form a yellowish-brown base, which is a most suitable foundation color for all shades of yellow, tan, brown, oxblood, etc. Leather so treated takes basic or acid aniline readily ; and the color that results is full and uniform and permanent. The shade of yel- low-brown produced varies with the kind of tannin in the leather, young fustic producing a light tan, gambler and fustic a brownish tan, and sumac a yellow shade. The leather is 24 PRACTICAL TANNING. •drummed in the sumac, gambier or fustic bath a few moments, then the solution of titanium salt is added to the bath and the drumming is continued for ten or fifteen minutes. If the mordant is all taken up at the expiration of the time stated, the liquor is drained out and either basic or acid aniline solution run in and the leather drummed in it, then washed and fat-liquored. If the mordant bath is not exhausted, the leather should be washed before basic aniline is applied. Washing is not necessary for acid dyes, and only necessary when the mor- dant bath is not exhausted, which is seldom the case. The dealers in aniline colors can match any shade and fur- nish formulas. The formulas given in this book have been used in practice by practical dyers with perfectly satisfactory results. Dyeing Chrome Side Leather Black. Four practical processes of dyeing chrome side leather black are described here. Any one of them can be used with satis- factory results. Receipt No. i — Logwood and Bichromate of Potash. — For dyeing one hundred pounds of leather, washed and shaved, ready for coloring, use Logwood Crystals 1)2 pounds. Extract of Fustic 4 ounces. Borax 3 ounces. Boil the logwood and borax until dissolved in six gallons of water. Then dissolve the fustic paste in two gallons of hot water and stir it into the logwood liquor. Then add enough cold water to make twelve gallons of dye. In a pail dissolve Bichromate of Potash 1)4 ounces. Put the leather into the drum with three or four gallons of water and run the drum five minutes to wet the leather. Then pour the prepared logwood liquor at 120 degrees Fahr. into the drum and run the leather in it twenty minutes. Next pour the bichromate of potash solution into the drum and continue the drumming for ten minutes, when the process should be com- THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 25 plete. Wash the leather in three changes of water ; then fat- liquor it. Receipt No. 2 — Logwood ajid Titanium Salts. — Prepare a log- wood solution by boiling logwood and borax, then add fustic paste and have twelve gallons of the dye as described in Receipt No. I. In a little hot water in a pail dissolve for one hundred pounds of leather Titanium Potassium Oxalate 6 ounces. Run the leather in the logwood liquor twenty minutes. Then add the titanium solution to the liquor and run the drum fifteen minutes. A good black results. The leather should then be washed, fat-liquored and finished. To get the black deeper into the leather or through it, drum it in palmetto extract, then in a solution of three ounces of titanium salts in solution ; add the logwood, and after twenty minutes pour in three more ounces of titanium salts in solu- tion, and after running the drum ten minutes longer wash and fat-liquor the leather. Receipt No. j — Logwood and Copperas.— Drxxm the leather in the logwood-fustic liquor twenty minutes ; then pour into the drum, in solution. Copperas 2 ounces. Bluestone ^a ounce. These articles should be dissolved in three gallons of hot water. Run the drum fifteen minutes; then wash the leather in three changes of warm water to remove all the dye and then proceed to finish it. Receipt No. 4 — Logwood and Nigrosine. — This process colors the flesh blue and the grain black. For each dozen sides dis- solve eight ounces of Nigrosine P in hot water, and drum the leather in the solution twenty minutes or until the color is well taken up. Then drain off all the water and fat-liquor the leather with a suitable fat-liquor; after which black the grain on a table by brushing in logwood and copperas or logwood and bichrom.ate of potash, first applying the logwood and then the copperas or other striker. When the grain has become 26 PRACTICAL TANNING. black, wash it, set it out, apply a coat of oil, and hang the leather up to dry. When leather is drummed in a logwood liquor containing borax until the color is taken and then spread on a table or run through a machine and blacked upon the grain, it dries out with blue flesh and black grain. After leather is dyed with logwood and striker, it should be very thoroughly washed before it is dried and finished to get rid of all the dye liquor. It is considered by some tanners conducive to a better color to run the leather in a solution of palmetto extract or of gambler before giving it the dye. A good method is to apply palmetto liquor, say two pounds to one hundred pounds of leather, then to drum the leather in an alkaline logwood-fustic liquor, and then to develop the color with a solution of titanium salts as described in Receipt No. 2. Good results are also secured by fat- liquoring the leather first, then running it in gambler or palmetto, and afterward dyeing with logwood and striker. A better black as to color and durability is obtained by using titanium salts in place of iron liquor. Fat-Liquors for Chrome Side Leather. After the leather has been colored, it should be washed and either struck out or pressed. It is then ready to be fat- liquored. A suitable drum should be heated with live steam, all condensed steam drained out, the leather put into the drum and drummed in it ten minutes to warm it and make it more receptive to the fat-liquor. The fat-liquor, previously prepared, is now poured into the drum through the funnel attached to the hollow axle. After the fat-liquor is in the drum, the leather should be drummed in it for forty minutes to absorb the oil and grease and leave the water behind. The tempera- ture of the fat-liquor may range between 120 and 150 degrees Fahr. At the expiration of the forty minutes, the leather should be taken out of the drum and placed over a horse to THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 2/ drain twenty-four hours before being struck out, oiled on the grain and hung up to dry. This is the most approved method of applying fat-liquor to leather. Any one of the following receipts may be used with the assurance that the leather will be fat-liquored in a satisfactory manner. Receipt No. i. — For colored or black leather that is to be glazed, use for each hundred pounds of it Fig or Olive Soap i pound. Neatsfoot, Cod or Olive Oil 2 pounds. Moellon Degras 2 pounds. Caustic Soda i ounce. Boil the soap in six gallons of water; add the oil and boil ten minutes; turn off the steam and add the degras, stirring for five minutes. Dissolve the soda in a little water and stir it into the fat-liquor, which, after six gallons of cold water have been added, is ready for use. Receipt No. 2. — To make fifty gallons of excellent fat-liquor for chrome side-leather use Palermo Fig Soap 20 pounds. Wyandotte Tanner's Soda 5 pounds. French Moellon Degras. 100 pounds. Boil the soap in twenty-five gallons of water for fifteen min- utes. Shut off the steam and add enough water to bring the temperature down to 140 degrees Fahr. Then add the soda and degras and stir for five minutes. Do not boil the liquor after adding the soda and degras, but, after stirring thoroughly, fill the barrel up to fifty gallons. Two gallons of this fat- liquor thinned with six gallons of hot water fat-liquors one hundred pounds of leather. The drum should be warm and the fat-liquor should be at 130 degrees Fahr. when it is given to the leather. After the leather has been drummed in the fat- liquor forty minutes, take it out, rinse it in a tank of warm water and place it over horses to drain. If the leather is greasy after fat-liquoring, wash it in a drum in a solution of a few pounds of Wyandotte soda dissolved in a half-barrel of warm water. This fat-liquor is good for any kind of chrome upper leather; but it must be made according to the directions or the leather will come out of the drum greasy. 28 PRACTICAL TANNING. Receipt No. j. — For heavy English or storm grain leather, this is a good fat-liquor : Soap i}4 pounds. Tallow 4 pounds. German Degras 4 pounds. Sod Oil 4 pounds. Boil the soap until dissolved, then add the other ingredients and boil one-half hour. There should be twelve gallons of fat- liquor. Use at 130 degrees Fahr., in the usual manner. Receipt No. ^. — A good fat-liquor for one hundred pounds of colored leather is made of Good Fat-liquor Soap y^ pound. Olive Oil 2 pounds. Treated Cod Oil 2 pounds. Birch Oil 2 ounces. Salts of Tartar 3 ounces. Boil the soap in water until it is dissolved, then add the olive and cod oil and boil for twenty minutes ; then add the birch oil and the salts of tartar dissolved in a little hot water. Add water to make twelve gallons of fat-liquor and use at a temper- ature of 140 degrees Fahr. Receipt No. 5. — For grained chrome leather, either black or colored, one hundred pounds, use Soap },{, pound. Olive Oil 2 pounds. Moellon Degras 7 pounds. Strong Ammonia — . ^2 pint. Prepare the fat-liquor by boiling soap and oil, then add water to make twelve gallons and just before using add the ammonia. Receipt No. 6. — For one hundred pounds of colored or black grain make a fat-liquor of Castile Soap 1^ pound. Olive Oil 2 pounds. Moellon Degras 2 pounds. Salts of Tartar ... 2 ounces. Boil the oil, soap and degras one-half hour in six gallons of water, then add the salts of tartar and stir well. Have ten gallons of fat-liquor. After fat-liquoring, dip the sides one at THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 29 a time into warm water and then let them drain until the next day before striking them out and hanging them up to dry. Receipt No. 7. — This is a good fat-liquor for one hundred pounds of dull finished leather. Fig or Olive Soap i pound. Neatsfoot Oil 4 pounds. Degras 2 pounds. Caustic Soda i ounce. Prepare this in the usual manner, adding the alkali last. There should be ten gallons of fat-liquor, and it should be used at a temperature of 125 degrees Fahr. Receipt No. 8. — This is a good fat liquor for leather colored with basic aniline dye. Dissolve four ounces of salts of tartar in three gallons of hot water, then stir in three pounds of French moellon degras and stir well. Add water to make twelve gallons and use it at a temperature of 140 degrees FaTir. This quantity is for one hundred pounds of leather. Receipt No. g. — Put ten pounds of Palermo Fig or other good soap into a clean barrel with ten gallons of water. Boil with steam until dissolved. Then take four gallons of neatsfoot oil and cut it by stirring into it a few ounces of borax dissolved in hot water. Add the oil to the soap and boil again ; then add six pounds of moellon degras and boil until the liquor is thor- oughly emulsified. Run in enough water to make forty gallons of fat liquor. Four gallons of this emulsion may be used for each dozen sides. Receipt No. 10. — For one hundred pounds of heavy grain chrome leather: Fig Soap I pound. German Degras • 3 pounds. Neatsfoot Oil 3 pounds. Sod Oil 3 pounds. Borax 4 ounces. Boil the first three ingredients in six gallons of water for one- half hour. Then add the sod oil and borax and stir thoroughly. Add water to make twelve gallons of liquor, which may be applied to the leather at any temperature between 125 and 140 30 PRACTICAL TANNING. degrees Fahr. If the leather is greasy wash it in a warm solu- tion of Wyandotte soda. If the fat-liquor is not fully taken up by the leather, pour into the drum four ounces of salts of tartar dissolved in three gallons of hot water and run the drum fifteen minutes longer. The grain should receive a good coat of cod or neatsfoot oil before the leather is dried. Receipt No. ii. — For soft leather, colored or black, this fat- liquor is recommended : Fig Soap I pound. Neatsfoot Oil • • • 3 pounds. Moellon Degras 3 pounds. Salts of Tartar 4 ounces. Boil the soap and oil in four gallons of water ; then add the moellon degras and salts of tartar and stir five minutes. Add water to make twelve gallons of fat-liquor and apply to the leather at 135 degrees Fahr. Dip each piece of leather in a tub of clean, hot water after fat-liquoring, then drain it until the next day. Receipt No. 12. — Acid fat- liquor or sulphated oil is splendid fat-liquor material for chrome side leather. One hundred pounds of leather may be given five pounds of the oil diluted in twelve gallons of hot water. The drum should be warm, and the leather should be warmed also before it is given the fat-liquor. After the leather has been drummed in the fat- liquor forty minutes it should be rinsed off in clean, hot water, drained, struck out, given a coat of one part glycerine and three parts water, but no oil, and hung up, dried and finished. Receipt No. ij. — Dissolve four pounds of soda ash in the smallest amount of water that will dissolve it. Stir the solution into ten gallons of water in a barrel and then turn on steam and bring the water to a boil. Mix into the boiHng water twelve gallons of moellon degras and boil continuously for six hours; then add enough water to the fat-liquor to make forty- eight gallons. For smooth glazed, boarded and dull finished leather, either black or colored, use from two to two and a half gallons for THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 3 1 each hundred pounds of leather. For boarded leather the smaller quantity and for soft mat stock the larger quantity should be used. A soap liquor, made by boiling chip or fig soap, may be used with the degras liquors. Any amount of soap can be used. The fat-liquor should be stirred before and after the soap is added and enough water should be used to make ten gallons of fat-liquor for one hundred pounds of leather. When the degras liquor is used alone and no soap is added to it give the leather from three to five per cent., thinned down with water and used at iio degrees Fahr. A good way to combine degras and soap is to make a soap solution by boiling one pound of soap to a gallon of water, making as many gallons as may be required in this way. Add to the necessary quan- tity of soap liquor from two to three quarts of moellon degras for one hundred pounds of leather; use at iio degrees and drum the leather in it forty minutes. For boarded, glazed and dull leather the mixture of oil and degras is most satisfactory; but for enameled leather degras fat-liquor should be used alone. Finishing Chrome Side Leather. After the leather has been fat-liquored, it should be placed over horses to press and drain until the next day, when it should be thoroughly struck out and oiled on the grain side. For glazed leather use one part neatsfoot and three parts paraf- fine oil, or equal parts of good olive and parafhne oils or treated cod oil, giving the leather a light coat and then hanging it up to dry. Dull finished leather may be oiled with treated neats- foot or cod oil, with dull Morocco dressing oil or with equal parts of neatsfoot and parafifine oils. The oil should be applied evenly over each piece of leather and it is best to warm it be- fore using it. No oil should be put onto the flanks. After the leather has been oiled it should be hung up to dry. The tem- perature of the room should be about So degrees, and there should be a good circulation of air so that the leather will not dry too rapidly or have a parched appearance. When dry, the leather is dampened and staked. The best way to dampen 32 PRACTICAL TANNING. is to put about a dozen pieces of leather into hot water, leave them therein a few minutes, then pack them in a clean dry box and cover the pile with a thick layer of damp sawdust. The next day the leather should be in condition to be staked. After staking it is tacked out smoothly and allowed to dry. When it is dry, it is trimmed and seasoned for finishing. Dull Finish. — Give the leather a coat of finish ; hang it up to dry; then give another coat; dry and iron with a hot iron; then stake it lightly. Leather properly tanned and fat-liquored, after finishing in this manner, is soft and full and with a fine, tough grain. Glazed Finish. — Stake the leather after trimming; then give it a coat of finish and dry it. The next operation is glazing. Then give the leather another coat of finish, dry and stake it; then glaze again. If the finish is satisfactory;, oil with hot oil, using a good finishing oil or equal parts of neatsfoot and paraf- fine oil. This oil protects and preserves the finish. Only a light coat is necessary. The leather may require a third coat of finish and a third glazing to make it satisfactory. Boarded Finish. — Treat the leather the same as for smooth glazed. After the second glazing board it from head to tail, then across from side to side, oil it and it is done. Dull Eng- lish grain leather is given a good coat of seasoning, dried, rolled on a heavy jack with heavy pressure, then grained and oiled heavily with a mixture of neatsfoot and parafiine oils. To obtain a sharp and regular box grain, it is well to press the leather before boarding. A powerful press and sharp-cut rolls are necessary. After this has been done, the leather is boarded. Clearing the Grain. — Thorough cleansing of the grain is of importance in getting a clear and uniform gloss. Lactic acid diluted with water is rubbed into the grain and dried. The grain is then rubbed with a clean rag, given a coat of finish, dried and glazed. Frequently it is necessary to repeat the operation, giving two coats of the acid. Barberry juice also may be used for the purpose. the manafacture of side leathers. 33 Finishes for Chrome Side Leather. ■ For Glazed and Bright Boarded Finish. Logwood Crystals 2 ounces. Whole Flaxseed 2 ounces. Nigrosine Black 2 ounces. Bichromate of Potash %. ounce. Vinette % pint. Blood I quart. Glycerine )-2 pint. Crystal Carbolic Acid i ounce. Boil the flaxseed one-half hour in one gallon of water, then strain and add the logwood, nigrosine and bichromate of potash. Then cool down to 90 degrees F. and add the rest of the ingredients. If there is less than two gallons of finish add cold water to bring the quantity up to two gallons. A bright glazed finish can also be secured by using the following finish. Ivory Soap i pound. Glue (frozen) i pound. Logwood Crystals 8 ounces. Nigrosine Black 8 ounces. Bichromate of Potash i ounce. Blood 8 quarts. Carbolic Acid 4 ounces. Boil the soap in eight gallons of water, and dissolve the glue in eight gallons of water. When dissolved add the soap solution to the glue solution. Then dissolve the logwood, nigrosine and bichromate of potash in eight gallons of water by boiling. When dissolved, cool down to 100 degrees F., and add the blood. Stir well and put in the carbolic acid. Use one quart of the glue and soap solution with two gallons of the blood solution. Dull Finish. — The seasoning for dull finish may be made of: Ivory Soap i pound. Neatsfoot Oil i pint. Whole Flaxseed }'^ pound. Beeswax 3 ounces. Nigrosine Black 3 ounces. Powdered Aloes i ounce. Wood Alcohol ^2 Pii^t. 3 34 PRACTICAL TANNING. Boil the soap, oil, flaxseed and beeswax one-half hour in two gallons of water. Cool and strain. Then dissolve the nigro- sine in a quart of hot water and add ; and the aloes in the alcohol and add also. Stir the finish thoroughly and it is ready to be used. Gun-metal Finish. — To get this finish give the leather a coat of bright seasoning, dry and glaze, then stake it. Then apply one coat of the following finish, and when it is dry, iron the leather and oil it ofT with hot oil : Gum Tragacanth i ounce. Yellow Dye i^' ounce. Glaze Seasoning i gallon. Soak the gum tragacanth in two quarts of water for twenty-four hours ; then stir it into a solution. Dissolve the dye in a quart of water. Take one gallon of bright seasoning made according to the first formula and stir into it a quart of the gum solution and then add the yellow dye solution, a little at a time, stirring well until the color of the finish has changed from black to green-black. If too much yellow dye is used the leather will be too green, which is undesirable. For Oil or Storm-grain Leather. — For chrome-tanned oil grain this formula makes good finish : Gelatine i^ pound. Black Nigrosine 2 ounces. Olive Oil I pint. Ammonia ig pi^t. Dissolve the gelatine in two gallons of water, add the nigro- sine, and heat until gelatine and nigrosine are dissolved. Let the mixture cool, and just before it begins to thicken add the oil and ammonia; stir thoroughly. After the leather has been seasoned and grained, oil the grain with a mixture of neatsfoot and finishing oil, applied hot. Another finish for heavy grain leather is made of: Olive-green Soap y^ pound. M oellon Degras i quart. Irish Moss 4 ounces. Logwood Crystals 2 ounces. Nigrosine 2 ounces. THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 35 Boil in a gallon of water for twenty minutes ; cool and strain and add water to make two gallons of finish. Give the leather a liberal coat of the finish, and when half dry roll on a heavy jack, using heavy pressure ; then grain the leather and oil off with hot oil. The leather should be rolled while it is damp, as this causes a smoother grain and a more uniform break when graining. Finish for Colored Leather. — Ivory or Castile Soap i^ pounds. French Gelatine 3 ounces. Blood Albumen 3 ounces. Soak the soap in six quarts of water for twenty-four hours ; then soak the gelatine in a quart of hot water. When cool, mix into the soap and stir until dissolved. Soak the albumen in two quarts of warm water over night, then stir it into the soap. Take a quart of the finish and strain it into six quarts of water, 90 degrees F. Chrome Side Glove and Mitten Leather. Hides for glove and mitten leather should be thoroughly limed and bated and made as soft as possible. Pickling and tanning are done in the various processes that have been de- scribed. After the leather is tanned, spread it evenly and smoothly over a horse to drain until the next day. If the sides were not split before tanning, they should now be split and made ready for coloring. If they were split before tanning, they are ready for coloring as soon as they have drained over night. Washing should not be done until after the leather is colored, fat-liquored and dried. Coloring for Grain Finish. — The leather can be colored any shade that may be wanted by using wood, aniline or alizarine dyes. If yellow leather is wanted, the following process will be found satisfactory : Boil twenty-five pounds of gambier in twenty gallon.^ of water, then add one pint of muriate of tin and three ounces of tin crystals, stir thoroughly and then fill the barrel with water. 36 PRACTICAL TANNING. For fifty sides use four pails of this gambier liquor. Mix it with two gallons of water ; and add to it one-half pound of picric acid and one-half pound of fustic dissolved in three gal- lons of hot water. Mix the color solution in a tub and use it at 90 degrees Fahr. Drum the leather in it one hour. Another and perhaps better way is to mix four pails of the gambier liquor and two gallons of water and to drum fifty sides in the solution for one hour. Then add the picric acid and fustic dissolved in four gallons of hot water and run the drum thirty minutes longer. Take the leather out of the drum and let it drain until the next morning when it should be fat- liquored. A light tan color that is suitable for this class of leather is obtained by dissolving two pounds of yellow fustic extract in six gallons of boiling water, then adding six or eight gallons of cold water, using the liquor at 130 degrees and drumming the leather in it for one-half hour. Then dissolve in a pail of hot water four ounces of titanium salts ; add this solution to the contents of the drum and drum the leather for fifteen min- utes ; then wash and fat-liquor it. These quantities of material are sufificient for one hundred pounds of leather. A darker tan is obtained by using four ounces of red fustic extract and six ounces of titanium salts in the manner described for light tan. Yellow shade is also obtained by using fustic extract and Auramine II. For one hundred pounds of leather dissolve two pounds of fustic and one-third of a pound of tin crystals in six gallons of boiling water and increase to ten gallons of liquor by adding water. Drum the leather in this one-half hour. Then add to the liquor in the drum six ounces of Auramine II dis- solved in two gallons of boiling water and run the drum twenty minutes, then drain the leather over night and fat-liquor it the next day. Fat-liqiior Receipt. — All of the fat-liquors described for chrome shoe leather are applicable to chrome glove leather. Or the following may be used: THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 3/ Olive Chip Soap 12 pounds. Glauber's Salt 3 pounds. Borax 2 pounds. Sod Oil 5 gallons. Cod Oil 3 gallons. Neatsfoot Oil i gallon. Boil the first three ingredients for one-half hour ; then add the oils and boil again for one-half hour; then fill up the barrel to make fifty gallons of fat-liquor. Use seven pounds of this fat-liquor for one hundred pounds of leather. Dilute it with hot water and use at 125 degrees Fahr., drumming the leather in it for forty minutes. After the leather has been fat-liquored, it should be struck out, oiled, hung up and dried. When dry it should be very thoroughly washed with clean cold water in a wash-wheel for two hours or until it is thoroughly clean. Hang the leather up to dry, and when dry lay it in piles for ten days before finishing it. Finishing. — Moisten the leather and stake it; then hang it up to dry. When dry, put it into the drum with three or four quarts of soapstone to fifty sides and run it for two hours, then stake it again and the leather is finished. Brushing the grain on a plush-wheel gives it a smooth finish that enhances the appearance of the leather. Chrome Bag and Belt Leather. Black chrome leather with a printed or boarded grain is be- ing used in the manufacture of hand and traveling bags and belts for personal use. The leather, when suitably fat-liquored and finished, is admirably adapted to these purposes, as it is strong, durable and waterproof. The main thing that must be guarded against is getting the leather too soft and greasy. It must be firm and dry, that is, greaseless. The sides are tanned in the same manner as for shoe leather, but are given less fat- liquor. It is desirable that the color penetrate through the flesh, so that the edges will show black and not blue. When the leather is greasy the grease strikes through the linings and 38 PRACTICAL TANNING. is easily perceptible. The leather must be fat-liquored just enough to make it supple without being soft and stretchy. The grain is boarded two ways or printed with a box grain and then boarded. Belts made of this material are almost inde- structible, and bags give excellent satisfaction as regards ap- pearance and wear. The more novel the leather can be made to appear the better it is liked, as there is unceasing call for new things in these lines of leather goods. Prices range from 1 6 to 20 cents per square foot. White Side Leather, White leather is used in the manufacture of baseballs, belts,, suspenders, etc. Bleached chrome leather is most suitable for such purposes, but there are also other processes of tanning that produce soft, tough white leather. Tanning with Sulphate of Alumina. The hides are worked through the preparatory processes in the same manner as for chrome leather. If they are split out of lime, they should be bated, washed and pickled with sulphuric acid and salt. If they are bated and pickled whole, the sides should be split out of the acid pickle. Pickling is essential for this leather as it makes the sides whiter than they are when not pickled. Pickling can be done in a drum by using one pound of sul- phuric acid, fifteen pounds of salt and fifteen gallons of water to each hundred pounds of sides. Drum the sides in this liquor one hour, then horse them up smoothly for twenty-four hours. To prepare the tan liquor boil in ten gallons of water twelve pounds of sulphate of alumina. In a pail dissolve in one gallon of water twenty-four ounces of bicarbonate of soda. Pour the soda solution very slowly and with constant stirring into the alumina solution. When mixed put the liquor to one side to cool down to 80 degrees Fahr. Put the pickled sides into a drum with ten gallons of water, one pound of Glauber's salt and three pounds of common salt for one hundred pounds of sides. Drum the sides in the solu- tion for twenty minutes, then drain off the liquor. Put into the THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 39 drum ten gallons of lukewarm water and four pounds of salt and drum the sides in the brine for ten minutes. Then pour into the drum half of the alumina and soda solution and drum the sides in it for three hours. At the end of the three hours take the sides out and place them over a horse until the next day, then hang them up to dry. When the sides are dry put them back into the drum with eight gallons of water and drum them ten minutes ; then add the other half of the alumina-soda liquor and run the drum three hours. Horse the leather up for twenty-four hours, then hang it up to dry. Fat- liquoring with Acid Fat-liquor. — When the leather is dry let it lay in the crust in a clean dry room for ten days or two weeks; then dampen it with warm water preparatory to fat- liquoring. Acici fat-liquor or sulphated oil is the material to use as it imparts the necessary softness without discoloring the leather or making it greasy. The tanner can make his own acid fat-liquor or he can buy it ready for use. For each hundred pounds of dry leather use seven pounds of the oil and stir it into ten gallons of water at 95 degrees Fahr. until it is entirely dissolved. Put the moistened leather into the drum, start the drum and pour the oil solution through the gudgeon. Run the leather in the fat-liquor forty minutes : then let it drain over night. The next day strike out the grain and oil it with a mixture of French chalk, two parts of glycerine and four parts water. Apply this to the grain and then hang the leather up to dry. Finishing. — Finishing consists simply of moistening the leather, staking it and tacking it on boards. When dry and taken from the boards, if not soft enough, restake it; or if stak- ing does not soften the leather wet it and give it more fat- liquor. And if the leather does not seem to be entirely tanned, it can be put back into the drum and given more alumina and soda liquor, then dried as before. The appearance of the flesh can be improved by buffing it on an emery wheel. 40 practical tanning. White Chrome Leather. An excellent imitation of alum leather is made by tanning sides in a one-bath chrome process, and then either bleaching the leather with borax and sulphuric acid or treating it with flour or both. Hides for this process should either be split out of lime, bated and pickled or bated whole and pickled, and then split. Any one-bath process of chrome tanning can be used. When the leather is tanned, wash it in a fairly strong and hot solution of borax for one- half hour. Then prepare a solution of sulphuric acid and water, made by adding acid to water until the solution is as sour as a lemon. Take the leather from the borax bath and wash it in the acid bath ; or drain the former out of the drum and put the latter in and wash the leather twenty minutes ; then wash it in clear water to remove the acid, after which it is ready for fat-liquoring. Treatment with Flour. — Drumming the leather in flour is another way to make it white. If the borax and acid treatment does not make the leather as white as is desired, the sides can be drummed in flour and water. The flour treatment can also be used alone, and the leather will be white enough for most purposes. The leather is washed after tanning, and is then given the flour treatment. About fifty pounds of flour are used for from fifty to one hundred sides according to size. The flour should be stirred with water before it is used. The leather should be drummed in the flour for about two hours; then it is fat- liquored. A suitable fat-liquor is made of soap and neatsfoot oil; or, better still, use acid fat-liquor dissolved in hot water, as de- scribed for alumina-tanned leather. From five to six pounds of the oil will fat-liquor one hundred pounds of chrome leather. Mix the oil into ten gallons of hot water and apply it to the leather after the flour treatment. Then hang the leather up to dry. When dry, dip the leather into warm water and place in a pile over night. Finishing. — Stake the dampened leather; then mill it in a THE MAx\UFACTUKE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 4 1 closed wheel with powdered chalk or soapstone for one hour or longer ; after which, stake the leather again and it is ready for use. Properly tanned and fat-liquored, the leather finishes up very soft and white and is admirably adapted to the purpose for which it is intended. Good white leather can also be made by tanning the sides with alum, salt and flour, and then, after drying, dampening and fat-liquoring the leather with acid fat-liquor. White leather must be handled very carefully or it will become soiled and dirty. Chrome-tanned white leather is more satisfactory than alum-tanned if properly tanned and bleached. Chrome Side Patent Leather. Hides for chrome-tanned patent leather should be carefully selected after they have been unhaired. The grain must be as near perfect as grain can be. Only small pattern and plump hides can be made into patent leather, as large, spready and thin hides are of loose texture when tanned. After the hair and fine hair have been removed, the hides should be washed -from ten to twenty minutes in a wash-wheel. They are then ready to be bated. Hides intended for patent leather should be bated as low as possible in order that the leather may have fine grain and full feel. Bating, however, must be very care- fully done. If the hides are bated too much the leather will be loose and break coarse ; if not bated enough the grain will be harsh and tender. A thin grain is to be preferred to a thick one. The former will have more elasticity than the latter, and , therefore be less apt to crack. After the hides are bated they should be washed a few minutes in warm water to cleanse the grain, and then pickled. Pickling and Tanning. — For every hundred pounds of hides dissolve four pounds of sulphate of alumina and ten pounds of common salt in six gallons of boiling water; then add six gal- lons of cold water. Use this liquor cold and drum the hides in it one hour, then press or partly dry them for splitting. After the hides are split the grains can be shaved, and this will save 42 PRACTICAL TANNING. putting them out for shaving after they are tanned. The grains are then ready to be tanned. Either the two-bath or the one-bath process can be used, but the latter is the best, as it gives more measurement and there is no sulphur to cause trouble after the leather is finished. Drum the grains in salt water; then give them the tanning liquor, and continue drumming until the leather is fully tanned. The leather can be washed, colored and fat-liquored in about the same manner that other chrome leather is treated, or it can be laid away for four or five days in one-bath chrome liquor. The layaway liquor is prepared by adding five gallons of chrome liquor to one hundred gallons of water. The leather is placed in this liquor and handled each day. The object of this. is to make the leather softer than it would otherwise be, and thereby reducing the quantity of fat-liquor required. Hides placed in a layaway do not draw and shrink as much as leather not tanned this way. The leather requires the same thorough washing that all chrome leather requires. After washing, it is ready to be colored. Coloring and Fat- Liquoring. — Coloring is done with logwood and striker. Only enough dye should be used to produce a good color ; and all surplus dye must be washed out. Fat- liquoring is done most satisfactorily with degras and soap, or degras may be used alone. When soap is used, prepare a liquor by boiling one pound of soap to each gallon of water. Then for every hundred pounds of leather add two quarts of degras to enough soap liquor to drum the leather in and run the leather in the fat-liquor forty-five minutes immediately after coloring. The leather is then struck out, oiled on the grain and hung to dry in a warm room. Drying should proceed rapidly so that the leather will dry firmer than when it is dried slowly. There are fat-liquors that can be used that make the leather sufficiently soft and dry without being degreased. Or- dinarily chrome patent leather must be degreased before it is. finished. When degras is used without soap, the fat-liquor is made as THE MANUFACTURE OF SIDE LEATHERS. 43 follows : Dissolve four pounds of soda ash in the smallest quan- tity of water that will dissolve it. Pour the solution into ten gallons of water and let it com6 to boiling point. Then add twelve gallons of moellon degras and boil steadily for four or five hours. Enough water should then be added to make fort)'- eight gallons of fat-liquor. Give the leather from three to five per cent, of this fat-liquor diluted with hot water and drum the leather in it for forty minutes ; then oil and dry it. Too much fat-liquor makes the leather too soft and mushy. As a rigid and firm foundation is required to prevent the varnish from parting, the leather must not be made too soft. Staking and Finishing. — When the leather is dry, dampen it with wet sawdust or hot water and give it a thorough staking; then tack it as tightly as possible. When the leather is taken from the frames it will be found to be sufficiently firm to be finished were it not for the grease in it that must be removed. Some of the grease given in fat-liquoring and some of the oil applied to the grain are not combined with the fibers and un less removed will cause the varnish to slip over the leather so that finishing becomes impossible. Degreasing is most satis- factorily done with naphtha. Where a great deal of leather is being made a naphtha plant must be installed or else the leather must be sent to naphtha works a::d degreased by those who make a business of extracting grease from leather. Degreas- ing can also be done by soaking the leather in naphtha for ten hours, then pressing out the naphtha and drying the leather. The action of naphtha on chrome leather is quite harmless and if the leather has been well fat-liquored and oiled no strength is lost through the degreasing operation. Sides for patent leather can be tanned with chrome liquor and then split to the desired substance and retanned. This improves their "break" of grain and softness of feel. Sulphide of sodium should be used with lime in preparing the hides for tanning. It gives the grain an appearance similar to coltskin, removes the fine hair and pro- duces fuller and plumper leather than lime alone or lime and red arsenic. All fine hair must be removed as it is one of the worst 44 PRACTICAL TANNING. things to contend with in making patent leather. The sulphide of sodium can be mixed with pure milk of lime, say three ounces of the sulphide per side to a sufficient quantity of lime to process the sides in. When a drum is used the results of the process will be accomplished in five or six hours. The "hides are then taken from the drum, washed, unhaired and then washed again before they are bated. This is only one of several methods that can be followed. Hides that weigh more than forty pounds are not suitable for patent leather. • Vegetable Tanning Processes for Side Leather. In the manufacture of leathers from hides and kips that are finished upon the grain and intended for shoe purposes, various processes of tanning are employed. Hemlock bark and ex- tract liquors are used, the sides after splitting being retanned with some other tanning material, such as gambier and pal- metto extract. Hemlock extract is used in combination with quebracho liquor with excellent results. Hides are started in luestone )o ounce. Pour this solution into the drum and let the skins process fifteen or twenty minutes, then wash them for ten minutes in clean warm water so as to remove all traces of copperas. They should then be wrung, pressed or struck out and prepared for fat-liquoring. A deep black can be obtained on chrome-tanned sheepskins by the following method : For each one hundred pounds of skins washed and shaved boil in eight gallons of water Logwood crystals i^/o pounds. When the dye is dissolved add cold water to make twelve gallons of liquor. Then dissolve Extract of fustic paste 4 ounces in two gallons of water and add it to the logwood liquor and stir well. Put the skins into the drum with three gallons of water for each hundred pounds of skins and run the drum ten minutes to wet them. Then pour in the logwood-fustic liquor at a temperature of 120 degrees Fahr. and run the drum twenty minutes. In the meantime dissolve in a quart of water, for each hundred pounds of skins, Bichromate of potash i ounce. Add two quarts of cold water and, without stopping the drum, pour the solution into it and run it ten minutes. Then drain 104 PRACTICAL TANNING. the drum and wash the skins in three changes of warm water; then prepare them for the fat Hquor. A good black is obtained on chrome-tanned skins by drum- ming them in logwood liquor, then striking the color with titanium-potassium oxalate. For one hundred pounds of skins dissolve by boiling in twelve gallons of water one and a half pounds of logwood crystals, then dissolve four ounces of fustic paste in two gallons of hot water and add it to the logwood liquor. Drum the skins in this liquor for twenty minutes. In the meantime dissolve six ounces of the titanium salt in a pail of warm water and at the end of the twenty minues pour this solution into the drum and treat the skins ten minutes. A deep black results. Wash and fat- liquor in the usual way. If this process of dyeing is used take for each hundred pounds of skins the following articles : Logwood crystals ii^ pounds. Carbonate of pqtash 3 ounces. Alum 4 ounces. Copperas 2 ounces. Boil the logwood crystals in ten gallons of water, add the potash and cool the liquor to 150 degrees Fahr. Drum the skins in this liquor twenty minutes, then add the alum dis- solved in a pail of water and run the drum ten minutes. Fin- ally, to set the dye, pour through the axle the copperas dis- solved in a gallon of water and let the drum run ten minutes longer. Wash the skins to remove all the dye, press and fat-liquor them. The following process consists of giving the skins a tannin mor- dant and then coloring the flesh sides blue and the grain sides black by means of methyl violet aniline, aniline black and tita- nium-potassium oxalate. Retan the skins and mordant the grain by using from one to two pints of palmetto extract for each hun- dred pounds of skins. Dissolve the extract in six gallons of hot water, drum the skins in the liquor twenty minutes. Or use from three to four pounds of sumac extract and six gallons of hot water. After the .skins have been given the tannin, give them eight ounces of methyl violet aniline boiled and dissolved THE MANUP'ACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. IO5 In six gallons of water. Then drum the skins for fifteen min- utes in a solution of aniline black, using four ounces for each hundred pounds of skins. Finally add four ounces of titanium ^alt dissolved in hot water, run the drum fifteen minutes, wash, press and fat-liquor the leather. Sheepskins that have been colored and finished can be dyed black and refinished in the following manner: Drum the skins in hot water in a drum for at least half an hour to remove the finish and prepare the leather to receive the dye. Then for each dozen skins dissolve six ounces of permanganate of potash in six gallons of warm water. Put this solution into the drum with the skins and run the drum fifteen minutes, then without stopping the latter add to the liquor in it one pound of log- wood crystals dissolved in ten gallons of hot water and run the •drum one-half hour. When the half hour is up pour into the drum a solution of one ounce of copperas and one-half ounce bluestone and run it ten minutes longer, then wash the skins in two changes of water, set them out, oil the grain and dry them out. Pat-liquors for Chrome-tanned Sheep and Lambskin Leather. I. For each dozen skins to be fat-liquored use Egg yolk I pint. Flour I pint. Olive oil )^ pint. Castile soap 4 ounces. Water 8 gallons. Chip the soap into the water, boil until dissolved and stir in the oil. Boil the mixture of soap and oil, cool down to no degrees Fahr. and add the egg yolk. Mix the flour into a thin paste with cold water, taking care that no lumps are left in it, and add to the soap, oil and egg mixture. Mix thoroughly and give to the skins at no degrees Fahr., drumming them in it for three-quarters of an hour. This is an excellent fat- liquor for glove leather. I06 PRACTICAL TANNING. 2. To make a barrel of fat liquor, use Palermo fig soap lo pounds. Neatsfoot or cod oil 4 gallons. Egg yolk 10 pounds. Common salt 2 pounds. Put the soap into a clean barrel with just sufficient water to- cover it. Apply steam and boil and stir until the soap is dis- solved. Stir into the oil to cut it a few ounces of sal soda or borax and add it to the soap solution. Stir the mixture for a few moments until the oil and soap are completely mixed, then run in forty gallons of cold water to cool the emulsion. Then stir in the egg yolk and salt. Stir the whole again and apply to the skins at a temperature of 75 degrees Fahr. Twenty gallons of this fat-liquor is sufficient for ten to twelve dozen skins. It should be added a pailful at a time to the skins, and the quantity used can be varied to suit the tanner's judgment. It gives excellent results on light upper leather and glove stock. Care should always be taken to cool off the soap and oil emulsion before adding the egg yolk to prevent coagu- lation of the albuminous constituents of the egg which results when the latter is added to water at a temperature higher than 75 degrees Fahr. 3. For each dozen skins for dull finish use Castile or fig soap 1^ pound. Neatsfoot oil i pound. Ammonia 2 ounces. Boil the soap in three gallons of water, and when it is dis- solved add the oil, boiling the mixture one-half hour. Use at a temperature of 150 degrees Fahr., and just before putting it into the drum add the ammonia to the fat-liquor. Drum the skins in the emulsion thirty minutes, then let them press and drain until the next day. Cod oil may be substituted for neatsfoot with equally good results. 4. For fifty gallons of fat- liquor use Light English sod oil 40 pounds. Palermo fig soap 20 pounds. Boil the soap in twelve gallons of water; when it is dissolved THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. lO/ add the oil, stirring and boiling the mixture for several minutes,, then run in enough water to make fifty gallons of fat-liquor. Use three-fourths of a pail for each dozen skins. 5. For each dozen skins in the pack to be fat-liquored use Treated cod oil i pound. Salts of tartar 2 ounces. Strong ammonia 2 ounces. Boil the oil and salts of tartar in three gallons of water for twenty minutes, then add the ammonia. Drum the skins in the liquor thirty minutes. A gallon or two of cold water can be added to the oil emulsion before the ammonia is put in. 6. For each dozen of skins use Egg yolk I pint. Neatsfoot or olive oil ^o pint. Apply to the skins lukewarm and drum thirty minutes. 7. For two hundred pounds of colored skins use Peerless oil soap 8 ounces. Olive oil 2 pounds. Treated cod oil 2 pounds. Birch oil 2 ounces. Salts of tartar 3 ounces. Boil the soap, olive and cod oils in a few gallons of water until dissolved, then add the birch oil. Stir the emulsion thoroughly,, then add to it the salts of tartar dissolved in two quarts of hot water. Add water to make fifteen gallons of fat-liquor and give to the skins at a temperature of 160 degrees Fahr. This fat-liquor is especially good for skins colored with alizarine dye. 8. For one hundred pounds of skins use Palermo fig soap }n pound. Neatsfoot oil 1,^2 pounds. Moellon degras i)^' pounds. Salts of tartar 2 ounces. Boil the soap and oil in four gallons of water, then put in the moellon degras and stir thoroughly. Dissolve the salts of tartar in a little water, add to the emulsion and stir hard. Run in enough water to make twelve gallons of fat-liquor and apply it to the skins at 150 degrees Fahr. This is suitable for glove leather. i08 practical tanning. Methods of Coloring Chrome-tanned Sheepskins. A liquor composed of fustic extract and gambier makes an •excellent mordant for aniline dyes. For each hundred pounds of skins, weighed after shaving, use two pounds of gambier and one pound of extract of fustic. Dissolve by boiling in four gallons of water, then cool the liquor down with cold water to make twelve or fourteen gallons. Put the skins into the drum with the gambier and fustic liquor and run the drum forty minutes. While the skins are drumming dissolve four ounces of titanium salts (titanium-potassium oxalate) in hot water, and at the end of the forty minutes add the solution to the liquor in the drum and run the drum ten minutes. Then wash the skins and apply basic aniline dye, and when they have taken up the color, wash and fat-liquor them. If an acid dye is to be used, the skins need not be washed after they have been mor- danted with gambier, fustic and titanium salts. And if the mordant is all taken up by the skins no washing is necessary ; simply drain the liquor out of the drum and apply the aniline solution. This is a good process for any shade of tan and brown. The tanning material most commonly used in coloring chrome-tanned sheepskins is sumac. Upon some small and medium-size skins four ounces of liquid extract of sumac may be used for each dozen. The sumac is mixed with water at a temperature of no degrees Fahr. , and the skins are drummed in the liquor so prepared for twenty minutes. Then pour into the drum the solution of titanium salts, run the drum ten minutes, and then color with acid dyes without washing the skins, or wash them and apply basic dye. Dry powdered sumac may be used. After the skins have been washed and shaved they are run in a drum in a bath of warm water of no degrees Fahr. to which about two pounds of the sumac have been added. The particles of sumac serve the useful purpose of taking up whatever grease there may be upon the grain as well as acting as a mordant by giving up tannic acid. An excellent shade of tan is obtained on chrome sheepskins THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 109 in the following manner: The skins, washed and shaved, are put into the coloring drum with fourteen gallons of water at I 10 degrees Fahr. for every hundred pounds of leather. The drum is started and two pounds of fustic extract, lemon shade^ dissolved in hot water, is run in through the hollow axle. After the skins have been run in this solution for thirty minutes four ounces of titanium salts are dissolved in hot water and poured into the drum and the leather is drummed fifteen minutes longer. The coloring is then complete and the skins are then washed and fat-liquored. If a dark tan is wanted use this formula. Dissolve four pounds of fustic extract, red shade, in four gallons of boiling water, then add enough cold water to make fourteen gallons of liquor for one hundred pounds of skins. Drum the skins in this liquor thirty minutes, then without stopping the drum pour through the hollow axle a solution of six ounces of titanium- potassium oxalate and let the drum rotate fifteen minutes longer, then take the skins out of the drum, wash and fat-liquor them. If chocolate brown is wanted, put the leather into the drum with a solution of two and one-fourth pounds of fustic extract^ lemon shade, and ten ounces of hypernic extract, the two ex- tracts being dissolved so as to make fourteen gallons of solution for one hundred pounds of leather, dissolve and add three ounces of logwood crystals. Drum the skins in this liquor for one half hour, then pour through the axle of the drum five ounces of titanium salts dissolved in a gallon of hot water and run the drum fifteen minutes longer. At the end of that time the skins will have assumed the brown shade and they should then be washed, fat-liquored and dried. A rich shade of chocolate brown is obtained by the use of aniline dyes on a tannin mordant in the following manner: Boil until dissolved two pounds of gambier and one pound of ex- tract of fustic in four gallons of water, cool down with cold water to make fourteen gallons of liquor. Drum one hundred pounds of skin in this liquor for thirty minutes, then pour into no PRACTICAL TANNING. the drum four ounces of titanium-potassium oxalate dissolved in a gallon of hot water, and drum the skins fifteen minutes longer. If the mordant has been taken up by the leather, run the liquor off and pour the dye solution into the drum. If the mordant has not been entirely taken up it is best to wash the skins before giving them the aniline dye. For six dozen skins use eight ounces yellow 849 and drum the skins ten minutes, then add one pound chocolate-brown 270, eight ounces bis- marck-brown, eight ounces chocolate-brown O, dissolved ail together and poured through the hollow axle while the drum is in motion. Run the drum twenty minutes after the color has been put in, then wash the skins, fat-liquor them and hang them up to dry. Extract of sumac may be used as a mordant if preferred, also palmetto extract. The skins may be drummed in the tannin bath, then given the titanium salts, washed and colored by the use of three ounces of chocolate-brown aniline 270 for each dozen. Formula for a good shade of brown. Use five ounces of liquid extract of fustic for each dozen skins to be colored. Drum them in this liquor twenty minutes, then dissolve two ounces of tartar emetic in hot water and pour the solution into the drum and drum the skins fifteen minutes, then wash them, put them back into the drum and apply a color solu- tion made by dissolving the following dyes : Four ounces of phosphine for leather, one-fourth of an ounce of leather green M, one-half ounce of methyl violet 2 B for each dozen skins. The dyes should be thoroughly dissolved and mixed before they are used. Drum the skins in the color bath twenty minutes, then wash and fat-liquor them. Sumac may be used in place of fustic, also palmetto extract or a mixture of fustic and gambier. Goldenrod-yellow, bismarck-brown and champagne anilines are valuable in dyeing chrome-tanned skins. A combination of goldenrod-yellow, blue and brown produces a fine shade of tan. Mordant the skins with gambier and fustic, then run into the drum eight ounces of titanium-potassium oxalate for two hun- THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. Ill dred pounds of skins and run the drum fifteen minutes, then wash the skins and dye them with one and one-quarter pounds of goldenrod-yellow, one-half pound of brown aniUne and one- eighth of an ounce of blue or green aniline. Drum them in the dye twenty minutes and they will then be found to have assumed a desirable tan color that is fast to light and very uniform. In place of gambler and fustic from four to six ounces of liquid extract of sumac may be used for each dozen skins to prepare them for the dye. The popular oxblood or wine color is obtained on chrome sheepskins by following these instructions: Put the pack of skins into the dyeing drum and throw in twelve gallons of water for each hundred pounds to be colored. The tem- perature of the water should be 130 degrees Fahr. Dis- solve by boiling in three or four gallons of water two and one- fourth pounds of hypernic extract, one and one-half ounces of logwood crystals and one-half ounce leather-red for each hun- dred pound of skins. Start the drum, then pour this color solution through the hollow axle and after the last of it is in the drum run the skins in it for one-half hour. Dissolve in hot v.'ater four and one-half ounces of titanium-potassium oxalate and pour into the drum and let the drum rotate fifteen minutes longer. The skins, at the end of that time should have assumed the desired color and they are then washed and finished. A good oxblood color can be obtained in this manner: For each dozen skins use from four to six ounces of extract of fustic according to the size of the skins. Dissolve this in sufficient water to drum the skins nicely, use at a temperature of one hundred and ten degrees Fahr. and drum them in the liquor for fifteen minutes. Then add to the liquor in the drum two ounces of tartar emetic for each dozen skins and run the drum fifteen minutes longer. Wash the skins and prepare a color bath at 120 degrees Fahr, Use from two and a half to three ounces of aniline dye amaranth 3/R for each dozen skins and drum in this twenty minutes, then wash and fat-liquor them. 112 PRACTICAL TANNING. The shade can be darkened by using two ounces of the amaranth aniline and one ounce of chocolate-brown for each dozen skins. When tartar emetic is used nothing else is needed to fasten the color upon the leather, but when it is not used one ounce of bichromate of potash should be dissolved and poured into the drum after the leather has been drummed fif- teen or twenty minutes in the dye, the drumming then con- tinued for ten minutes. This will set the dye upon the leather. A liquor made of fustic and peachwood extracts is an excellent mordant for wine color. The skins are drummed in this twenty minutes, then titanium salts are run in, they are then drummed ten minutes, then washed and colored by the use of amaranth aniline to which one-eighth of an ounce of malachite- green has been added. Alizarine-brown and yellow fustic produce a fine shade of color suitable for shoe and glove leather. No tannin mordant is necessary as the alizarine dyes color chrome skins without a mordant. Take a lot of skins after they have been shaved and weigh them. For each hundred pounds dissolve twelve ounces of alizarine leather-brown B No. 9052 by boiling in six gallons of water. Be sure the dye is all dissolved. When it is dissolved add enough cold water to make twelve gallons of liquor. Use this dye at 165 degrees Fahr. Put the skins into the drum, start the drum and pour the dye through the hollow axle, then drum them in the dye thirty minutes. While the skins are being drummed in the alizarine dye dissolve one quart of extract of yellow fustic in one gallon of hot water and at the end of the thirty minutes pour the solution into the drum and run it fifteen minutes longer. Drain ofif the spent dye liquor; wash and fat-liquor the skins. To get a fine brown a little dififerent from the foregoing but equally desirable use the following formula: Run the skins in water at 150 degrees Fahr. for fifteen minutes, using twelve gallons for each hundred pounds. In the meantime dissolve four ounces of alizarine brown G in a gallon of water, pour into the drum and run fifteen minutes. Then pour into the drum THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. II3 four ounces of alizarine yellow R and three-fourths of an ounce of alizarine new yellow extra dissolved in two gallons of water and run the drum fifteen minutes. Next dissolve one pound of extract of yellow-fustic in a pail of water, add to the contents of the drum and run the drum ten minutes. Finally add two ounces of bichromate of potash dissolved in a pail of water and run the drum fifteen minutes longer. Rinse the skins in warm water and they are ready to be fat-liquored. To color chrome sheep a nice shade of green use five ounces liquid extract of fustic per dozen or the same quantity of liquid extract of sumac for the bottom, drumming the skins in this for fifteen minutes, then add a solution of titanium salts, drum ten minutes, then rinse the skins and color them by using three ounces per dozen of either leather-green special or dark green M and one and one-half ounces amaranth i/R. Drum the skins in this dye twenty minutes ; then wash and fat-liquor them. Or use this process: Drum the skins for fifteen minutes in four ounces per dozen, extract of sumac in water at 1 10 degrees Fahr. Then add to the same bath four ounces titanium salts for each hundred pounds of skins dissolved in a pail of hot water and run the drum ten minutes. If the mordant appears to be entirely taken up, drain the liquor out and put in the color solution as directed in the foregoing formula. Run the skins in the dye twenty minutes or longer and then wash and fat-liquor them. If a dark olive-green color is wanted take the skins from the shavers and for each hundred pounds use ten gallons of hot water and wash them in this fifteen minutes, then drain the drum. Pour into the drum three pounds of extract of fustic dissolved in twelve gallons of hot water and run the drum one- half hour. Then take twelve ounces of copperas dissolved the day before, allowed to settle and the clear liquor taken ofif. Pour half of this liquor into the drum and at the end of fifteen minutes' drumming look at the skins. If they are dark enough wash and fat liquor them; if not dark enough add more cop- peras liquor and run fifteen minutes longer, then wash them very thoroughly and give them the fat-liquor. 8 114 practical tanning. Yellow Glove and Mitten Leather. Boil twenty five pounds of gambier in a barrel three-fourths full of water, then add one pint of muriate of tin and three ounces of tin crystals and fill the barrel with water. For each one hundred and fifty skins use four pails of this gambier liquor at 95 degrees Fahr. and two pails of water. Drum them in this one hour, then dissolve in two gallons of hot water one-half pound of picric acid and one-half pound of fustic and pour this solution into the drum with the gambier liquor. Let the drum run in the liquor thirty minutes, then rinse the skins, set them out or let them drain and then fat-liquor them. This process produces a nice light yellow color that is in demand for gloves and mittens. Another good formula for yellow glove leather is as follows : Dissolve a pound and a half of yellow fustic and five ounces of tin crystals in five gallons of boiling water for each hundred pounds of skins. Run them in this twenty minutes, then add five ounces auramine II in three gallons of hot water and drum the skins twenty minutes, then take them out and prepare them for the fat-liquor. Coloring Chrome-tanned Sheepskins After Fat- Liquoring. Prepare a mordant by boiling in five gallons of water two pounds of gambier, palmetto or sumac extracts or one pound of gambier and one pound of fustic extract for one hundred poimds of washed and shaved skins ; then add enough cold water to make twelve gallons of liquor. Rup the skins in this liquor for fifteen minutes. Then fat-liquor with acid fat liquor, using two or three pounds of the oil in ten gallons of hot water for one hundred pounds of leather. After this has been done, rinse the skins in warm water and then color them. Dissolve four ounces of titanium-potassium oxalate in a few gallons of hot water and drum the skins in the solution for ten minutes. Then drain the liquor out of the drum ; put in the aniline solution ; run the drum twenty minutes and then rinse THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. I15 the skins off in warm water, strike them out and hang them up to dry. The process may also be carried out by first fat-Hquoring them, then running them in a sumac or other tan liquor, then applying the titanium salts and aniline dye. This method of coloring produces nice, uniformly colored skins. Finishing Black Glazed Sheepskins. After chrome-tanned sheepskins have been dyed black and fat-liquored, they should be struck out and the grain oiled very hghtly with a mixed oil made by mixing one part neatsfoot and three parts paraf^n oil for glazed finish and two parts neatsfoot and two parts parafhn for dull or mat finish. Sheepskins can be made into nice glazed leather without any fat-liquor or oil at all but the usual practice is to fat-liquor them lightly and apply a little oil to the grain ; however, care must be taken not to apply too much and make them too soft and spongy. The skins, after receiving the oil, are hung up to dry. The best results are obtained from slow drying in a room, with a temperature of about 80 degrees Fahr. and having a good circu- lation of air. When the skins are dry, dampen them for staking. The best way to dampen them is to have a tub two-thirds full of warm water and to put about a dozen into the water at a time, leaving them two or three minutes therein, then placing them in a pile, well covered, on the floor or in a box. When they are sufficiently pliable to be staked, stake and tack them on boards to dry. Be sure to stretch them well onto the boards, for a lot of measurement is lost when they are not tacked out nice and smooth. When they are dry, take them off the boards, trim them and prepare them for the seasoning and finish. Before applying any seasoning, clear the grain with a weak solution of lactic acid. Mix one gallon of the acid into eight gallons of water and rub this liquor well into the grain, then dry the skins and when they are dry put on the seasoning. The following formula will be found satisfactory for black glazed sheepskins : Il6 PRACTICAL TANNING. Ivory Soap i pound. Glue I pound. Logwood Crystals 3 ounces. Nigrosine 4 ounces. Bichromate of Potash 1^ ounce. Fresh Blood 2 quarts. Dissolve the soap in eight gallons of boiling water and the glue in eight gallons of water. Dissolve the logwood and nigrosine in two gallons of hot water and add the bichromate of potash. When cold add the blood. Take one quart of the glue solution and one quart of soap solution and mix into the logwood and blood solution. Stir the mixture well and then strain it. Give the skins a light coat of this seasoning and rub it well into the grain. When the seasoning has dried glaze them, then give a second coat of seasoning, dry and glaze again. Oil the glazed surface with warm finishing oil or with a mixture of equal parts of neatsfoot and paraffine oils. The following formula also produces an excellent seasonings for glazed finish : Whole Flaxseed 2 ounces. Logwood Crystals 2 ounces. Nigrosine • 2 ounces. Bichromate of Botash y^ ounce. Vinette y^ pint. Blood I quart. Glycerine 3^ pint. Carbolic Acid Crystals i ounce. Boil the flaxseed in a gallon of water one-half hour, then strain and add the logwood, nigrosine and potash and boil up again, then cool the solution to 90 degrees Fahr. and stir into it the vinette, blood, glycerine and carbolic acid. There should be two gallons of seasoning ; if there is less add enough cold water to make the quantity specified. Apply to the skins and finish them in the same manner as directed in the preceding formula. Another good formula for a glazed finish is : Blood Albumen I pound. Black Nigrosine 5 ounces. Logwood Crystals i ounce. Wood Alcohol I gill. THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. II7 Dissolve the blood albumen in a quart of water over night. Put the nigrosine and logwood into three gallons of water and boil until dissolved. When the solution is cold add the albumen and wood alcohol. Give the skins two coats of this seasoning and glaze them twice. Oil the glazed surface with warm paraf- fine oils or with a mixture of neatsfoot and parafifine oils. A good way to clear the grain of greasy matter is to rub into it a solution of black nigrosine and wood alcohol. Dissolve an> ounce of nigrosine in one gallon of water and add to this a little wood alcohol. Rub this into the grain of the skins and when it is dry apply the seasoning. The black is deepened by this treatment, and the grain is cleared. Seasoning for Dull Finish. Ivory Soap i pound. Flaxseed 1^ pound. Beeswax 4 ounces. Black Nigrosine 4 ounces. Gelatine 4 ounces. Aloes 2 ounces. Wood Alcohol 1^ pint. Put the soap, flaxseed and beeswax into two gallons of water and boil thirty minutes, then add the nigrosine. Dissolve the gelatine in a quart of water and add to the solution. Then dissolve the aloes in the wood alcohol, add this solution to the other, and strain the mixture. After taking the skins from the tacking boards trim them and apply a coat of this dressing, rubbing it in well ; then hang the skins up to dry and when they are dry iron them and then give another coat of dressing, but do not iron again. Oil the grain with parafhne oil, and the skins are finished. Finishing Colored Sheepskins. A clear, bright finish is obtained on colored sheepskins by using a seasoning made of egg-albumen solution, acetic acid, bichromate of potash and water. The proportions are four gallons of egg-albumen solution, one ounce of bichromate of Il8 PRACTICAL TANNING. potash, two quarts of acetic acid and twenty gallons of water. The ingredients should be thoroughly mixed. A light coat is applied to the skins, thoroughly rubbed into the grain, the skins dried in a warm room and then glazed. A second and sometimes a third coat of the seasoning is required. The less seasoning that is used the better will be the finish, as the leather will stand handling better and the grain will show plainly through the finish, which is considered desirable. There are very good seasoning or glazing liquors on the market that can be bought ready for use. The tanner can buy them and dispense with the trouble of making his own finishes. This course is pursued by many who find it advantageous and convenient. Sheepskins require very little and, for some pur- poses, no fat-liquor at all to make them sufficiently soft, neither do they need much staking and working, but on the contrary,, the less they are staked the firmer are they when finished. A good seasoning for black glazed sheepskins is made of: Logwood Liquor 6 quarts. Oxblood 2 quarts. Orchil 1'^ pint. Water i quart. Ammonia 3^4 pint. Milk 1^ pint. This produces a regular kid finish. Glazed Fiiiish on Colored Sheepskins. — A solution of vinegar^ bichromate of potash and water is useful in clearing the grain of colored skins for glazed finish. To twelve parts water add one part strong apple or cider vinegar and a little bichromate of potash. Go over the grain, rubbing it in well; then dry and apply a coat of: Egg Albumen 1 2 pints. Bichromate of Potash ^4 ounce. Aceiic Acid lo ounces. Water 5 gallons. Dissolve the albumen and mix all together; then add one teaspoonful sperm oil and three pints more of water. Rub the finish in well, dry and glaze. For second seasoning use : THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. II9 Blood 3 gallons. Water 5 gallons. Vinette 2 pints. Apply a coat of this, dry and glaze, and the skins are then finished. Finishing Sheepskin Glove Leather. Chrome-tanned sheep and lamb skin glove leather may be finished in two different ways. One way to treat the skins is to take them after they have been washed and shaved, and color them with wood or aniline dye, then fat-liquor them, dry, stake and finish them. The final finishing consists of running the grain of the skin on a plush wheel which makes it smooth and gives it a pleasing polish. The other way is to take the skins out of the tan liquor, press them and shave them, then color and fat-liquor them and hang them up to dry. After the skins are dry let them lie a few days, then put them into a drum with cold water and wash them in it for two hours until they are clean, then let them drain over a horse over night and the next day hang them up to dry. Finish the skins by dampening, staking, drying and polishing the grain on a plush wheel. When the skins are handled this way they work out very soft and with a good color. Coloring and fat-liquoring are done in the usual way. Formulas and instructions are given that will produce leather of the best quality. Popular colors are light and dark-tan, yellow, brown and oxblood. The instructions that are given for these shades may be followed whether the skins are washed immediately after tanning or after they have been dried and staked. When flour is used in the fat-liquor the skins are made fuller and plumper than when it is not used. An excellent way to finish glove sheepskins is to dry them after staking, then put them into a drum with powdered soap- stone and drum them in it for two hours, then take them out, stake them again, and they are finished. i20 practical tanning. Flesh-Finished Chrome Sheepskins. For some purposes chrome-tanned sheepskins finished upon the flesh with a soft velvety finish are wanted. For this class of leather, skins that have a defective grain are used since the value of the leather does not depend upon the quality of the grain. These skins are used chiefly in the manufacture of gloves and mittens, but they are also suitable for many other purposes. The skins, taken in pickled condition, are pressed to remove the grease; they are then drummed in warm hyposulphite of soda solution. For each hundred pounds of skins a solution of ten pounds of hyposulphite of soda in twenty gallons of water is prepared; temperature when used 95 degrees Fahr. The skins are drummed in this solution for forty minutes. The drum is then drained and the chrome tanning liquor is put in. The skins require five pounds of salt, three gallons of concen- trated chrome liquor and ten gallons of water for every hun- dred pounds of skins. The salt water and one gallon of chrome liquor are put into the drum and the skins are drummed in the liquor one-half hour; then another gallon of chrome liquor is poured into the drum and the drumming is continued one-half hour, then the third gallon of chrome liquor is put in and the skins are drummed two hours or until they are tanned. A few ounces of salts of tartar dissolved in hot water are then poured into the drum and the skins are drummed one hour longer. They are then piled down for twenty-four hours, then run through the fleshing machine or shaved, after which they are washed in borax water and then in clear water the same as grain-finished skins. Another good tanning process is as fol- lows : For each one hundred pounds of skins, three pounds of sulphate of alumina, five pounds of common salt and four pounds of Glauber's salt are dissolved in six gallons of warm water, and the skins are drummed in the solution forty minutes. Chrome tanning material is then poured into the drum and the skins are drummed until they are tanned. Three gallons of concentrated chrome liquor will tan one hundred pounds of THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 121 ^kins. When they are tanned, the skins should be left in the liquor over night, then drained for twenty-four hours, shaved and washed. Nice flesh and grain finished skins can be made by using a preliminary solution of sulphate of alumina and borax, six pounds of the former and three pounds of the latter, dissolved in ten gallons of water being used for one hundred pounds of skins. First, however, the pressed skins are run in a solution of eight pounds of salt and six gallons of water for twenty minutes. The solution of sulphate of alumina and borax is then poured into the drum, which is then run forty minutes. Chrome liquor is then poured into the drum, and the skins are tanned as in the preceding process. Treatmejit after Tanning. — After the skins are washed they are put into a drum with four gallons of water and five pounds of pipe-clay for one hundred pounds of skins and drummed therein twenty minutes. They are then run on a wet wheel, which gives a good face to the leather. After the skins have been faced they should be run in warm water for fifteen min- utes ; they are then in condition to be colored. Coloring and Fat-Liquoring. — The coloring is done in the same manner as upon grain-finished skins. Fustic, gambier, sumac or other dyeing material is used as a mordant for aniline colors. Or alizarine dyes may be used ; also fustic and other natural dyestufifs in conjunction with titanium salts. Receipts for many desirable shades have already been given ; they need not be given again. As a fat-liquor an emulsion of egg yolk, olive oil, castile soap and flour is especially suitable. The formula for this will be found in the section devoted to fat-liquors for sheepskins. Drying and staking are done in the usual manner. Staking on a machine should be followed by knee staking so as to get all the stretch out. The skins are then given a light run on a very fine emery wheel, and they are then ready to be trimmed and sorted. If the work has been properly done the finished skins are very soft, evenly colored and with a smooth, velvet-like face. Finishing on fine emery removes all roughness and 122 PRACTICAL TANNING. makes the skins soft and smooth. Acid fat-liquor is suitable for these skins. If white skins are wanted the tanning process is followed by a treatment with flour, fat-liquoring and finishing being theni proceeded with in the manner already described. Drenching and Pickling Sheepskins with Formic Acid.. After the skins have been taken out of the lime and washed; and fleshed they are in suitable condition to be drenched. Washing after fleshing should be done in warm water, 95 degrees Fahr., and the more the skins are washed, the less acid will be necessary. Formic and lactic acids in the proportion of four parts of the former and one part of the latter should be used, as the combi- nation produces better results than formic acid alone. Of the mixed acids, about one-fourth of a pint is added to water in a paddle-wheel, this quantity being used for one hundred skins. The water should be at a temperature of 90 degrees Fahr., and it should be thoroughly plunged or stirred after the acid is added to it. The skins are run in the drench for fifteen minutes, when another fourth of a pint of mixed acid is added and the skins are pressed fifteen minutes longer. This quantity of acid, namely, one-half pint, is the maximum quantity for one liundred heavily-limed skins. In many cases less acid will suffice. Too much acid causes the skins to swell and the grain to pipe. Heavy skins may be drenched from thirty minutes to an hour. It is always best to add the acid in two or three portions at intervals of fifteen minutes rather than to add the full quantity before the skins are put into the drench. The skins should become soft and thin in the drench. And when they have attained this condition, wash them in cold water and then place them in a light sour bran drench for the purpose of opening them and removing the last trace of lime that may remain in them after the acid drench. Bran drenching may be done during the day or during the night. When done during the night the skins will be found at THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 23 the surface of the drench the next morning, and they should then be washed and pickled. When bran previously soured is used, about one-half the usual quantity will suffice for these skins. Or the drench can be made by using two pecks of bran, adding to it sufficient warm water in the paddle to cover the skins. The skins are thrown in and pushed down, and the vat is then covered to retain the heat and left until the next morning. The bran should be mashed with water in a tub before it is used ; and the temperature of the drench should be 90 degrees Fahr. The skins will rise to the surface of the liquor during the night; in the morning take them out, wash and scud them if they require it, and then pickle them. It is not necessary to accom- plish the complete deliming of the skins in the acid drench, as the sour bran will remove whatever lime the skins retain. Pickling is done in the following described manner: Prepare an acid bath by adding from twelve ounces to one pound of formic acid to twenty-five gallons of water. Paddle the skins in this solution for several hours ; then put them into a fairly strong salt water for thirty minutes, which completes the pro- cess. Pickling can also be done by drumming the skins in a 0.25 per cent, solution of formic acid for thirty minutes, then putting them into a solution of salt for one-half hour or longer. Skins pickled with formic acid have a darker color than skins pickled with either sulphuric or acetic acid, due to iron in the acid, and are therefore not so attractive in appearance, but they are thoroughly pickled and can be kept for a long time without spoiling. Pickling with Acetic Acid. — Acetic acid may be used to pickle hides and skins, in place of sulphuric acid, which is generally employed. The process may be carried out in a drum b)'' using fifty pounds of salt, one pound of acetic acid and sufficient water to process the skins nicely for one hundred hides or a proportionate number of skins. The skins should be processed at least one hour and may be left in the solution several hours without injury. 124 PRACTICAL TANNING. Upon skins that are thoroughly drenched, acetic acid pro- duces a clean grain and preserves them, as well as putting them into excellent condition for tanning, and there need be no fear of burning the grain or fiber. When a paddle wheel is used, the skins are best pickled by being run in a 0.15 per cent, solution of acetic acid for several hours, then allowed to drain several hours and then put into a fairly strong salt solution. To process the skins slowly assures the uniform penetration of the acid and the destruction of all germs of decay. Sheepskins for Jacket Leather. Sheepskins intended for jacket or coat leather should be tanned in a chrome process which makes them more waterproof and durable, than by the old-fashioned process of gambier, alum and salt. Starting with pickled skins, the first operation is pressing to remove the grease ; then the skins are in condition to be tanned in the following process which is about the cheap- est that can be used. For each hundred pounds of skins to be tanned, dissolve one pound of Glauber's salt in eight gallons of lukewarm water. Drum the skins in this solution ten or fifteen minutes. The drum is then stopped, the skins are thrown back upon the pins of the drum, the plug is pulled out and the solu- tion allowed to drain ofif. The plug is then replaced in the drum, and ten pounds of salt and eight gallons of water are put into the drum with the skins, and the drum is run five minutes. Chrome tanning liquor is then poured into the drum in portions of a gallon at a time, at intervals of one-half hour each, until three gallons have been added to the contents of the drum for every hundred pounds of skins to be tanned. The drum should be run two hours after the last gallon of tan liquor has been put in. In as little water as possible one-half pound of bicar- bonate of soda is dissolved and added to the contents of the drum and the skins are drummed one-half hour longer. If at the end of this time the liquor in the drum still shows a deep green color, another half-pound of the soda may be dissolved THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 25 and added to the contents of the drum and the skins drummed another half-hour. The tanning should now be completed^ but if any doubt exists in the mind of the tanner, the skins may be drummed longer or they may be allowed to remain in the liquor over night, enough water being added to the tan liquor to cover the skins. They should then be removed from the drum and allowed to press and drain for twenty-four hours. After pressing and draining, the skins are thrown into a drum with a solution of borax or bicarbonate of soda, about two pounds for one hundred pounds of skins, and washed therein for one-half hour; they are then washed in clean water; pressed, shaved and colored. Coloring is done in the same manner as for other black chrome sheepskins, after which the skins are fat-liquored. The fat-liquor should consist of soap and oil, and the grain of the skins should be oiled with neatsfoot or cod oil, and the skins should then be dried. Finishing consists of staking, tacking^ seasoning and ironing or rolling. The finish should be a dull one. Boil one-half pound of Irish moss in one gallon of water to which one-quarter ounce of blue vitriol has been added. Boil several hours until well cooked, adding water from time to time to keep the solution up to the required quantity. To this solution add one-quarter ounce of potash and one-half ounce of prussiate of potash, which should be dissolved in a little water and poured in cold. For the above mixture boil one ounce of black nigrosine in one gallon of water and add it to the moss solution. Strain the finish ; apply it to the skins and while they are still damp iron or roll them. An old process of tanning jacket leather consists of gambler, alum, salt, soda and picric acid. The fat-liquor is an emulsion of soap, oil and degras. Finishing consists of applying a dull dressing, then ironing the skins and oiling the grain, which helps to make it waterproof. White Sheep Leather. For soft white leather that is suitable for any purpose for which such leather is required, tanning with sulphate of alumina 126 PRACTICAL TANNING. and bicarbonate of soda in the following manner will be found a satisfactor)' process. The pickled skins should be soaked in salt water to remove all wrinkles and then hung up and dried. If the tanner prepares his skins himself he should take them out of the pickle and hang them up to dry in such manner that they will not dry with wrinkles in them. It is also advisable to wring or press the skins before drying them so as to remove as much grease from them as possible. When the skins are dry, they are degreased in naphtha and then dried, softened in a drum with salt water and then tanned. After the skins have been degreased and the naphtha evaporated, put them into a drum with ten gallons of water, in which have been dissolved one pound of Glauber's salt and three pounds of common salt for each hundred pounds of pickled skins. Let the skins drum in this solution for fifteen minutes, then drain the solution out of the drum. Then put into the drum ten gallons of lukewarm water and four pounds of salt, and drum the skins in this solu- tion for ten minutes. There should have been prepared several hours or a day before the tanning liquor made as follows : Boil until dissolved in ten gallons of water, twelve pounds of sul- phate of alumina. In a clean pail dissolve by boiling in a gallon of water one and one-half pounds of bicarbonate of soda. Pour the soda solution slowly and with constant stirring into the alumina liquor, taking care to pour it very slowly and to allow intervals for the effervesenceto subside. Use the white liquor that results when it has become cool. After the skins have been running in the salt water for ten minutes, pour into the drum without stopping it, one-half of the alumina and soda liquor and drum the skins in it for three hours; then horse them up smoothly over night and the next day hang them up to dry. When they are dry, put the skins back into the drum with eight gallons of water and run the drum ten minutes ; then pour into the drum the rest of the alumina and soda liquor and drum the skins in it for three hours, more or less, depending upon how thick they are. Then let the skins drain on a horse until the next day when they should be hung up to dry. TJIE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 27 Moisten and stake one or two skins to see how soft they are. For some purposes they will be found to be soft enough ; but if softer skins are wanted dampen them with water and fat- hquor them with sulphated oil or acid fat-liquor as it is called, made of castor oil and acid. This material makes the skins very soft without discoloring them. It must be made with great care and attention or bought ready made. It dissolves readily in warm water and quickly penetrates into the skins. One hundred pounds of dry skins should be given from four to seven pounds of the oil according to how soft the leather is wanted. Stir it into eight gallons of water at 95 degrees Fahr., put this into the drum with the dampened skins and run the drum thirty minutes; then let the skins drain over night. The next day set the skins out on the grain and oil off with French chalk, two parts of glycerine and four parts of water. Apply this mixture to the grain, then hang the skins up to dry. When the skins are dry, let them lay in the crust or dry con- dition ten days before staking them. After staking, tack the skins on boards. If they do not appear to be fully tanned or if they are not soft enough, they can be moistened and retanned or given more of the fat-liquor as they seem to require. Sheep- skins, however, will be found well tanned and very soft after the last staking and not in need of retanning or refatliquoring. Tanning with Alum and Salt. — For this process the pickle in the skins must be removed before tanning. Take the pickled skins and wring or press them very thoroughly to remove the animal grease ; then wash them in warm salt water to soften them and to free them from surface grease. The acid pickle is removed with a bath of whiting and salt. For ten dozen medium-sized skins use twenty-four quarts of salt and four pounds of whiting in water at 90 degrees Fahr. Drum the skins in this bath twenty minutes, then let them remain in the bath without drumming for about an hour, after which let them drain an hour or two. Then throw the skins into a light, sour bran, drench for half an hour, adding sufficient salt to keep them from swelling ; then wash them in clean salt water until 128 PRACTICAL TANNING. every trace of whiting and bran is washed away. Use plenty^ of salt in the wash baths to keep the skins from sweUing. Pre- caution must be taken to wash all the whiting from the skins, or they will be harsh and brittle after tanning. After draining twelve hours, the skins are ready to be tanned. A tanning solution is prepared as follows : For every hundred pounds of skins, nine pounds of alum and four pounds of salt are dissolved in five gallons of hot water. Thirty pounds of wheat flour are made into a paste with cold water and then mixed with the alum and salt, and enough water is added to make fourteen gallons of material ready for use. This mixture is heated to 90 degrees Fahr., put into a drum with the skins, and the drum is run for one hour, or until the skins have absorbed the tanning material. The skins are now removed from the drum and hung up to dry. When dry the skins should lie in the crust some time before they are finished. Then when they are to be finished, dampen and stake them. If they are soft enough for the purpose for which they are to be used, the skins, after staking, can be tacked out flat on boards and dried, and are then ready for use. If softer skins are wanted, dampen them and drum them in a warm solution of sulphated oil, made by dissolving four or five pounds of the oil in ten gallons of warm water for every hun- dred pounds of dry skins. Drum the skins in this solution thirty minutes ; then set them out, apply a coat of glycerine, chalk and water to the grain and hang the skins up to dry. Dampening and staking complete the process. The finished skins should be perfectly white and soft and free from grease. Another way to tan with alum and salt is to use from a pound to a pound and a half of alum and twelve ounces of salt for each dozen skins. Dissolve alum and salt together, making^ a pail of liquor, and drum the skins in this for thirty minutes; then add one pail of flour for each ten dozen skins ; run the drum a half hour longer, then dry and finish the skins as. described in the preceding paragraph. Egg yolk can be used to impart softness to the skins. One THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 29 .quart of fresh yolks is sufficient for ten dozen small skins. It is put into the drum with the flour; or the tanning mixture can be made of alum, salt, flour and egg yolk, the skins drummed in it, then dried and finished. White lamb and sheep skins should be buffed on the flesh by the use of an emery wheel to get rid of all loose flesh and make the skins soft and smooth. Skins tanned with alum and salt alone are not as white, neither are they as soft and plump as skins on which flour has been used in connection with the salt and alum. Skins which have received flour stake out easily, the grain does not crack the flesh, when buffed, is white and smooth and the leather is soft and full. The cost of tanning is of course increased by using flour but the better quality of the tanned skins is sufficient to offset the extra expense. Another Good Process. — Sheep and lamb skins that have had the acid pickle removed can be tanned in the following man- ner: For every hundred pounds of skins three pounds of sul- phate of alumina and six pounds of salt are dissolved in six gallons of water. This liquid is put into the drum with the skins and the skins are drummed in it for thirty minutes. Then a second solution is prepared, consisting of ten pounds of hyposulphite of soda dissolved in five gallons of warm water. This solution is poured into the drum and the skins are drummed in the combined alumina and soda solutions for twenty minutes. The hyposulphite of soda fixes the tannage upon the skin fibers, making it permanent; it however also thins the skins. In order to overcome the thinning of the skins, another solution of sulphate of alumina and salt is added. This consists of two pounds of alumina and four pounds of salt dis- solved in three gallons of water, and it is added to the con- tents of the drum, and the drumming is then continued for thirty or or forty minutes or until the skins have acquired the desired degree of plumpness. The skins are then taken from the drum and rinsed off by a single dipping of them separately in clean water; they are I30 PRACTICAL TANNING. then horsed up for several hours to drain. Thoroughly tawed skins are produced by this process ; they are insoluble in cold water and even in warm water, and make leather of good quality and fine grain. After the skins have dried, they may be made softer by drumming them in a warm solution of sulphated oil, then dry- ing and staking them. Although flour does not enter into this process as described, it may be used if considered necessary; but the skins tanned without it work out into nice soft leather, especially when they are treated with sulphated oil. The skins can also be dampened and staked and then retanned in a chrome process. When sulphated oil has been used, no fat- liquor is required. The skins can, however, be tanned in this process, dried, wet back, and retanned in a chrome process, and then colored and fat-liquored, or drummed in flour and fat- liquored, and made into white chrome leather. To wet the skins and retan them in a chrome process and then to bleach them with borax and sulphuric acid is another way to make white chrome leather. If no sulphated oil was used in the preliminary process, it may be applied to the skins after they are chrome-tanned. White Chrome -Tanned Sheep Leather. For some purposes, such as baseball covers, suspender trimmings, linings and trimmings, a soft white leather is wanted. Formerly the alum process was used to make such leather, but nowadays the skins are tanned in a chrome process and made white by bleaching and treatment with flour after they are tanned. If it is desired to tan sheepskins for white chrome leather the following instructions will be found of service. Sheep and lamb skins are always pickled with sulphuric acid and salt before they are tanned, and in the case of white leather this pickling process is of help and importance since it bleaches the skins and makes them whiter than they would be were they not pickled. The grease must be pressed or wrung out as much as possible before tanning is begun or the leather will THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 13I not be white but a dirty yellow. It is suggested that the skins be taken in pickled condition and dried out and then degreased with naphtha. After this has been done hang them up until the naphtha has evaporated, then put them into a drum with a warm solution of salt, and run them a few minutes to wet and soften them for the chrome liquor. For each hundred pounds of skins to be tanned dissolve one pound of Glauber's salt in eight gallons of water. Place this solution in the drum with the skins and run the drum ten min- utes, then throw the skins back upon the pins of the drum and drain the solution off. The plug should then be replaced in the drum, and for each hundred pounds of skins put six pounds of common salt and eight gallons of water into the drum and process the skins five minutes. Next add to the contents of the drum the one-bath chrome liquor in portions of one-third of the quantity used at a time, and drum the skins for three or four hours or until they are struck through with the green liquor, three gallons of chrome liquor being used for each hundred pounds of skins. In a gallon of hot water dissolve a pound of bicarbonate of soda, add it to the contents of the drum and run the skins forty minutes. The tanning should now be complete but if any doubt exists in the mind of the tanner, the skins may be drummed an hour longer and left in the liquor over night, water being added to the tanning liquor to completely cover the skins. The next da}' remove the skins from the drum, place them smoothly over horses and let them press and drain for some hours, the longer the better ; they are then ready to be washed and bleached. For each hundred pounds of skins, original weight, use one pound of borax or bleaching soda dis- solved in hot water, say at 120 degrees Fahr., and wash the skins in this solution twenty minutes, then drain the water, replace the plug and put into the drum cold water to which some sulphuric acid has been added, and drum the leather in it thirty minutes. The borax opens and softens the skins and being alkaline prevents the acid from doing any injury. After the skins have been washed in the weak acid solution they 132 PRACTICAL TANNING. should be washed in clean hot water, then pressed or struck out and shaved. The next process is treatment with flour. - Use about fifty pounds of flour to one hundred large skins or two hundred small ones. Stir the flour into ten or twelve gallons of water for one hundred pounds of skins and drum the skins in the liquor two hours, then strike them out or press them and give them some fat-liquor. For some purposes the skins work out soft enough without fat-liquor but if very soft leather is wanted a little fat-liquor should be used. Nice white skins can be obtained by omitting the borax and acid treatment, simply washing the skins and giving them the flour treatment, but it is the writer's opinion that the whitest skins result when both treatments are used. Sulphated oil dissolved in warm water is an excellent fat- liquor for these skins. Another consists of soap, oil and egg yolk, and, for a common quality of skin, a soap solution alone makes the skins soft without discoloring them. For very soft and full skins the following fat-liquor is recommended : For each dozen medium-size skins use one pint egg yolk, one pint flour, one-half pint olive oil, four ounces Castile or Ivory soap, eight gallons of water. Boil the soap until it is dissolved, add the oil, and boil the mixture fifteen minutes, cool the liquor to 75 degrees Fahr. and add the egg yolks. Make the flour into a paste with water and stir it into the fat-liquor. Press the water out of the skins, give them the fat-liquor, drumming them in it forty minutes, then strike them out and hang them up to dry. The grain may be oiled with French chalk, two parts of glycerine and four parts of water, or the skins may be dried without the grain being so treated. When tbe skins are dry, dip them into clean hot water and place them in piles in a clean place, cover them up and let them become soft and workable, next stake them and then run them in a dry clean drum with powdered chalk or soapstone for one hour or longer. Finally arm-stake the skins and they are then finished. When the work has been properly done the skins work out very soft, full and white. THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 33 Four pounds of sulphated oil dissolved in twelve gallons of water at a temperature of 125 degrees Fahr. will fat-liquor one hundred pounds of skins. Drum the skins in the oil thirty minutes, then rinse them in warm water, strike them out and dry them as directed above. Chrome-tanned skins in the natural greenish-blue color of the process are used for lining purposes. The process of fin- ishing such skins is very simple. They are washed, shaved and fat-liquored. Any fat-liquor that is suitable for sheepskins may be used. Unless the skins are wanted very soft the quan- tity of fat-liquor given them should be very small. After the skins have been fat-liquored, set them out hard and give the grain a coat of soapstone, water and glycerine. Mix a half-pint of glycerine into a gallon of water and then stir in enough soapstone to make the mixture about as thick as cream. Ap- ply this to the grain of each skin with a sponge and then dry the skins by tacking them out smoothly on boards. When they are dry dampen and stake them, then dry them again, roll or iron them, and they are finished. White Napa Leather. The process of tanning sheepskins into what is called Napa leather originated in Napa, Cal. It is more of a curing than a tanning process and may be called a soap and oil process. The leather it produces is possessed of considerable strength and softness and is used for purposes where inexpensive leather is required. Light-weight skins are used. For white leather skins having damaged grains are finished upon the flesh. The original process of making this leather consisted of removing the wool by sweating the pelts and then treating the skins to the tanning or curing process. No lime was used and the skins were thus left fiat and with their strength unimpaired. Various modifications of the process have crept in, due to the changed processes of preparing the skins. At the present time the wool is removed with sulphide of sodium or another depilatory. The skins are given very little or no lime at all, 134 PRACTICAL TANNING. but of course must be thoroughly washed before they are tanned. Pickled skins should be pressed to remove the grease and then drummed in warm salt water to get them in condition to be tanned. The original process was as follows : For two hundred skins^ twenty pounds of salt, thirty pounds of white rock potash and three hundred gallons of water constituted the first part of the process. The skins were left in the liquor for two or three hours, then wrung out as dry as possible and immersed in the second solution. This consisted of twelve pounds of hard soap, two gallons of neatsfoot oil and one hundred and fifty gallons of water. The skins were left in this liquor until it had pene- trated them ; then they were dried and passed through the process a second, and even a third, time as they seemed to re- quire. After the last drying,'the skins were washed in clean water to make them clean and soft, and were then dried and staked. Pickled skins are partly cured when received at the tannery ; and in some instances it suffices to merely neutralize the acid in them. For this purpose soda or borax and oil may be used. For white leather, the skins receive no further treatment, but are dried in a warm room and finished as quickly as possible. White Napa leather is finished upon the flesh as the grain is usually very imperfect. The dried skins are moistened and staked and, when they are dry and soft, they are buffed on an emery wheel and made clean and soft upon the flesh. This work requires considerable skill to get an even surface and not cut through the skin. When finished, the skins are soft, white and clean. White skins must be free from the grease natural to sheep- skins or they will be a dirty yellow when finished. Another way to treat the skins that produces results similar to the preceding process is as follows : For ten dozen sheep- skins of average size, a solution is prepared composed of two pounds of caustic soda and one pound of borax in sufficient water to cover the skins. The skins are drummed in this solu- THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 35 tion for thirty minutes, then hung up and dried. They are next immersed in a liquor composed of five pounds of hard soap, one gallon of straits or neatsfoot oil, one-half pound of caustic soda and seventy-five pounds of water. In this solution the skins should remain until they have become thoroughly softened, after which they are put into a drum with a part of the second composition and run for about a half hour, then re- moved and dried as before. In many instances this treatment is sufficient. If the skins are not quite satisfactory after drying the second time, they may be soaked soft in the second liquor or run in drums and passed through the process a second time. Some skins require more treatment than others. After the skins have become leather, they are put into a weak solution of soap, oil and caustic soda in order to soften them, and when soft and moist they may be colored or dried without further treatment and worked into white leather. The leather is soft and tough, and it does not pull apart after being sewed. Tanning with Alum, Sumac and Oak Bark. — A soft, light- colored sheepskin that can be used in the natural color of the tan, or colored any desired shade, is desired for many purposes. A process consisting of alum, Glauber's salt, common salt, su- mac, oak bark, nutgalls and acid produces such leather. The pickle should be removed from the skins by drenching them with whiting and salt, then washing the skins in two baths of warm salt water. To make the tanning liquor, dissolve in five gallons of water, six pounds of alum, three pounds of Glauber's salt, four pounds of common salt. In another tub boil in five gallons of water, five pounds of ground sumac, three pounds of oak bark and one pound of ground nutgalls. Mix the two solutions, then strain while the mixture is hot and add to it four ounces of sulphuric acid. The liquor should be used lukewarm, and the skins should be drummed in it one hour, then allowed to drain twenty-four hours. Tanning can also be done in a paddle-vat, the liquor being used warm and the skins stirred about in it for two hours, 136 PRACTICAL TANNING. then allowed to remain in it for several hours and then with- drawn and drained. After draining, the skins should be struck out on both sides and oiled with neatsfoot oil also on both sides, then hung up and dried. As the leather dries it should be worked continually, so that when it is dry it is also soft and well worked out. The skins tan cheaply and quickly, and when worked out can be colored any shade or left in the natural color of the tan. This leather is quite moisture-proof and durable. Sumac used alone makes leather that is nearly white. When tanned, the skins are dried, worked out and used in the color of the tan or colored with aniline dye. Coloring Black Napa Skins. Black Napa leather is generally colored blue on the flesh side. This may be done by the use of Direct Blue Paste, a paste specially prepared for the purpose. It produces a full, dark blue shade, and penetrates the skins from flesh to grain. This is the method of using it : For ten dozen skins direct from the press, two gallons of the blue paste are dissolved in ten gallons of water, and the skins are drummed in this liquor for three-quarters of an hour, then allowed to lie over night and are tanned the next day. A good blacking for this class of leather is made as follows: Five pounds of nitric acid, five pounds of muriatic acid and one pint of water. Enough wrought-iron chips are used to kill the acid, then seven pounds of copperas are dissolved in five gallons of water and added to the above. A good " sig " is made of forty gallons of water, twelve pounds of salts of tartar, five pounds of bichromate of potash and one quart of ammonia. These formulae are in practical use and giving good results. The skins, after becoming dry are moistened and then dampened down for staking. This is usuall}^ accomplished by dipping the skins in water and then letting them lie in piles until they become uniformly moistened. ' When in just the right condition, the skins are knee-staked for the purpose of THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 37 softening them and to get rid of all stretch. After this work is completed, the skins are tacked or stretched upon boards in moist condition and left until thoroughly dry. When they are dry they are buffed on emery wheels. Upon the white Napas this is a very important part of the work. The buffing is done to remove the surplus flesh and to make the skins clean and smooth upon the flesh side. The black Napa leather is finished upon the grain in dull and glazed finishes. The dull finish is obtained by ironing the skins while they are slightly moist with seasoning, and for the glazed finish the skins are glazed upon machines. Coloring Alum-Tanned Leather. Alum leather may be colored with either wood or aniline dyes. The first are the most durable, but the latter are prettier and are more easily applied as they can be bought prepared in many shades, requiring only to be dissolved in warm water to be ready for use. A mordant is not necessary with the colors as the alum itself acts as a mordant and the color adheres readily to the alum-tanned fibers. When coloring, care must be taken to extract as little of the tanning material as possible and to apply the color carefully and economically. The dye may be applied to the grain side by means of a brush or sponge which leaves a white flesh and colored grain. Light skins that require thorough coloring and in which softness is required receive a so-called nourishment to make up for the tanning material lost while coloring, A suit- able mixture for this purpose is made of alum, salt, flour and ■egg yolk which can be worked in mechanically or may be applied to the flesh side of the skins or the skins may be kneaded in the mixture. In place of this mixture, water and egg yolk may be used or a solution of sulphonated oil in warm •water. When considerable tanning material is removed before ■coloring, alum and salt should be used in the mixture to replace the material lost. To obtain a fine, dry feel the washed leather may be drummed in a fatty mixture or in a mixture of fat and 138 PRACTICAL TANNING. wheat flour. Sulphonated oil is good for this purpose. The- skins may also be treated with the materials named before they are colored. To wash the skins for coloring, they are drummed in luke- warm water until they are softened, and feel and look like raw stock ; they are then rinsed ofif and colored. For black skins logwood and striker are used. The skins are then given the retannage or nourishment and are dried and finished. Fine, light skins are generally wanted softer and in brighter colors, than heavy skins. Chamois Leather. Chamois leather at the present time is made almost ex- clusively from sheepskins. The leather is produced by the action of oil upon the raw skins, and is distinguished from all other classes of leather by remarkable softness and open tex- ture. In the making of this leather the wool is removed from the pelts in the usual way, the skins are then limed long and thoroughly in order to make them very soft and elastic. They are then split on a machine adapted to the work, the grain being tanned and finished into fancy leather, while the flesh side is oil-tanned into chamois leather. After splitting,, the fleshes receive a further liming in order to increase their softness and porosity. Old lime liquors, provided they are kept clean, produce the best results, as they make the fibers of the skins very soft and silky without the hardness that comes from the use of new, fresh limes. To remove the lime from the skins they are subjected to dif- ferent processes. In some instances the)' are bated with manure and then given a bran drench, which leaves them perfectly clean and very soft. Some manufacturers remove the lime by thorough washing and without subjecting the skins to a fermented bate at all. This method makes the leather more durable than when a bating process is used. It is very important that all the lime be gotten rid of before the skins are treated with oil. THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 39 Before the skins are tanned they are pressed in a hydrauHc press in order to get rid of all surplus water and to make them as dry as possible. They are then given a thorough beating in machinery especially constructed for the purpose, in order to soften them, after which they are sprinkled with cod- liver oil and again beaten in order to force the oil into the leather. The best grade of Newfoundland cod oil is considered most suitable for the purpose. The process of oiling the skins and beating them is repeated two or three times, or until they have lost their original smell of lime and have acquired a mustard color. After the oiling and beating process is completed the skins are made to undergo a process of heating. By this pro- cess the oxidation of the oil which commenced during the previous process is completed by the fermentation that results,, in the skins. The heat is generated spontaneously. The skins must be watched very closely and frequently turned over. When the heat rises to too high a temperature the leather is seriously damaged. The heat that is generated destroys all organic matter in the skins. The highest temperature allow- able is 140 degrees Fahr. This heating process is a most delicate operation, and upon its being properly done depends the suc- cess of preparing the leather. When insufficient heat is generated the leather rots, when too much heat is produced it becomes dissolved. When fermentation ceases, and the skins are no longer susceptible to heating, they are treated in order to remove the oil. This is done by washing them in hot water and then pressing under a hydraulic press. The grease that is squeezed out in this way is degras, an article largely used by tanners. The oil may also be removed by washing the skins in a solution of soda ash, which causes the grease remaining to saponify. This saponified oil is then neutralized with sul- phuric acid and forms the oil known as sod oil. A certain percentage of the oil should be allowed to remain in the skins so as to give them softness. The finishing processes consist of drying, staking and smooth- ing down all unevenness on the surface. The skins may be 140 PRACTICAL TANNING. bleached by being sprinkled with water and exposed to the sun, or by treatment with a weak solution of permanganate of potash, followed by a treatment with diluted sulphuric acid, or the leather may be treated with sulphurous acid in the form of gas. Methods of treating the skins vary. In some instances the skins, instead of being laid in piles to ferment, are hung up in warm ovens, which is less dangerous and produces a better color. Very soft, tough leather having many of the character- istics of chamois leather is made from fleshers in chrome tan- ning. The skins may be tanned in the usual way and then very heavily fat-liquored with emulsions of oil, egg-yolk and soap, or of oil and degras. By first treating the fleshers to a tawing paste of alum, salt, flour and egg yolk, made up in the proportions of nine pounds of alum, four pounds of salt, twenty pounds of wheat flour, and twelve pounds of egg-yolk, for one hundred pounds of skins, and drumming the skins in this Hquor in a drum at a temperature of ninety degrees Fahi-. for twenty minutes, and then drying them out, and after lying in the dry state for some weeks working them soft, a very soft and elastic leather is produced. They may be finished up with no further treatment other than working and smoothing, or they may be subsequently tanned in a chrome process and then finished by passing the prepared skins (washed and pressed) through a twenty-five per cent. Turkey-red oil solution. After this they are dried and laid in a moderately warmed room in a heap and covered up. They are then hung up in the air and allowed to dry slowly, when they are again oiled in the same solution and again laid in a heap, again dried, and then w^ashed in a weak solution of alkali. By drying and working, the leather is made soft and com- pletely oil-tanned. The results may be variously modified by greater or less concentration of the oil solution, by higher tem- perature in drying and by more frequent applications or treat- ments with the oil. Combinations with the salts of alumina may also be employed here. The preferred method is as fol- lows : The prepared skins are steeped in a solution containing THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. I4I preferably fifteen per cent, of the soluble Turkey-red oil, they are then dried and the operation is repeated, after which the usual method of tanning is proceeded with. Coloring Chamois Skins. The coloring of chamois skins can be done successfully only in a drum, the tumbling and pounding being necessary to force the dye into the skins. Chamois skins can be dyed through the same shade by mordanting with chrome alum and then coloring with the alizarine or the acid and basic dyestuffs. A practical method of coloring the skins is carried out in the fol- lowing manner: The skins are first soaked for about half an hour in a one per cent, solution of soda crystals, the tempera- ture of the water being about 90 degrees Fahr., for the purpose of removing any oxidized oil that may be on the skins. When they are soaked and softened, the skins are washed very thor- oughly in warm water in a drum to remove the soda; they are then slicked out and are ready to be mordanted and dyed. The mordant consists of a one per cent, solution of chrome alum, used warm, and the skins are run in it in a drum for thirty minutes. The skins are then taken from the chrome alum solution and dyed without washing, or they may be thrown back upon the pins of the drum, the mordant solution drained off, and the dye-liquor put into the drum. The quan- tity of dye required for each dozen skins is about two ounces of the powder alizarine dyes and about ten ounces of the paste dyes. For every ounce of dye that is used two ounces of bisulphate of soda should be dissolved and added to the dye bath. The dye is dissolved in boiling water, and enough water is then added to make sufficient liquor to cover the skins, the bisulphate of soda being then added to the solution of dyestufif. The temperature of the d3'e bath should be about lOO degrees Fahr. The skins are drummed in the warm dj^e-liquor for one- half hour, or until they are dyed through ; they are then washed in warm water and dried out. When dry, the skins are damp- ened and worked soft. Before the skins are dyed they should 142 PRACTICAL TANNING. be made as clean and smooth as possible, so that when colored little buffing will be necessary. Colored chamois leather is used in the manufacture of gloves, also as linings and for other purposes. If the skins have a uni- iorm shade throughout, they may be buffed on an emery wheel after they are dry and soft and improved in appearailce, but if they are not of the same color throughout, the buffing gives them a spotted appearance. Only sufficient buffing should be done after coloring to give the skins a nice nap. Chamois leather may also be colored by treating the skins with a solution of titanium salt previous to the application of the dye. The skins are soaked in a one per cent, solution of soda crystals in the manner that has been described ; they are then drummed in a solution of titanium salt (one per cent.), and are then dyed to shade without previous washing. Bleaching Chamois Skins. Chamois leather is bleached most satisfactorily by immersion first in a solution of permanganate of potash and then in a sul- phurous acid bath. Before the skins are bleached the excess of oil must be re- moved. For this purpose a bath is prepared consisting of two pounds of potash in twenty-five gallons of warm water; this is sufficient for one hundred and fifty skins. The temperature of the solution should be about 95 degrees Fahr. Six pounds of soda crystals may be used in place of the potash. The skins are drummed in this solution for from one to two hours, then the liquor is run off" and a new one prepared like the first ; this is run into the drum and the skins are drummed from one to two hours longer. They are then washed in lukewarm water, wrung out dry, staked, and then bleached. The solution of permanganate of potash is prepared by dis- solving one pound of permanganate in five pints of water. Enough of this solution is added to water in a suitable tub or vat to impart to the water a deep violet color. The bath is then warmed up to 105 degrees Fahr., and the skins are placed in it, THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 43 •one at a time, and are then stirred about in the bath for twenty minutes, at the end of which time they will be found to be thoroughly impregnated with the permanganate solution. They are then taken out of the liquor, rinsed in cold water and next placed in another vat or tub containing a solution of sul- phurous acid. The vat should contain water into which gase- ous sulphurous acid is either conducted from a steel cylinder, or aqueous sulphurous acid is added until the brown color of the skins has disappeared and the skins are uniformly white. The skins are stirred about in the sulphurous acid bath for fifteen or twenty minutes or until they are white; they are then rinsed in cold water to remove the superfluous sulphurous acid and are then hung up to dry. A soap solution made by dis- solving a good quality of white castor oil or olive oil soap is applied to the skins by washing them in it, after which they are dried in the air, staked and pumiced. A wash of starch or pipe clay stirred into cold water is also sometimes used as a finish- ing process. Sulphurous acid may be prepared from sodium bisulphite and acid. Dissolve fourteen pounds of sodium bisulphite in fifteen gallons of water. Into another vessel containing two and one-half gallons of water pour six pounds of muriatic acid and mix it well throughout the water. The skins after treat- ment with permanganate of potash are placed in the solution of sodium bisulphite and the diluted acid is added slowly until the skins are bleached white through and through. They are then removed from the liquor, thoroughly washed, dried and finished. Sheepskin Fleshers. When sheepskins are split out of lime the grains are tanned in bark, sumac and other tans, and finished into skivers ; the splits or flesh portions are made into chamois leather and used for linings, gloves, and other well-known purposes. In addi- tion to chamois skins, the splits of sheepskins can be tanned in numerous other ways and used for various purposes where in- 144 PRACTICAL TANNING. expensive material is required. A number of tanning pro- cesses for these goods will be described. Tanning with Basic Alnmina Liquor. — After the skins are split, the fleshers are drenched with lactic acid and pickled in the same manner as unsplit skins; they are then tanned. For white fleshers the following process will be found quite satis- factory : Weigh the splits and put them into a drum with ten gallons of water in which one pound of Glauber's salt and three pounds of common salt have been dissolved, this solution being Used for one hundred pounds of pickled splits. Run the splits in this solution twenty minutes, then drain the liquor off The tanning solution should be prepared the day before it is used. Twelve pounds of sulphate of alumina are dissolved in ten gallons of boiling water. In a clean tub a solution of one and one-half pounds of bicarbonate of soda in a gallon of hot water is prepared. The soda solution is poured very slowly and with constant stirring into the alumina solution, the mixture being then set aside until the next day. After the skins have been drummed in the Glauber's and common salt solution and the liquor has been drained off, four pounds of salt and eight gallons of lukewarm water are put into the drum, and the skins are drummed fifteen minutes. Half of the alumina and soda liquor is then poured into the drum and the drum is run two or three hours. The skins are then placed over horses to drain until the next day, when they are hung up to dry. When they are dry they are put back into the drum with eight gallons of water and drummed ten minutes. The rest of the alumina and soda solution is then poured into the drum, and after two or three hours' drumming the fleshers are fully tanned, and after draining twenty-four hours are hung up to dry. The goods after drying are kept in a dry condition or ten days or two weeks, and are then ready to be fat-liquored and finished. If they are soft enough for the purpose for which they are to be used no fat-liquor is necessary; but for very soft goods a fat-liquor of sulphonated oil may be used. From four to seven pounds of the soluble oil is used in eight gallons THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 45 of water at 95 degrees Fahr. for one hundred pounds of dry skins. The goods are drummed in this solution one half-hour, then dried, dampened, staked and finished on a very fine emery wheel. The fat-liquor may also be added to the last portion of tan liquor, tanning and fat-liquoring being thus done at once ; this saves time. It is also beneficial to the goods to dampen the dry skins and mill them in flour or chalk before staking and finishing. Tanning with Alum, Salt, Egg-Yolk and Flour. — The pro- cess of tanning described for mocha castor glove leather may be applied to sheepskin splits with good results. The acid pickle should be first removed in a drench of sour bran and salt. Any shade of color can be applied to the goods as they absorb dye readily. Finishing on a fine emery wheel gives fine feel and softness to the skins. A tanning process of alum, egg yolk and flour in the following proportions also produces very soft and well tanned splits. For one hundred pounds of the splits a solution is prepared consisting of twelve gallons of water, nine pounds of alum, three pounds of salt and twenty pounds of flour, at a temperature of 90 degrees Fahr., in which the skins are drummed for one-fourth of an hour. Less flour may be used, and for common goods the quantity may be re- duced to five or six pounds. At the end of the fifteen minutes eight pounds of yolk of eggs dissolved in warm water are put into the drum, drumming being then continued for one hour. The skins are then hung up to dry. Finishing consists of staking and running on fine emery. In place of egg yolk sulphonated oil may be dissolved in warm water and given to the splits after they have been drum- ming in the alum, salt and flour. After the goods are taken from the drum they should be placed in a tub with the remain- ing liquor for two days before they are dried. And after they are dry they should be kept in a cool, dry room for two weeks before they are finished. Chrome-tanned Fleshers. — Sheepskin fleshers, drenched and pickled, may be tanned the same as flesh- finished and grain- 10 146 PRACTICAL TANNING. finished skeepskins; they can then be colored with ah'zarine or with aniline dyes or with natural dyestuffs according to the receipts given for unsplit sheepskins. Finishing on a fine emery wheel gives the goods a fine nap and soft feel; and a paste of flour and water added to the fat-liquor increases the fullness of the leather. A Process for Sheepskin Fleshers. To be used in the manufacture of gloves, for bindings, etc. The quantities of tanning materials mentioned are sufficient for two dozen fleshers of ordinary size. The fleshers are immersed, stirred about and pounded for about thirty min- utes in a fluid prepared as follows : One pound of alum is dissolved in one and one-half gallons of water, which is readily done by boiling. Then in another vessel are mixed one-half pound of flour and one-half pound of oatmeal, or one pound of either alone, with one gill of oil and one and one-half gallons of water, and this mixture is mixed with the alum solution. The tanning materials may be applied to the skins in a drum, and at the end of thirty minutes the skins are taken out of the drum. They are then immersed for thirty minutes, either in a vat, tub or drum, in a fluid mixture composed of one gill of ammonia, one-half of a bar of soap, one half ounce of soda, one-half pound, of salt and about two ounces of whiting or ochre, all boiled in one and a half gallons of water. To this solution is added either one pound of flour or one pound of oatmeal mixed in one and one- half gallons of water, and the fleshers are drummed in the mix- ture for thirty minutes, after which they are dried, worked soft, and finished upon either the grain or the flesh side. The skins dressed in this manner are very soft and pliable, with much elasticity and strength of fiber without roughness. After the skins have been treated to the first part of the process they may be dried, ."^taked and finished on either or both sides without being subjected to the second part of the process, and when this is done they are of very good quality THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 47 and susceptible of taking a very nice finish. Yet it is prefer- able to use the entire process in dressing the skins, as they are thus given a superior quality and a capacity for a better finish than when only the first part is used, and when finished they bear a close resemblance to castor or mocha glove leather. In order to get the skins soft and elastic, and at the same time tough and strong, it is necessary that they be handled in such a way in the early processes of the beamhouse as to prevent any loss of substance or strength. The use of sulphide of sodium in removing the wool shortens the time consumed in the preparation of the skins and at the same time helps to make tough and soft leather. A liming of from six to eight days is generally sufficient for heavy skins, and after the liming is completed the drenching should be carefully done. The bran drench produces a very soft skin, as does also lactic acid, the latter article being very simple and safe to use. The drenching may be done in a drum, about three quarts of acid being used in one hundred gallons of warm water and the skins drummed or milled for not longer than thirty minutes. Vegetable-tanned Sheepskins. Hemlock Tannage. — Large quantities of sheepskins are tan- ned with hemlock bark and applied to various uses, such as linings, trimmings, pocket-books and sundry fancy leather pur- poses. Hemlock bark makes a good tannage for sheepskins. It fills and plumps them more than any other tanning material ; and the skins acquire a good color on which it is easy to apply aniline dye. Hemlock-tanned skins are finished in the natural color of the tan, they are dyed black when black leather is wanted, or colored and finished with a smooth or an embossed grain for fancy leather purposes. Pickled skins, before they are put into the tanning liquor, should be pressed to remove the natural grease from them. They then require to be drummed in warm salt water to soften and open them, and to separate them as they get stuck together while being pressed. The drumming must be thorough so 148 PRACTICAL TANNING. that all spots become soft or the skins will not tan evenly. It is not necessary to remove the acid pickle but there should be considerable salt in the tan liquor to keep the skins from spoil- ing. Two and a half bushels of salt should be added to one thousand gallons of tan liquor. The most satisfactory way to tan the skins is by suspending them in the liquor, tacking them on wooden frames with gal- vanized iron or copper nails so as not to stain them. One nail on each butt shank is enough. Two skins on each side of the lathe, with the grain side out, are thus suspended. When the frames are to be filled, they are raised out of the liquor and when filled they are lowered by a windlass into the vat so that the skins are submerged. The tanner must be careful to avoid drawing the grain by using too strong liquors at first. If the liquor is too strong the grains of the skins will draw and crack after being dried out. The liquor for the fresh skins at the beginning of the process should not be over six to eight degrees strength. In this liquor the skins remain from one day until the next; they are then hoisted out by the wind- lass and carried along to the next liquor which should be some degrees stronger than the first one. The tanning is continued in this way, the skins going into stronger liquor each day until they are tanned, which is usually accomplished in from seven to ten days according to the thickness of the skins. After they are tanned, the skins are hung up and dried. When soft and light-colored skins are wanted, the hemlock bark should be rossed before it is ground to remove the gum and resinous matter that darken the liquor. Steam should not be used to leach the bark as it darkens the liquors ; and brass pipes are the only suitable ones to use for conveying the liquor to and from the leaches. For dark skins the bark need not be rossed as the dark color of the liquor is no detriment. However, to get firm, pliable skins of a good color only clean, light-colored bark liquors should be used. The skins can be tanned in pad- dle vats or in vats without paddles, but these methods do not produce as smooth grains as tanning by suspension. When. THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 49 tanned, the skins should be horsed up to drain well, then hung in the drying-room to dry. If the skins are to be left in the color of the tan, or if they are to be colored, it is best to dry them in a dark room away from sunlight, but for black leather a light grain is not necessary and such skins can be dried in the open air without injury. Freezing is beneficial to the tan- ned skins as it makes them softer and of finer texture. Oak liquors make nice skins for linings and book-binding and fancy leather purposes. A mixture of hemlock and oak bark liquors is a good combination to use, as it produces lighter colored skins than straight hemlock tan. A good tanning process consists of starting the skins in weak hemlock liquor and as soon as the grain is well set to pass them into a stronger liquor, composed of hemlock, oak wood extract and •quebracho, care being taken to handle the skins every day under this treatment. A very uniform color is maintained by this process ; and the skins are made tough, firm and pliable. Hemlock and quebracho extracts combined form a good tan for sheepskins. The liquors may be two-thirds quebracho and one-third hemlock. The skins tan in a few days. The leather is well filled, soft and of good texture, while the color is light ■and uniform and more satisfactory than the color of hemlock leather after it is bleached. The tanned skins can be easily colored any shade by the use of aniline dyes. Quebracho Tannage. — Quebracho extract produces well tanned skins that are easily colored and finished. Either the solid or liquid extract may be used. A quantity of the extract is boiled up with water in a barrel and forms a stock solution from which the tan liquors are prepared and strengthened. The skins are suspended in the liquor in the same manner as in hemlock liquors. The first liquor should be about seven degrees strong, the next liquor a little stronger, and succeeding liquors still stronger until the skins are completely tanned. There must always be salt in the tan liquors or else the salt ■contained in the skin from the pickle bath would be washed out and the acid remaining would burn the skins. 150 PRACTICAL TANNING. When the skins are fully tanned, take them from the liquor and hang them up to dry. If the skins are to be very soft a fat-liquor is necessary. This may be given to the skins imme- diately after they are tanned or not until after they have been colored. It is usually considered best to fat-liquor after color- ing, although fat-liquoring after tanning and before drying-out also makes nice leather. Quebracho extract, alum and salt make a good tanning pro- cess. Take for the first bath seven hundred gallons of water in the paddle wheel or vat; add enough quebracho extract to make the strength four degrees barkometer. Then add ten pounds of alum and twenty-five pounds of salt while warm and plunge them until dissolved and mixed. Remove the acid from the skins by a drench of whiting and salt, or one of sour bran and salt, and put them into this liquor. The skins may be suspended in the liquor or a paddle vat may be used. Sus- pension is undoubtedly the best method. From twenty-four to forty-eight hours are required to strike the skins with the tan material. When they have assumed a light oak color and the grain is well set, the skins are ready for the second bath. This is made by preparing a six-degree quebracho liquor con- taining salt but no alum. After thirty-six hours, this liquor may be strengthened to ten degrees and the skins left in two days longer, which completes the tanning. The tanned skins should then be rinsed in warm water, struck out and dried, or lat-liquored and then dried. This process makes nice plump skins that can be dyed black, or colored with aniline dyes. Colored and embossed, the skins are fine leather for pocket books and bags, sweat bands for hats, and other special pur- poses. A combination of one-fourth palmetto extract and three-fourths quebracho produces plump and mellow skins. As both of th.ese extracts are rapid tanners, tanning can be completed in a short time. Combination Tannage. — For colored sheepskins, a tannage of gambler, salt, alum and sulphate of soda produces plump,, firm and smooth-grained leather. The acid used as a pickle THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 151 should be removed before the skins are tanned. Use two pounds of bolted whiting and five pounds of salt in fifteen gal- lons of water at 90 degrees Fahr. for one huudred pounds of pickled skins. Run in drum one-half hour. Let stand one- half hour, then wash the skins in two baths of clean, warm salt water to remove all the whiting. Always use salt in the wash water to hold the skins from swelling. And every trace of whiting should be washed away or the tanned skins will be tender. After the skins have been washed, let them drain a few hours before tanning them. Tanning may be done in a drum or by suspension. If a drum is used, use six pounds of gambler, two pounds of salt, one and a quarter pounds of alum, one pound of sulphate of soda and one-half ounce picric acid for each dozen skins. Boil the gambier in a tub, the other materials in a pail or tub, and mix the two solutions and use at [OO degrees Fahr. Give the liquor to the skins in portions of a pailful at a time at intervals of five minutes to prevent a coarse, harsh skin. The skins should be drummed in the liquor from one to two hours, then placed over horses to drain until the next day. If the skins are tanned by the suspension method, add about half of the tanning materials to water in the vat and after a few hours add the rest, and keep the liquor stirred up until the skins are tanned. This method of tanning keeps the grain smooth and makes the skins firm and plump. The treatment that the skins are given after they are tanned depends upon how the skins are to be finished. If dry, colored skins are wanted, they are dried out after tanning, then washed and colored, dried again, worked out and finished. If soft leather is wanted, suitable for coats, gloves, bindings, etc., they should be fat-liquored the next day after tanning, blacked on the grain, dried, staked and finished. Or they can be dried after tanning, then moistened and colored, then fat-liquored and dried for finishing. Nice, dry skins are made by coloring after drying, then working out and finishing without using any fat-liquor at all. Palmetto extract tans sheepskins into nice soft leather 152 PRACTICAL TANNING. that is easily colored. If a chrome combination tannage is wanted, the skins are tanned with one-bath chrome liquor, then shaved, retanned with gambler or palmetto, struck out, colored and finished. Sumac Tannage — Sumac makes soft, pliable, light- colored skins that are easily colored and finished into fancy leather. The tanning is done in vats, the skins are then dried and later on moistened and colored. Sheepskins tanned with any of the processes that have been described work out into soft, pliable leather without being fat- liquored, but if very soft skins are wanted they should be fat- liquored with an emulsion of oil and soap after they have been colored. Taken from the tan liquor, the skins are hung up and dried, then moistened and colored. SJieepskins for UpJiolstej'ing Purposes.- — An experienced prac- tical tanner gives the following receipt for tanning sheepskins into what is called Spanish Leather for furniture and automo- biles. Take the pickled skins and remove the pickle from them by drenching with whiting and salt in the manner that has been described for the combination process. After wash- ing out the whiting, the skins are in condition to be tanned. Take six pounds of alum, three pounds Glauber salts, four pounds of common salt, dissolve in ten gallons of soft water. Take also five pounds of ground sumac, three pounds of oak bark, one pound of nutgalls and four ounces of sulphuric acid. Add the sumac, oak bark and nutgalls ; boil twenty minutes, then strain while it is hot; then pour in the sulphuric acid and stir well. This quantity of liquor will tan one hundred pounds of skins. Use this liquor lukewarm. Drum the skins in it for one hour, then let them drain for twenty four hours. Then oil them with neatsfoot oil on both sides, and hang them in a warm room to dry. If smooth surfaces are required, the skins should be struck out hard on both sides before the oil is ap- plied ; and while they are drying, the skins should be worked continually until they are dry and soft. This leather will not absorb moisture ; it is used for automobile coats as well as THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 153 furniture upholstering. Doubtless it could be used for other purposes also. When the skins are dry and soft, they can be colored. The prevailing shades are dark green, oxblood or wine color, tan and chocolate brown. Methods of Coloring Vegetable-tanned Sheepskins. Sheepskins that have been tanned with a vegetable tan, such as bark, sumac, quebracho, 'gambler and other similar tanning materials, are usually dried after tanning. When dry they are packed away and left until they are to be finished. The longer they are kept in the dry or crust condition the softer they are when finished. When the skins are to be colored, they require a moistening and softening in order to remove from them all the dirt, dust and particles of tannin that have not combined with the leather. At the same time washing serves to soften the skins and to put them in the right condition to be colored. Shavmg also is done to make the skins of even thickness. When the washing is properly done, the colors are made clear, full and deep. When dry skins are immersed in dye baths, many defects are noticed in the finished leather. The color cannot penetrate nor combine with the fibers and the re- sults of the coloring process are decidedly unsatisfactory. The dry skins may be moistened in a tub and left in piles for some hours to become uniformly moist and soft, or they may be moistened in a drum. The water used for this work should be soft and warm since such water has greater softening and cleansing powers than cold water. A safe temperature is from 85 to 95 degrees Fahr. The amount of treatment necessary to bring the skins into the required condition depends upon the character and condition of the skins and how they were tanned. Very light and soft skins require very little treatment, but careful handling, while thick and fine skins must be given more thorough preparation. Before coloring is attempted, the skins should be sorted according to texture and weight. Those that are firm and thick should be colored separately from those that are soft and 154 PRACTICAL TANNING. open grained. The clear and fine-grained skins should be dyed the lighter shades and those that are dark colored and streaked the darker shades, or dyed black. It is advisable to have a supply of skins tanned and dried ahead as they improve while lying in the dried condition. After the skins have been colored, they should be dried and finished as quickly as pos- sible. A good way to color the skins is to wash and soften them, then drum them in a warm sumac liquor. This serves to freshen up the skins so that they will readily receive the dye liquor. Usually about four ounces of extract of sumac dis- solved in warm water is sufficient for one dozen skins. In this liquor the skins are drummed twenty minutes. Then to clear the grain and to set the dye, two ounces of tartar emetic for each dozen skins, dissolved in hot water, is poured into the drum and the skins are run fifteen minutes longer. After this,, it is best to rinse the skins in warm water, drain the drum, and then put the skins back and color them. From two to four ounces of aniline are required by each dozen skins ; the tem- perature of the dye bath being about lOO degrees Fahr. In place of sumac, fustic may be used, if the skins require a mor- dant. Vegetable tanned skins do not require a mordant as the tannic acid in the tan serves as a mordant; but something to freshen up the leather and to make more uniform colors is necessary. Titanium potassium oxalate is a valuable material in leather coloring. The titanium unites with the tannin of the leather to form a yellowish-brown titanium tannate, which combines with the fiber of the leather and which is fast and stable and brings up subsequent colors in a remarkable way. The leather in addition to being mordanted is also given the yellow base necessary when all shades except lilac, gray and purple are wanted. After being treated with the titanium salts, the skins are ready to be colored any shade. Both acid and basic dyes color freely, evenly and rapidly on the yellow mordant base resulting from the use of titanium salts. The dry skins are THE MANUFACTURE .OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. I 55 moistened and softened, then run in a solution of eight ounces of titanium potassium oxalate for every hundred pounds of dry leather. This may be done in a paddle vat or drum, preferably the latter. Drumming the skins in the solution of titanium salts for ten minutes gives the yellow base on which any shade of tan, brown, oxblood, etc., can be easily obtained. The shade of yellow-brown produced varies with the kind of tannin in th^ leather. Sumac gives the more yellowish shade. Young fustic with titanium salts gives a light tan. Gambler and red fustic with titanium salts produce a brownish tan. If acid dyes are to be used, the skins can be colored at the end of the ten minutes, without being washed ; but if basic dyes are lo be applied, after drumming in the titanium solution, the liquor should be run ofT, the skins washed and then run in the dye liquor until the right shade is obtained ; then they are washed again, fat-liquored or not, and hung up to dry. No tartar emetic or bichromate of potash is used with the titanium potassium oxalate. The colors produced by this method of coloring are faster to light, fuller in shade and with less ten- dency to "grinning" than those obtained by any other process of dyeing. The process is neither expensive nor complicated. Dyeing the Skins Black. — Excellent results are obtained by the use of logwood and titanium-potassium oxalate. Take the dry skins and soften them with warm water. Then drum them in logwood liquor, slightly alkaline, for twenty minutes. In the meantime dissolve ten ounces of titanium-potassium oxalate in hot water for every hundred pounds of dry skins. At the expiration of the twenty minutes, pour the titanium solution into the drum and drum the skins ten minutes longer; then wash them, fat-liquor, or not, as the skins require, and then finish them. No copperas, iron liquor or other striker is neces- sary. The titanium- potassium oxalate after logwood strikes a deep, permanent black. If the black is required to go deeper or right through the leather, drum the skins first in a solution of four or five ounces of titanium-potassium oxalate for one hundred pounds of dry .156 PRACTICAL TANNING. leather, then add the logwood liquor, and after the skins have been drumming fifteen or twenty minutes in the logwood, pour into the drum four or five ounces of titanium salts for each hundred pounds of dry leather; run the drum ten minutes; then take the skins out, wash and finish them. When titan- ium-potassium oxalate solution is used to develop the black, there is less tendency of the leather to spew. If soft, black leather is wanted, the following method of handling the skins may be followed : Take the skins out of the tanning liquor, wash and press them. Then fat-liquor them with oil and soap, and dry them out in the usual manner. When the skins are dry, soften them with warm water, run them in a solution of titanium-potassium oxalate as just described, then in logwood, and then in titanium solution to strike the black; then wash the skins, strike them out and dry them for finish- ing. The result will be soft, supple leather, dyed through flesh and grain and of a deep, permanent black. The skins can also, of course, be dyed with logwood and copperas, or bichromate of potash, or iron liquor. Logwood liquor is made by boiling five pounds of logwood crystals and one pound of sal soda in ten gallons of water until dissolved ; then run in enough water to make fifty gallons of liquor. A good " striker" is made of fifteen pounds of copperas and five pounds of blue vitriol to fifty gallons of water. The skins are drummed in the logwood liquor fifteen or twenty minutes, the requisite quantity of copperas solution is then poured into the drum and the skins are drummed fifteen minutes longer, washed and finished. A few ounces of fustic paste boiled with the logwood makes the black deeper and richer. The methods of dyeing the skins with logwood and titanium salts possess some advantages over dyeing with logwood and copperas, or iron liquor. A better black as to color and better also as to durability is obtained and the leather is more durable and less apt to spew. The logwood liquor should contain some iustic and sal soda if the best possible black is wanted. THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 57 Drumming the skins first in a solution of titanium-potassium oxalate, then running in good logwood liquor and drumming the skins fifteen minutes, then adding more titanium solution carries the color through the leather and produces a permanent jet black on the grain. Eight or ten ounces of titanium salts for one hundred pounds of dry leather are sufBcient. Half should be used for the preliminary drumming and the rest after the skins have taken up the logwood. Washing after dyeing is important and should never be omitted. For some purposes the skins work out sufficiently soft with- out being fat-liquored. If soft skins are required, the fat- liquoring can be done immediately after tanning or after the skins have been colored. Coloring with Aniline Dyes. — A few practical formulas are given that will enable the dyer to produce several of the shades that are in demand at the present time. No. I. Oxblood. — For one hundred pounds of dry skins use eight ounces of titanium-potassium oxalate. Soften the skins with warm water and drum them in the solution of titanium at 95 degrees Fahr. for ten or fifteen minutes to get a suitable base for the dye. Run off the liquor and wash the skins ; then put them into the drum and give them the dye. Each dozen skins of average size requires about six ounces of amaranth 3-R and one-eighth of an ounce of malachite green. Boil these dyes in a gallon of water, then add one gallon of water and apply to the skins at 100 degrees Fahr. and run fifteen minutes. Then wash and fat-liquor the skins. No. 2. Oxblood. — Take ten dozen skins. Moisten with warm water, then run in drum with water at 90 degrees Fahr. to soften and wet them. Dissolve in hot water three pounds of tartar emetic ; pour the solution into the drum and run the drum fifteen minutes ; then drain the liquor ofif. To color, use four pounds of amaranth 3-R, given to the skins in four por- tions. After the first portion is in the drum, run the skins ten minutes, then add the remaining portions of dye at intervals of ten minutes. Then add to the contents of the drum a pound 158 PRACTICAL TANNING. and a half of amaranth i-R and eight ounces of chocolate- brown O, and run the drum one-half hour. Drain the water out of the drum, run in the fat-liquor, then add ten ounces of bichromate of potash and drum the skins ten minutes longer, wash them and dry them for finishing. No. J. Oxblood. — The correct shade of oxblood can be ob- tained on vegetable-tanned skins in the following manner: For each 120 feet of dry leather, boil ten pounds of hypernic chips. Strain the liquor. Put the skins into the drum with water at 90 degrees Fahr., add the hypernic solution by degrees while the drum is running, and drum the skins one-half hour. Dis- solve by boiling, seven ounces of amaranth 3-R in a gallon of water. Strain the solution through cheesecloth and cool it down to 1 10 degrees Fahr. by adding cold water. Divide this solution into three parts and apply to the skins at intervals of five minutes, running the drum fifteen minutes after the last of the dye is poured in. Take the skins out and dip them in a barrel of clean, warm water. Run off the waste dye-liquor and wash the drum out. Put clean, warm water sufficient to cover the skins into the drum with the skins. Dissolve three ounces of bichromate of potash in two gallons of hot water and apply to the skins while the drum is running, and run the drum fifteen minutes.. The temperature of the liquors should be about 100 degrees Fahr. If the skins are to be fat-liquored, fat-liquor them immediately after coloring, then hang them up to dry. No. 4.. Brown. — For one hundred pounds of dry skins use eight ounces of titanium-potassium oxalate dissolved in warm water. Drum the skins in this solution ten minutes. Then drain the liquor out of the drum, rinse the skins in a barrel of warm water and put them back into the drum. Color with leather-brown F, using one ounce for each large skin and less for smaller skins. Run the skins in the dye one-half hour, wash and finish them. No. 5. Brown. — A nice shade of brown can be obtained in the following manner: Drum the skins in a solution of titanium salts for ten minutes, then drain the drum and add the color THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 59 solution made of four ounces phosphine for leather, one-fourth ounce leather-green M and one-half ounce methyl violet 2 B. Run skins in the dye fifteen minutes, wash and finish them. No. 6. Red. — One dozen sheepskins tanned with hemlock or some other vegetable tan can be colored a dark red by using four ounces Fulling Red for leather. Drum the slcins in the dye liquor twenty minutes, then add one-half ounce bichromate of potash and run the drum ten minutes longer; then wash and finish the skins. Any shade of tan, green, yellow, brown, etc., can be easily obtained by using the proper aniline on skins prepared with titanium-potassium oxalate. Use eight ounces for one hun- dred pounds of dry skins. Dissolve it in warm water and drum the skins in the solution for ten minutes. If acid aniline is to be applied, simply drain the liquor out of the drum aqd put in the dye. Run the skins in the dye, then wash and finish them. If a basic dye is to be used, after drumming the skins in the solution of titanium-potassium oxalate, run off the liquor and wash the skins ; then color them. But if the titanium is all taken up by the skins it is not necessary to wash the leather before applying the dye as both basic and acid dyes color satisfactorily on the titanium mordant. If the dyer is in doubt as to whether he should wash his skins or not, he can always be on the safe side by rinsmg them ofT in a barrel of warm water before he gives them the aniline dye. It is always safe to prepare vegetable-tanned skins by drumming them in sumac liquor for half an hour, then striking them out by hand or machine. I he next process is running them in a solution of titanium-potassium oxalate as described ; then coloring, wash- ing and finishing. Sumac is always safe to use no matter what color is to be applied afterwards. Skins prepared with sumac and titanium salts take full, rich shades with aniline dyes. Tartar emetic is another good article to use in dyeing the skins. It is applied previous to the aniline to clear the grain and set the dye, the skins being afterward washed and colored. If l6o PRACTICAL TANNING. sumac is used to freshen up the leather, drum the skins in the sumac liquor, then pour into the drum a solution of two ounces of tartar emetic per dozen skins ; run the drum ten or fifteen minutes, then wash them, put them back into the drum and color them with aniline and, when they have been drummed in the dye twenty minutes, wash and finish them. Treatment for Dark, Greasy Skins. — Skins that are dark, greasy and dirty can be much improved by the use of borax and sulphuric acid previous to coloring. Put them into the drum with warm water containing considerable borax and wash them twenty minutes. Run off the borax bath and put into the drum warm water with sulphuric acid quite strong, and drum the skins in it ten minutes; then rinse them in clean water. Make a sumac bath strong and hot and add a little salt to it. Drum the skins in this bath thirty minutes, then rmse them in clear warm water and strike them out for coloring. Run them in warm titanium solution, then in the dye, rinse, and finish. Fat- Liquoring. — When very soft leather is wanted, it is necessary to fat-liquor the skins after they have been colored. The surplus water should be pressed out of the skins either by machine or by hand. Heat the drum with steam, drain out the condensed steam, and put the leather in. Run it in the closed drum a few minutes to warm it and open the pores of the skins. Next pour the fat-liquor through the gudgeon, about two gallons at a time at intervals of five minutes, until the fat- liquor is all in, then run the .skins in the liquor thirty minutes or until the skins have taken up the grease and nothing but water is left in the drum. Let the skins drain a few hours, then strike them out and hang up to dry. Whether or not sheep leather should be fat-liquored, and how much fat-liquor to use, depends upon the kind of leather that is being made and upon the degree of softness that is de- sired. If firm, dry leather is wanted, the skins can be finished without fat-liquor. If soft leather is desired, the skins must be fat-liquored, but not very heavily. THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. l6l An excellent fat-liquor is made as follows : Put ten pounds of potash soap into a clean barrel with ten gallons of water, and boil and stir it until it is dissolved. Into four gallons of best neatsfoot oil stir four ounces of borax dissolved in a quart of boiling water, taking care to stir thoroughly to cut the oil. Put the oil into the soap solution and stir thoroughly. Then run in enough cold water to make fifty gallons of fat-liquor. The tanner can, if he desires it, add ten pounds of egg yolk to the oil and soap solution, but not until it has been cooled down to 75 degrees Fahr. with cold water. Seasonings for Colored Skins. — i. A glazed finish is obtained on russet and colored leather by using this dressing. Dissolve four ounces of blood albumen in a gallon of water over night. Cook four ounces of granulated gelatine in a gallon of water and let it cool. Mix half a pint of white varnish shellac with half a pint of ammonia. Mix the three solutions thoroughly together and add enough water to make three gallons. Apply to the skins with a sponge, and glaze when dry. For colored skins use a little less ammonia, and make the finish a week be- fore it is to be used, so that the ammonia will evaporate. For a plain, natural- finish give the skins two coats of finish and roll while wet, then hang them up to dry, and when they are dry give another coat of the dressing. 2. Dissolve one-half ounce of bichromate of potash in a little hot water, and when the solution is cold add it to two gallons of egg albumen solution. Then add a quart of acetic acid and ten gallons of water. Strain and apply to the skins, and while the grain is damp iron or roll, and a good dull finish will be obtained. 2. Boil flaxseed often and for a long time with a little water. Strain the solution before using it, and beat it up the same as white of egg. To a pail of water add one and a half pints of milk, the whites of two eggs well beaten and one-half pint flax- seed also well beaten up. This finish should be put on evenly and without streaks by means of a soft sponge or a sheepskin pad. When the seasoning has been put on, the skins are hung II 1 62 PRACTICAL TANNING. up to dry and then rolled. Colorless seasonings for glazed or embossed leather can be bought ready for use. If embossed leather is wanted, the skins should be seasoned and then embossed by the use of an embossing machine. Im itation of seal, monkey, alligator and other skins are made in this way. When the skins have been properly tanned and col- ored, beautiful efTects are produced. There is a large demand for such leather, as it is used in the manufacture of pocket- books, hand-bags, belts, suspenders, and leather specialties and novelties. Finish for Embossed Sheepskins. — Sheepskins tanned in a vegetable process that are to be grained or embossed can be seasoned with this finish : Two ounces of caseine ; two ounces of O shellac ; one-half ounce ammonia ; one gallon of water. Boil all until dissolved, stirring continually. Let stand over night or until cold. Add one gallon of water and one-half ounce of glycerine, mixing all together. Apply with a sponge, giving an even coat, then dry. The skins are then ready for glassing on the machine. After glassing, they may be grained by arm board and embossed, which is the concluding process. Finish for Black Embossed SheepsMns. — A nice, lasting finish is obtained by using this dressing on skins that are to be printed, grained, pebbled or embossed. Put into two gal- lons of water eight ounces of extract of logwood, one ounce of bichromate of potash and two ounces of prussiate of potash, and boil until dissolved ; and when the solution is cool, strain it. To each gallon of the above solution add two quarts of beef blood. Blood albumen can be used in place of beef blood if desired. Give the skins an even coat of this dressing and let it dry. When the skins are ready to be printed or embossed, dampen the grain evenly so that it will take the impression without the grain being cut. Then print, emboss, grain or pebble accord- ing to the grain that is wanted. Embossed or printed leathers have commanded a steadily increasing attention on the part of tanners, with the result that THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 63 to-day some wonderful reproductions are made on sheep leather. The first embossed leathers were produced with the ordinary pendulum machine, using a small six-inch steel roll, upon which the desired figure was cut or etched. By this un- satisfactory method results were achieved which were con- sidered truly wonderful until the advent of the later machines, consisting of two rolls arranged one above the other after the Tnanner of the every-day clothes-wringer. The lower roll was of rubber, while the upper, which was interchangeable, was of heavy steel, upon which was electrotyped from the genuine skin a pattern of seal, pig, alligator or lizard, as the case might be. The great advantage of this latter machine was its ability to print an entire sheepskin without showing any joints or laps, as was impossible with the method first in vogue, except in the printing of small figures. In both of these processes the skins could only be embossed while in a certain condition to properly receive the impression, after which they were thoroughly dried before finishing. Upon its introduction, this method was considered as near perfection as human ingenuity could devise, but it has since been succeeded by still more modern ideas. The latest machine consists of flat steel plates from sixteen to thirty inches square, electrotyped as were the heavy rolls, and used in a knuckle-jointed press built especially for the purpose, with rise and fall sufficient to allow the operators to feed in the skins and get the proper impression. Skins can be embossed by this method in a dry state, owing to the greater pressure that can be exerted in this manner, although a certain amount of heat is used to make the embossing easier and more permanent. Almost any variety of figure can be obtained, but the success- ful embosser of to-day is obliged to keep in touch with the -different fads which the public runs on, and which are apt to change with each varying season. Skivers. • A skiver is the grain side of a split sheepskin. In making 1 64 PRACTICAL TANNING. this class of leather, sheepskins are split in the beamhouse, and the flesh or inner portion is made into glove or chamois leather, and the grain portion is tanned in sumac, bark, alum or some other tanning material and used in the manufacture of leather goods, such as pocket-books, belts and suspenders, as linings and trimmings. Skivers are also used in large quantities as hat or sweat bands. As the grains, as skivers are called after the skins are split, are of very light substance and possess very little strength of fiber, they must be handled very carefully during the processes of tanning, coloring and finishing. The splitting is done after the skins have been limed. On account of the fact that skivers are often finished in light colors, it is important that the liming, drenching and other processes are done in a very cleanly manner in order that the skins may be clean and free from shaded or spotted grain. After the splitting has been done, the grains are drenched to rid them of the lime and to put them into the right condition for pickling and tanning. A suitable drench is one made of warm water and lactic acid. It is best to make a new drench for each lot of grains. The quantity of acid used is one pint for every hundred pounds of grains. The water should be warmed to 95 degrees Fahr., the acid then added and stirred, and the grains put in. It does not take long to wash out the lime ; and the grains are then washed and pickled. They are also tanned without being pickled. An efficient drench for the limey grains is made of bran in the following manner : One-half of a barrel of bran is mixed with water into a thick mush. The barrel is then covered up and allowed to stand forty-eight hours until it has become thoroughly sour. The sour bran is then emptied into the tub or vat to be used and mixed with enough water to cover the skins. This quantity of bran is sufficient for six hundred grains. To the water and bran should be added three pints of sulphuric acid and three pecks of common salt; and the pre- pared drench should then be heated to ninety degrees Fahr. The grains are stirred about in this liquor only long enough to THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 10$ thoroughly cleanse them of the lime. For light colors it is best to wash them before pickling in order to still further cleanse them ; but in most cases this is not necessary as the skins are soft and clean and pickling serves to further bleach and cleanse them. Another method of using the bran drench is to allow the fermentation to take place while the grains are in the liquor. The same quantity of bran is used as when it is fermented in a barrel. About one-half of the bran is added to warm water in the paddle vat, and while it is being stirred, half of the skivers are put in ; then the balance of the bran is added and next the rest of the skivers. It takes some time for the bran to sour; and as it sours the grains rise to the surface of the drench. They need to be drenched until they are per- fectly soft and clean, after which they may be rinsed in warm water and pickled. A pickling liquor is made by adding two and one-half quarts of sulphuric acid and fifty pounds of salt to one hundred gal- lons of water. After the grains have been in this liquor thirty minutes, they can be kept a long time before tanning as the pickle preserves them from spoiling. When alum is used as a tanning agent, the grains can be tanned without being pickled. Skivers can be tanned with any material that is used in tan- ning sheepskins. Sumac is in common use. Bark tannages and alum and chrome processes are also used. Quermos ex- tract, quebracho and hemlock extracts also make good skiver stock. If white skivers are wanted alum may be used, or the chrome process followed by a bleaching bath. While they are being tanned, the skivers must be handled carefully to prevent tearing. By suspending them in the tan liquor all danger of tearing is prevented and a smoothly colored grain and uniform tannage are assured. For a common grade of skiver tanning may be done in hem- lock liquors. Very little tanning is necessary; getting the grains well struck through is all that is required. Sumac leaves or the extract of sumac may be used. The tanning does not take long, and when it is completed, the skins are rinsed off in water to remove surplus sumac and dried out. 1 66 PRACTICAL TANNING. When alum and salt or a chrome process is used, the tanning' is done with most safety in a vat with paddles. The liquor strikes quickly through the grain and there is no danger of tearing. If white chrome skivers are wanted, take the tanned grains and put them into a hot bath of borax water for fifteen minutes, then put them into a bath of water and sulphuric acid, and next wash and dry them out. If colored chrome skivers are wanted, wash them from the tan liquor and put them into a bath of warm sumac liquor. A soft white skiver is obtained by taking the skins from the sumac bath and drying them out. The sumac also serves as a mordant for aniline coloring. Coloring may be done in a vat, in tubs or trays, or by brushing the dye on with brushes or sponges. In a tub or vat immerse the skins in sumac or fustic liquor, then add a solution of titannium-potassium oxalate and the grains will assume a yellowish or tan shade, which is a good and perma- nent color of itself but which also may be used as a base for any aniline color. Sumac-tanned skivers, after being dried, are moistened and colored. They are folded lengthwise through the center and dipped in the color solution until the shade is obtained. Add- ing a solution of titanium salts to warm water makes a bath that gives a yellow-brown base on which acid dyes give very nice results. Vegetable-tanned skins, being quite stifif when dry, must be moistened carefully and thoroughly before they are put into the dye liquor or have any dye liquor applied tO' them. Skivers are finished in various ways. They are glazed, fin- ished in dull, also glazed and then embossed, or printed into imitations of alligator, seal or pigskin. As good a process as any that the tanner can use is a mix- ture of quebracho and hemlock extracts made up of two-thirds quebracho and one-third hemlock. This tan produces a light color that is uniform and clear. The skivers can be colored any shade desired or bleached and finished in the color obtained by bleaching. For most purposes, however, skivers tanned with THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 6/ this tan require no bleaching as the color produced by the process is sufficiently light and uniform. Skivers are used mostly for linings ; and for this use they must be clean and dry and free from all trace of grease. When they are not de- greased before they are tanned, this must be done before they are finished or else they will not be satisfactory. Roller Leather. This leather is made from lambskins tanned with bark. It is used by cotton spinners all over the world. There are only a few tanners who have been successful in making this leather, and those who have, have had all the business they could at- tend to, finding a ready sale for their entire output. The qualities that roller leather must have to be satisfactory are level substance, clear and perfect grain that has no scratches, scars or cuts, smooth feel and pliability with a certain amount of firmness. Only the best skins should be selected. The leather must be perfectly smooth on the grain or the cotton thread when it is drawn between the rolls, one of which is covered with leather, will keep breaking. As a light color is essential, only clean, light-colored bark liquors can be used. The natural grease contained in the skins must be removed since the edges of the leather covering the rolls are cemented together before being slipped on to the roll, and if there is grease in the leather, the cement will not hold. The preliminary tanning is done in weak bark liquor. The skins are then pressed with a hydraulic press in layers between iron plates and sprinkled with sawdust to remove the grease. They are then taken apart and paddled in a weak liquor and drummed in warm salt water until all press-creases have dis- appeared. The skins are tanned by suspension since a smoother grain is produced in this manner than with the use of paddle wheels or vats. The liquor is composed of oak bark and extract of increasing strength in which the skins remain two or three weeks, when they are hung up and dried. When dried, they 1 68 PRACTICAL TANNING. are stored away until they are to be finished. The longer the skins are kept in the dry condition the better they are when finished. When the skins are to be finished, they are sorted. Those that are not as perfect as they should be are finished into fancy leather for pocket-books and book-binding. The roller skins are then dampened and shaved. The shaving must be accurate so that the skins will be of even substance. However, the skins do not all have to be reduced to the same thickness as some of the roller manufacturers make three or four dififerent substances. After shaving, the skins are drummed in a sumac solution, and then they go back to the tan again to receive a stronger liquor. After being rinsed in water and drained, the skins are struck out on the flesh and tacked out to dry. When dry, they are taken off the boards and softened, then trimmed and seasoned with milk and albumen, dried and rolled, perched by hand, and next reseasoned and glazed. The finished skins are then marked with a frame on the flesh side and trimmed with a pair of shears. As every hair must be re- moved, the skins are wiped over with a cotton-wool pad to find remaining hairs, which are removed very skilfully so as not to break the grain. The skins are then ironed, sorted for sub- stance, and put into grades and sizes. The processes, of course, are not always followed exactly as outlined since those mak- ing this leather change them here and there in accordance with the best results obtainable. Oak bark makes better roller leather than hemlock, since it contains less filling matter and produces lighter-colored skins. Tanning Woolskins. Soaking, Washing and Scouring. — Sheepskins that are to be tanned with the wool on should be good, fresh skins. Old, stale skins should be avoided, as the wool is apt to slip, for which there is no remedy. The skins should be trimmed to remove the parts that are of no value, then fleshed and washed THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 69 to remove blood and dirt. After the skins have been washed, which is best done in a wash-wheel supplied with running water, they should be run through the burring machine, which removes all the burrs, twigs and manure adhering to the wool- The next process is scouring, which is done for the purpose of making the wool as clean and white as possible before the skins are tanned. It is much easier to wash the wool clean before tanning than after, since the alum and salt and other tanning materials set the dirt and grease and render them more difficult of removal. Scouring is done by laying the skins on a sloping table, applying the scouring solution first to the flesh and then to the wool. The scouring liquor may be made of a strong solu- tion of soft soap, to which a little carbonate of ammonia is added ; or it may be a solution of soap, soda ash and salt made in the following manner: Add two buckets of soft soap to fifty gallons of water in a vat or tub, then put in one-half pail of soda ash, turn on steam and boil the solution until soap and alkali are dissolved ; then add one pailful of salt and enough water to make two hundred gallons of liquor. The salt helps to bleach the wool; it also counteracts the caustic action of the soda ash. The scouring liquor is first well worked into the skin with the hands or a brush, after which it is poured into, and worked thoroughly throughout, the wool. The skms are next placed in waste scouring liquor, rinsed in warm water, and then scoured again two or three times if they seem to require it. When they are as clean as they can be made, they are rinsed in water until they are free from soap, then wrung out or drained thoroughly, after which they are tanned. A hydro- extractor is useful for removing the water from the skins. Ta7i7iing. — The tanning may be done with a paste of alum, salt and oatmeal. Heat two gallons of water until it is near boiling point, and stir in powdered alum until the taste is very puckery. Add one-half as much salt as alum to the solution ; then stir in one pound of rolled oats or oatmeal, and boil the I/O PRACTICAL TANNING. mixture for a few minutes, and allow it to cool. This tanning paste makes the flesh nice and white. If yellow color is wanted add one pound of gambler to the paste, the gambler having been dissolved separately. The skins are spread on a table, flesh side up, and the paste is spread on evenly, a liberal coat being applied and care being taken to touch all parts alike and to keep the wool clean. The skins are then laid flesh to flesh, or folded half over the other half, and left until the next day. The paste should be applied every day until the skins are tanned. They should then be hung up to dry, and as they begin to dry should be worked with some kind of a staker until soft and dry. The wet skins can also be tanned by using a mixture of powdered sulphate of alumina and common salt, two parts of the former and two parts of the latter, or a mixture of pow- dered alum and salt. This dry mixture may be rubbed into the flesh side of the skins every day for several days, when the skins will be fully tanned. Another way to tan the skins is to dissolve eight ounces of sulphate of alumina and one pound of salt in a gallon of warm water, and applying several coats of the solution. A convenient way to tan the skins in any of these processes is to stretch them into frames and to apply the paste or dry powder to the flesh side. - The skins can also be tanned with a solution made as follows : Dissolve ten parts sulphate of alumina in a tub of boiHng water. In another vessel dissolve two parts washing soda. Add the latter solution slowly and with constant stirring to the former; set the solution aside to cool, and then apply it to the skins. Alum-tanned skins before drying should be given a solution of soap or stearine, which serves to fix the tannage so that it cannot be removed by washing. Tanning can also be done by immersing the skins in a solution of alum and salt, then drying them out. Flour is sometimes added to the tanning paste to make the skins softer and whiter. THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. lyi After the skins are dry and soft it is advisable to rescour them. This should be done on a table in about the same manner as before tanning, a soap solution being used and the skins being then rinsed in water and either bleached or colored. Bleaching. — A permanent white can only be obtained by bleaching the skins with peroxide of hydrogen. The bleach- ing bath is prepared as follows : Enough sulphuric acid is added to water in a tub to make a one per cent, solution by weight, or ten pounds of acid to one hundred gallons of water. To this acid solution seven pounds of sodium peroxide are added, the solution being constantly stirred. The liquor is then tested with litmus-paper, and peroxide or acid is added as required until the solution is quite neutral. Four pounds of silicate of soda previously dissolved are then added. The skins are stirred about in this liquor for one hour, then they are taken out, passed through or scoured with a weak solution of sulphuric acid, washed, drained, retanned if necessary, de- greased, and dried. When dry, they are softened and run on an emery wheel to clean the flesh, and are then finished. Re- tanning is done by applying a solution of alum and salt to the flesh side. Bleaching may also be done with permanganate of potash and sulphurous acid. The skins are washed, and then placed in a solution of permanganate of potash, made by dissolvmg one and one-tenth pounds of the same in one hundred and twenty gallons of water heated to 95 degrees Fahr. The skins are stirred about in this solution until the wool is a good, rich brown. They are then removed and drained and then placed in a bath of bisulphite of soda, made up of one hundred and twenty gallons of warm water, seven and one-third quarts of bisulphite of soda, and six and five-eighths pounds of hydro- chloric acid. In this liquor they are worked until they are sufficiently bleached. The skins are then rinsed, dried, and finished. Degreasing. — Most of the grease in the skins may be re- moved by plastering the flesh side with a paste made of whit- 172 PRACTICAL TANNING. ing and water. The skins are tacked out wet and the paste of whiting is applied. The skins are then placed in a warm room and dried. The grease is absorbed by the whiting. The plaster should be scraped off and another coat applied. The opera- tion is repeated two or three times until the paste dries clean and white. The flesh is then washed clean and a mixture of alum and salt applied to replace the tanning material removed by washing and degreasing. Some grease may be removed by brushing the skin with benzine or naphtha, then rinsing off with hot sumac liquor. Degreasing may be done with benzine in the following man- ner: Have a wooden tray about one foot deep, three feet wide and four feet long, with a rack about an inch thick to cover the bottom to keep the skins off the bottom of the tray. The leather only should lay in the benzine. The lid of the tray should be made to fit in a slot and filled with water to prevent the evaporation of the benzine. The skins are then dried and finished. Tanni7ig with Gambler. — To tan skins with the wool on with gambier, wash and scour them and then tan them with alum and salt, preferably by rubbing the powder into the flesh side, two applications being applied. The skins are then rinsed off and put into weak gambier liquor. The wool can be colored a light yellow by adding picric acid to the gambier liquor. One pound of picric acid in gambier liquor is enough for fifty average woolskins. The liquor should be rather weak at the start and strengthened until the skins are tanned through. It is said that alum-tanned skins can be colored a light yellow by immersing them in a solution of picric acid previous to tan- ning. After the skins are scoured and rinsed, put them into a solution of fifteen pails of warm water to which have been added four ounces of picric acid dissolved in half a pailful of water and one tumblerful of sulphuric acid. The skins should be moved backward and forward for fifteen minutes, then rinsed in water finally and tanned with alum and salt. Chrome-Tan7ied Woolskins. — Sheepskins with the wool on THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 73 can be tanned by a chrome process by being first pickled with sulphuric acid and salt, and tanned with chrome liquor. The pickle is made by adding seventy-five pounds of salt and three quarts of sulphuric acid to one hundred gallons of water in a paddle vat. The skins, washed, fleshed and scoured, are put into this liquor and left in it a few hours or over night; they are next drained over a horse and then tanned with chrome liquor. Sufficient one-bath chrome liquor is added to water to make a three or four per cent, solution, that is,. three or four gallons of concentrated chrome liquor are added to one hundred gallons of water. The skins are put into the liquor and as they absorb the tan more chrome liquor should be added, and the skins left in the liquor until they are fully tanned. Four dozen medium-size shearlings is about the right number to put into one hundred gallons of liquor. A practical method of tanning is carried out as follows : A tanning bath is prepared by adding fifty pounds of salt and five gallons chrome tan liquor of 25 deg. Baume scale, to one hun- dred gallons of soft water. The pickled skins are put into the liquor and paddled for two or three hours ; then another por- tion of five gallons is added, and the skins are left in the liquor over night. The next day another portion of tan liquor is put in, and the skins are stirred about two or three times during the day and left in until the next day, when, if they are light skins,, they will be tanned ; heavy skins may remain in the liquor twenty-four hours longer. Twelve packs of skins can be tanned in the bath by adding twenty-five pounds of salt and fifteen gallons of liquor for each pack of skins. After four packs have been tanned one-half pound of carbonate of potash should be dissolved and added to the liquor to neutralize the free acid. After twelve packs of skins have been tanned the liquor should be thrown away and fresh liquor prepared. The pickle liquor also can be used for twelve packs of skins by adding fifty pounds of salt and two quarts of sulphuric acid for each pack. The tanned skins should be drained twenty-four hours, then washed in a wash wheel or 174 PRACTICAL TANNING. drum with borax water for one-half hour and finally in clear water for fifteen minutes. In the first bath one pound of car- bonate of potash may be used for one dozen skins. The skins are then drained and colored, after which the flesh receives a coat of paste, and the skins are dried, and finished. If the skins are wanted white, they are bleached, given a coat of paste, dried, and finished. The paste is made by boiling three pounds of olive-oil soap in ten gallons of water, then adding one gallon of neatsfoot oil, boiling and stirring for several minutes. When the mixture has cooled to 90 degrees Fahr., enough flour is added to make a paste just thick enough to spread smoothly. A liberal coat of this is put onto the skins; they are then dried and finished. A paste of egg yolk, glycerine and flour is also suitable ; also any regular chrome fat-liquor. The flesh may be made perfectly smooth and clean by run- ning on an emery wheel. Tanning can also be done by first pickling the skins with alum and salt and then tanning them in the chrome bath. Coloring. — Woolskins and shearlings may be colored any shade of color by the use of either basic or acid aniline dyes. When basic dye is used it is advantageous to bleach the skins and then to immerse them in a bath of bleaching powder or chloride of lime made by dissolving eight ounces of the powder in ten gallons of water. In this solution, which is used cold, the skins are allowed to • remain over night ; they are then rinsed in a weak borax bath, and colored. If acid dye is to be applied the skins, upon coming from the bath of bleaching powder, should be passed through a solution of sulphuric acid before they are colored. One to two ounces of acid dye is required by each pair of skins, according to size, and an amount of sulphuric acid equal to about half the weight of the dyestufif is added to the dye bath, together with four times that quantity of Glauber's salt. In place of sulphuric acid, formic acid may be used. Alum-tanned skins, after being colored, should be washed, drained, retanned if necessary, THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 75 passed through a soap and oil emulsion, dried, and finished. Skins that are to be colored with basic dye should be washed and passed through a solution of tanning material, say two ounces of sumac, hemlock, cutch or quebracho extract, dis- solved in water, immersing for half an hour, then washed and colored. One ounce of basic dye is generally sufificient for two skins. To the dye solution one-half ounce acetic acid and four ounces Glauber's salt should be added. The temperature of the dye bath should be from 100 to no degrees Fahr. Good, fast shades of color are also produced by immersing the skins in a bath of sumac, hemlock or quebracho for one-half hour, then immersing in a solution of titanium-potassium oxalate and then dyeing with basic dye. Two ounces of the tanning extract and one ounce of the titanium salt are sufficient for two skins. To get a slight gloss on the wool, the skins, after coloring with acid dye, should be passed through a weak solution of soap and oil, then dried and finished. Six gallons of stock soap and oil mixture is made by boiling six pounds of soap and eighteen pounds of oil, and made up to six gallons. . One-eighth of a pint of this mixture for two skins is added to ten gallons of hot water, and the skins, flesh to flesh, are passed through the bath, then hung up and dried, softened and finished. A good shade of tan is obtained by putting the skins, after washing from the tannage, into a sumac bath for one-half hour, two ounces of sumac being used for each pair of skins, next allowing the skins to drain, and then immersing them in a bath of titanium-potassium oxalate, one ounce for two skins. This produces a yellowish brown or tan color. Any shade of color can be obtained upon skins treated as described by using one ounce of basic dye, one-half ounce of acetic acid and four ounces of Glauber's salt for every two skins. If a gloss is not desired the treatment with soap and oil may be omitted, the skins being washed after coloring, dried and finished. Tajining with Alum, Salt and Hemlock Extract. — Skins tanned in this process and then scoured and passed through a weak solution of sulphuric acid are made a golden-brown color 176 PRACTICAL TANNING. that is desirable for some purposes. The skins are soaked and scoured before tanning, the same as for alum tanning, special care being taken to get the wool clean. The tanning liquor is made of alum, salt and extract of hemlock bark. After the skins have been in this liquor four hours they are hauled out and put back so that all parts of each skin may be uniformly penetrated by the liquor. The liquor is quite weak at the start, and strengthened each day until the skins are tanned through. Some potash soap should be added to the stronger liquor to help turn the wool and give the skins a velvety feel. The skins should not be crowded in the vat but given plenty of room. After the skins are well tanned they should be drained and next oiled on the flesh with a good quality of mineral oil; applied warm, and then hung up to dry. When dry the skins are scoured with a solution of strong potash soap and white soda ash. The flesh is first washed ofif to make it clean, and to wet it so that it will stick to the table. The scouring suds are then thoroughly rubbed into the wool and washed out again, the operation being repeated at least twice and sometimes three times. This scouring darkens the wool. After it is dark enough and rinsed free from suds, a weak solution of sulphuric acid is thrown onto it and spread over the skin until all parts come into con- tact with it. The sulphuric acid liquor is made by adding enough acid to water to make the water taste sour. The acid solution changes the color of the wool to a light golden brown. The wool is now given a good blowing-out with water from hose and made as clean as possible, and the skins are next hung up to dry. When dry, they are dampened, arm crutched,, bufifed on the flesh side, and beaten out on the wool side until they are clean and soft and suitable for use. To wash woolskins before tanning, the use of borax is recom- mended in the soaks, as it makes the wool softer and cuts some of the grease out, and the scouring can then be done with soft soap and soda ash. It is much more difficult to remove grease and dirt after tanning than before, and the cleaner the skins are THE MANUFACTURE OF SHEEPSKIN LEATHER. 1 77 before they are tanned the nicer they will look and feel when dried and finished. Dyeing Woolskins Black. — After the skins are tanned with alum and salt or with chrome liquor, the wool should be scoured with strong soapsuds so as to remove all the grease, then rinsed ofT so that no soap is left in it, the skins being then drained an hour or two. Dyeing may be done with logwood, fustic and bichromate of potash. The first bath may consist of one-half pound of bichromate of potash dissolved and added to ten gallons of water, the temperature of the bath be- ing about 100 degrees Fahr. The skins are doubled, flesh side in, and immersed in the solution ; then removed and drained. The second bath consists of strong logwood liquor to which some fustic extract and ammonia have been added. One and one-half pounds of logwood crystals, four ounces of extract of fustic and one pint of spirits of ammonia make ten gallons of good liquor. The temperature of this bath should be 120 de- grees Fahr., and the skins should remain in it until every part has been colored. They should then be drained and immersed in a stronger bath of bichromate of potash, say one pound of potash in ten gallons of water. After the skins have been passed through the liquor, they should be drained, and the wool should receive an application of kerosene oil, well rubbed in, after which the skins should drain an hour or two, and then be washed, dried and finished. The color should be a good black and permanent. The dyeing can also be done by putting the skins first into strong logwood and fustic liquor for a few hours, then trans- ferring them to a solution of bichromate of potash, after which, if a sufficiently intense black has not been obtained, they may be again placed in the first bath of logwood which has been strengthened, and then finished off in the bichromate of potash liquor, drained, washed and dried. Another process of dyeing woolskins black is as follows : For one dozen skins a bath is prepared of -eighty gallons of water, twenty pounds of logwood extract, three and one-half 12 178 PRACTICAL TANNING. pounds of fustic extract and two pounds of verdigris or copper acetate. This bath is heated to no degrees Fahr., and the skins are allowed to remain in it three or four hours, the tem- perature being maintained during the process. Two and one- half quarts of acetate of iron are then added to the bath, and the skins are left in the liquor and stirred about until they are •dyed black, which usually requires an immersion of thirty to forty hours. The skins, after cooling, are drained and allowed to oxidize at least twelve hours ; they are then washed in warm water and scoured with a solution of soft soap and carbonate of ammonia, then washed and drained, and retanned with alum and salt, and stretched in frames to dry. This treatment after dyeing is necessary if a jet black is to result. To obtain more gloss on the wool the skins are passed through a hot, dilute soap and oil solution, then dried and softened. SECTION THREE. The Manufacture of Calfskin Leathers. In tanning calfskins for upper leather, the beamhouse work is most important. During the process of soaking the skins are softened and the salt, blood and other objectionable material are removed from them. Clean skins going into the limes have much to do with clear-grained leather. And it is advisable to accomplish the results of soaking in as short a time as possible, and not to carry the soaking beyond a cer- tain point. The soaking of green-salted skins for chrome leather should be done in such a manner as to hold up the tellies and flanks. It is claimed by some experienced tanners that clean hard water is the best for soaking; others prefer soft water. Soaking for a long time results in loose, porous leather, lacking in fullness and plumpness, owing to the loss of gelatine which should remain in the skins. In order to accomplish clean and thorough soaking, the •salted skins should be soaked in clean, fresh water. When they are very dirty or heavily salted, a good practice is to soak them for a few hours in clean water, then to take them out of the vat, and after allowing them to drain until the dirty water is drained ofif, to again soak them in clean water. Ordinarily no change of water is required if clean water is used. The length of time that the skins should be soaked depends upon their condition and thickness ; and no arbitrary rule can be followed. As good a rule as any is to trim the skins and put them into clean cold water for twenty-four hours, next to wash them in a wash mill for fifteen minutes, and then to soak them again for twelve hours, and then to flesh them. It is beneficial to the softening of the skins to add a little dissolved sulphide (179) l80 PRACTICAL TANNING. of sodium to the water. One pound of the material may be used for each hundred gallons of water. The washing removes dirt and helps to open the skins. It is also good practice to flesh the skins after washing, and then to soak them for twelve hours or longer before liming them. Borax used in the soaks is beneficial to the skins. By its use the dirt and dried blood are dissolved and the grain is made soft and silky, allowing the lime liquor to readily attack the hair sheaths. From five to eight pounds should be added for each thousand gallons of water. While the salt used upon raw skins acts as a preservative, upon being dissolved in the water it has an injurious effect upon the skins, causing the leather to be soft and lacking in fullness, and, in the case of light-colored leather, to show a clouded and spotted grain. Washing and resoaking remove all the salt before the skins are put into the lime. Old, stale soaks, in which quantities of blood, dirt and salt have become dissolved, are unpleasant and dangerous to use. The decay which sets in old soaks sometimes affects the skins in such a manner as to impair their quality, although the con- dition is not always noticed at the time, and later no one can tell what caused it. It is not good practice to put a mixed lot of skins into the soaking process. In other words, the skins should be sorted, and only those of similar nature and size soaked together. This is a good rule to follow in all leather- making processes, the sorting before putting skins through a process assisting greatly in making uniform quality. The skins should be spread out and pushed under the water gently, and when washed and put back the skins that were at the bottom should be on top, and those that were on top should be at the bottom during resoaking. This gives the skins equal chances to absorb water and to be soaked uniformly. Trim- ming should be done before the skins are put into the water. Another good way to soak salted skins is to wash them for a few minutes, then to put them into the water for twenty-four hours, more or less, according to their thickness and condition. THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. l8l Dry skins require more thorough soaking in order to get them sufficiently soft to go into the Hmes. Such skins, when •carefully tanned, make good leather, although the grain is more or less damaged by cracks and other imperfections. Sulphide of sodium should be added to the water in which such skins are softened to hasten the soaking and to freshen up the withered grain. For every hundred gallons of water use from four to six ounces of the sulphide ; and more can be used with good results. Dissolve the sulphide in hot water, then stir it into the water. Put the dry skins into the water and put boards on top to hold them under the water. When the skins have soaked forty-eight hours and have become pliable, take them out and drum them in a dry mill for a half-hour, then put them back into the water to soak twenty-four hours longer. If they are not perfectly soft at the end of this time, take them out, let them lay in piles over night, then put them into clean, fresh water for twenty- four hours. They are then ready to be trimmed and fleshed, and are then limed. It is not best to put the skins into the lime until they have become soft and clean and as near like fresh skins as it is possible to get them. Both green and dry skins should be drained after soaking to get rid of dirty water before they are limed. They must be kept from heating, as heat results in more or less injury to the skins, which no treatment can remedy or cure. While skins are being prepared for tanning into chrome leather, it is essential that their substance be kept intact so that the leather will be firm and plump. To soak the skins too long or to use too much lime and bate makes soft, thin and spongy leather. As there are little plumping and filling quali- ties in chrome processes it is imperative that loss of skin-sub- stance be guarded against, more so for this class of tanning than for any other. Of the various kinds of skins calfskins are the most difficult to tan. This is because they have not at- tained maturity and full strength of fiber. They require care- ful handling and are easily injured by carelessness or abuse. The details of the processes must be carefully carried out. I 82 PRACTICAL TANNING. Most of the imperfections of finished calfskins are results of ignorance or mistreatment in some part of the work. To meet with success in the manufacture of calf leather requires skill, judgment and care, and these are acquired only by painstaking application and experience. Methods of Liming and Bating Calfskins. The following described liming processes can be depended upon to get the skins into the right condition for chrome tanning. Liming in Arsenic Limes.— To start with, use a new lime made by taking two pounds of lime for each hundred pounds of skins ; have the skins in this lime twenty-four hours. Second day haul the skins out, plunge the lime and put the skins back. Third day take the skins out and add two pounds of lime for each hundred pounds of skins, and put the latter back, spread- ing each skin out and pushing it down carefully. Fourth day haul the skins out, plunge up the lime, and put the skins back in again. On the fifth day increase the strength of the lime by adding three pounds of lime, well slaked, and one and a half pounds of red arsenic ; put the skins back into the liquor. On the sixth day simply haul the skins out, plunge up the lime and put them back. On the seventh day add three pounds of lime and one and a half pounds of red arsenic for each hundred pounds of skins, original weight, and warm the liquor with steam to 75 degrees Fahr. On the eighth day pull the skins out of the lime, warm the liquor to 75 degrees Fahr. and put the skins back. On the ninth day the hair should come off cleanly and easily. After the hair has been removed, wash the skins ten minutes in warm water, then reflesh them and work out all the fine hair. After this has been done, the skins should be washed in warm water and then bated. Red arsenic as used in this process keeps the grain from rising and the skins flat. It also produces fine grain on the leather that will glaze more brightly than leather treated with sulphide of sodium. The best way to prepare lime and arsenic is to weigh out the proper THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 1 83 quantity of each, mix the two in a tub, add water and siake and dissolve both together. Better results are obtained when the two articles are mixed together than when they are dissolved separately, and by combining both in proper proportions the hair is loosened so that it can be removed easily, the grain is smooth and fine, and enough skin-substance is dissolved with- out being depleted too much to produce the necessary soft- ness. Place the limed skins in warm water containing eight pounds of borax to one thousand gallons of water, and the lime in the grain will be removed to some extent, the grain softened so that the fine hairs and scurf will come out readily when the skins are worked. Lime alone makes the grain rough and harsh. To place limed skins in cold water fixes the lime in the fibers and sets the short hairs so that they can be worked out only with considerable difficulty; therefore warm water con- taining borax is recommended. The following method of liming calfskins with lime and red arsenic produces soft, thoroughly limed skins. The quantities of lime and arsenic are for five hundred calfskins. The lime vat, preferably about six feet deep, is filled with about three feet of old but clean lime liquor, and to this are added two feet of cold water. About one hundred pounds of lime and five pounds of red arsenic are thoroughly slaked together in a tub with ten or twelve pails of hot water, two or three pails of cold water being then added, and the solution of lime and arsenic is poured into the lime vat. The skins are reeled out of the lime every day and drained for about one hour and then put back into the liquor again. On the third day seventy-five pounds of lime are slaked and added to the lime liquor, and the skins are put into the same. In from five to seven days the skins will be in condition to be unhaired. The strength of the lime should be about 3.5 degrees Twaddle in the beginning, and after it is strengthened on the third day it should be about 6 degrees Twaddle. The lime can be used again and again by being run down and strength- ened for each pack of skins in the manner described. 184 PRACTICAL TANNING. Preparing the Skins with Lime and Sulphide of Sodium. — For the first day's liming use three pounds of Hme and one pound and a half of sulphide of sodium for each hundred pounds of skins. Put the fleshed skins into this lime and leave them in it twenty-four hours. The next day haul the skins out and give them the same quantity of lime and sulphide. On the third day. haul the skins out, plunge the lime and put the skins back. On the fourth day, the lime should be warmed to 80 degrees Fahr. and the skins put in again for twenty-four hours longer; then unhair them. A second pack of skins can be started in the old liquor and left in one day, then, on the second day run ofT the old liquor and make a new one, using six pounds of lime and three pounds of sulphide of sodium for one hundred pounds of skins. On the third and fourth days handle the skins as directed above. Starting skins in an old lime, then making a new and stronger one makes the hair come readily so that after unhairing has been done on a machine, the skins do not need to be worked for fine hair. After unhairing has been done, wash the skins for fifteen min- utes, then bate them. The old way of liming in vats or pits has been superseded by liming in paddle wheels. The skins need not be hauled out when the lime is to be strengthened if it is not convenient to do so ; the lime can be added while the paddle wheel is running. The paddles should not be run all the time. Ten minutes in the morning and again in the afternoon is all that is necessary. The methods employed by tanners in liming skins vary. Many tanners follow no exact rule but work according to judg- ment, depending upon it to tell them when the skins are limed enough. When old lime liquor is to be had, a good starting lime may be prepared by using two-thirds old liquor and one- third new, that is, if there are six hundred gallons in the vat four hundred gallons are old liquor and two hundred are new liquor, or simply fresh water. This may be strengthened every day by the addition of new lime and arsenic, or the skins, after being started in the old liquor may be put into stronger lime THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 1 85 tintil they are sufficiently swollen to enable the workman to readily remove the hair. When preparing new lime liquor slake one hundred pounds of lime with twelve pails of hot water. Mix seven pounds of red arsenic into the lime before slaking it. Both materials should be completely dissolved before they are used. The quantities of lime and arsenic mentioned are enough for six hundred pounds of skins to start with. After the skins have been in the liquor one day they should be hauled out and the lime stirred up from the bottom of the vat. If the skins are allowed to drain before being put back into the lime, they will , take up the lime more readily. When paddle vats are used, hauling out is not necessary, but it is a good plan to keep the hme stirred up from the bottom of the vat. The lime should be strengthened each day with a little fresh lime until the hair becomes loosened ; and after the hair is loose the skins should lie in the liquor a day or two longer to further soften them and to make the hair come off easily. Liming may be accom- plished in six or seven days. When skins are left two days in an old weak liquor, five days in strong liquor is sufficient to finish the process although the thickness of the skins, time of the -year and the temperature and strength of the liquor must be taken into consideration. Liming is accomplished in less time in summer than in winter. The removal of the hair is done most expeditiously by machine, although hand-work is still employed to some extent. In this process lime and arsenic are used in much the same manner as in the first process described, but the quantities are a little difTerent. This is a good process for box or grained leather from the larger and heavier skins. In the first lime use two pounds of lime for each hundred pounds of skins, put the skins in and paddle them twice during the day. The next morning add two pounds of lime as on the first day, run the paddle twenty minutes during the d'ay ; and then on the third day pour two pounds of lime and one pound [86 ■ PRACTICAL TANNING. of red arsenic into the liquor. On the fourth and fifth days add two pounds of lime and one pound of arsenic for each hundred pounds of skins, warming the liquor to 80 degrees Fahr. on the fifth day. On the sixth day give the skins the same quantity of lime but no arsenic ; and run the paddle once or twice during the day. Unhair on the seventh day, then fine- hair by hand. Let the skins lie in warm borax water after un- hairing and before fine-hairing. The proper time to remove hair is when the grain has been softened a little in warm water and the skins are still full of lime. After the skins have been fine-haired, they should be washed for fifteen minutes to re- move part of the lime. The more they are washed the more lime is removed and the less bating is required. A new process of liming skins consists of the use of lime, red arsenic, sulphide of sodium and hyposulphite of soda. Al- though this process is generally used in goatshins there is no reason why it cannot be employed in preparing calfskins, as it makes very fine leather, soft, yet firm in the necks and flanks,, and having a beautiful grain that no other process can produce. Briefly stated, the process is as follows : The skins, after soaking and fleshing, are painted with a thin paste of lime and arsenic and unhaired after twenty-four hours. In a drum the skins are next treated with a solution of sulphide of sodium for twenty-four hours. Without washing, the skins are then placed in a paddle vat and subjected to the action of a solution of hyposulphite of soda for twenty-four hours. After the hypo- sulphite treatment, the skins are placed in a vat containing lime and arsenic liquor, where they remain from two to five days, after which they are washed, bated or drenched, and treated as skins are usually treated to prepare them for tanning into leather. This process is a patented one. Another pro- cess is as follows : Paint the skins with sulphide of sodium to remove the hair. Then put them into a solution of sulphide either in a drum or vat for twenty-four hours. After this lime the skins for four or five days in clean, fresh limes, then wash, bate and pickle THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 1 87 them. Lime must always be used with sulphide of sodium, as the latter when used alone does not split up the fibers of the skins, and the leather does not carry fat-liquor as it should,^ and becomes hard after it has been finished awhile. It is always safe to lime skins more for one-bath chrome tanning than for the two-bath process, since the latter splits up the fibers of the skins, which one-bath liquors fail to do. The next step in the manufacture of calf leather is the pro- cess commonly called bating or drenching. By means of this process the skins are freed from the lime and sulphide used in the previous process, and are made clean and soft to receive the tanning materials. No lime should be left in the skins. Lime in skins becomes changed into sulphate of lime, which closes the pores of the skins and shrinks them, making the grain harsh and rough and the leather close and hard. Bating and drenching serve to remove not only the lime but whatever skin substance may have been dissolved by the lime. During this process, too, the skins lose their hard and swollen condition acquired during the liming process and become thin and soft and recep- tive to the tanning materials. Five practical and safe bating processes are described. Bating with Lactic Acid. — Weigh the washed skins. For each hundred pounds of skins use one pint of lactic acid. Run sufficient water into a paddle vat and heat to 95 degrees Fahr. Put the acid into the water and stir thoroughly, then throw in the skins. Run the paddle wheel for two or three hours, then take the skins out, wash and then pickle them. Bating with a Fermented Lactic Acid Bate. — This process consists of lactic acid and sour grape sugar. It is a simple pro- cess and is carried out in the following manner : Take one hun- dred pounds of grape sugar or glucose and stir them into thirty- five gallons of hot water in a clean barrel. Allow this to stand for two days in a warm temperature, when it will be completelv soured. Prepare a paddle vat with water at a temperature of 95 degrees Fahr., and put into it two and one-half quarts of the sour sugar solution. For every hundred pounds of skins to be 1 88 PRACTICAL TANNING. treated, take one pint of lactic acid and put about half of it into the prepared bate before throwing in the skins. When the skins are in, add the remainder of the lactic acid slowly. Run the skins in the bate from three to four hours, then take them out and wash them. The importance of this simple washing is too often overlooked and the necessity of it cannot be over- emphasized, if a good clear grain which will color evenly is desired. For the second pack of skins, the liquor should be run down about twelve inches in the paddle vat and the loss made up with fresh water. The temperature is brought up to 95 degrees Fahr., as for the first pack, two and a half quarts of the sour sugar solution are added, and one pint of lactic acid for every hundred pounds of skins exactly as described for the first pack. Continue in this way, running off" a little of the liquor after each pack, for six days, then run off all the liquor but retaining about a barrel full with which to mellow the new liquor, which is prepared with fresh water. It should be pointed out that the quantity of sour sugar solu- tion, namely, two and a half quarts per pack is based upon the volume of the liquor in the paddle wheel. The average capacity of a paddle wheel is between two thousand and twenty-five hundred pounds of skins. The fermentative action of the sugar is, however, so mild that a wide range in the weight of stock bated with two and a half quarts of the sour solution is permitted without any danger. This process and the one following have been tested by the writer and found to be perfectly satisfactory where full flanks, good break and fine even grain are desired, as they always are in calfskins, and these processes will be found the best that can be used. Fermentative Bating with Lactic Acid. — Prepare a paddle wheel with water at a temperature of 120 degrees Fahr., and put into it two pails full of dry bran, and allow it to stand over night. Next day bring the temperature up to 95 degrees Fahr., and take one pint of lactic acid, for every hundred THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 1 89 pounds of skins and put about half of it into the bran liquor. When this has been done, stir or plunge the liquor, then throw- in the skins and afterwards slowly add the rest of the acid. Run the paddle wheel for three to four hours, then take out the skins and wash them in warm water. For the second lot of skins run the bate liquor down about twelve inches and make up the loss with fresh water, warming up to 95 degrees Fahr. as before ; do not use any more bran but take one pint of lactic acid for every hundred pounds of skins and proceed as de- scribed for the first lot. Continue in this way for six days, after which run ofif all the bate liquor and make up a fresh liquor with water at 120 degrees Fahr., and two pails of dry bran,, allowing the same to stand at least twelve hours and then pro- ceed in the manner described. This is a very good process for calfskins, and with a little practice very uniform results are obtained. As definite quantities of material are designated for each lot of skins it is an easy matter to use this process, and the results are sure to be satisfactory. Bating with Bran. — This is a reliable formula : Take a half barrel of bran, add enough water to make it mushy, then cover it up and let it stand for forty-eight hours to sour. When it is sour, empty it into a vat half filled with water. Add about one and a half quarts of sulphuric acid and three pecks of common salt, mix together, and heat to 95 degrees Fahr. This quantity of bating material is enough for three hundred and fifty to four hundred skins. Throw the skins into the vat and run the pad- dle for four or five hours, then wash them in warm water if for. black leather, or work them over the beam and then wash them, if for colored leather. This process produces soft and clean skins which can be easily pickled and tanned in any tanning process. Bating with Manure. — The use of the excrement of dogs and birds cannot be recommended as they are decidedly un- pleasant materials to handle and call for considerable care and judgment in their use ; nevertheless many tanners employ them,, claiming to get finer grained leather than by the use of any 190 PRACTICAL TANNING. other process. A practical method of deliming calfskins with dung is here described. Chicken excrement is the material used. The manure should be put to soak in warm water for three or four days before it is to be used. One hundred aver- age skins require a bushel of the soaked manure. Put the material into the water in the paddle vat, stir thoroughly and heat to 85 degrees Fahr. Throw the skins into the liquor and run the paddles one hour, then at intervals of one hour run the paddle a half hour at a time until the skins are sulificiently bated. When the skins are " low " and soft and apparently free from lime, take them out of the liquor and wash them in warm water for five minutes and, after allowing to drain thirty minutes pickle them. Sometimes it is convenient to bate the skins during the night. Warm the liquor up to 85 degrees Fahr., and throw in the skins. Run the paddle one hour, then let the skins rest in the liquor during the night. In the morning warm the liquor up to 90 degrees Fahr., run the paddle wheel one hour ; the skins should then be ready to be taken out, washed and pickled. The man in charge of the work must use his judgment in de- termining how much bate to use and when the skins have been bated enough. As soon as they are bated they should be taken out, washed and pickled. The bate wheel should be so constructed that the liquor can be warmed while the skins are in it, by means of a steam pipe surrounded by a wooden box with holes in it ; and after the skins are in the vat should be covered with a door the full width of the vat so as to retain the heat. Manure should be strained before it is used to get rid of foreign matter that might scratch the grain of the skins. It is also wise to wash the bated skins in a weak lactic acid bath before rinsing and pickling them. Or the skins may be washed in warm water containing a little boracic acid to arrest putre- faction and to neutralize any lime remaining in the skins. Bating with manure and then washing as suggested makes the the skins very soft and clean and the grain smooth and mellow. Pigeon manure is considered the best bacterial bating material THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 191 to use, but, owing to the limited supply, chicken manure is commonly used. Chicken manure to which some dog manure has been added is also used. The material should be gathered fresh and dried for future use. Of the processes of bating that have been described, the writer considers No. 2 and 3 the best, and the manure next. The former are clean and safe and not at all unpleasant to use. There are also manufactured bates on the market that the tan- ner can buy. They are said to produce the results of manure without its unpleasant features. Pickling. The next process to which the skins are subjected is pick- ling. This is done in a paddle vat. Sufificient water is run in and thirty-five pounds of salt for each hundred gallons of water are dissolved in it. Then for each hundred pounds of skins, weighed, after bating, washing and draining, ten pounds of salt and one and one-half pounds of sulphuric acid are added before the skins are put in. The paddle should be run while the skins are being thrown in and kept running for two hours, then the skins should be taken out and placed smoothly on horses and allowed to drain for twelve hours or longer before they are tanned. Pickled skins can be kept an indefinite length of time without moulding or spoiling. And pickling also opens up the pores of the skins and puts them into the right condition to be tanned at the same time bleaching and cleansing them. Pickling can be done in a drum by using one pound of sul- phuric acid and fifteen pounds of salt in fifteen gallons of water for one hundred pounds of skins. Run the skins in this solu- tion one hour, then place them smoothly over a horse to press and drain for twenty-four hours before tanning them. Process of Chrome Tanning. No. I. One-Bath. — For this process of chrome tanning, which is the safest and most economical one that can be used, the skins are weighed and thrown into a tanning drum. For every 192 PRACTICAL TANNING. hundred pounds of skins use eight pounds of salt and ten gal- lons of water. Put the salt and water, either separately or in solution, into the drum with the skins, and run the drum ten minutes. While this is being done, dissolve eleven pounds of concentrated chrome tanning material in ten gallons of warm water ; and when the ten minutes are up, pour one-third of the solution into the drum with the salt water and skins and run the drum thirty minutes ; pour in another third of the liquor and drum the skins one hour; then add the rest of the liquor to the contents of the drum and run the drum four or five hours longer. Then dissolve one-half pound of bicarbonate of soda in a little water, pour this into the drum and run the drum an hour longer. Add enough water to the liquor in the drum to cover the skins and leave them in until the next morn- ing, then let them drain smoothly over horses for twenty-four hours, and finally wash them. No. 2. One- Bath with Sulphate of Alumina and Sal Soda. — For every hundred pounds of pickled skins dissolve by boiling in five gallons of water four pounds of sulphate of alumina; in another tub dissolve by boiling in five gallons of water four pounds of sal soda. When both solutions have been made^ pour the soda solution slowly and with constant stirring into the alumina solution, allowing intervals for the effervescence to sub- side. Add cold water to cool the resulting white liquor down to 80 degrees Fahr., or set it aside for several hours to cool. Throw the skins into the drum together with eight pounds of salt and five gallons of water for each hundred pounds of skins,. and run the drum ten minutes; then pour in the alumina-soda liquor and drum the skins forty minutes. One-bath chrome material is then poured into the drum and the skins are drummed in the combined liquors for four or five hours. Then for each hundred pounds of skms in the drum dissolve and add one-half of a pound of salts of tartar, and run the drum one-half hour. It is good practice to let the skins remain in the drum over night, adding water until the liquor completely covers them; then remove them from the drum, place them over horses to drain twenty- four hours, and finally wash them. THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 1 93 The process can also be used in this way: Drum the skins in salt water for ten minutes, then add the sulphate of alumina and salt, and at the end of forty minutes drumming, drain the liquor out of the drum, add a few pounds of salt and a few gallons of water and then the tanning liquor in portions of one- third at a time, running the drum until the skins are completely tanned. Fully tanned chrome leather will stand boiling. Cut a piece from one of the thickest skins, put it in water in a pail and turn on steam and boil it. If the leather curls it is not tanned. If it remains soft and flat it is tanned; and the skins can be washed and colored with the assurance that they are tanned. Soft water should always be used in one-bath chrome tanning. If the water is naturally hard, it should be softened before it is used. If the skins become warm in the drum it does no harm. Some tanners warm their liquor before using it but there is no special advaniage in doing it. No. J. Two-Bath Tanning. — If this system of tanning is to be used, proceed as follows: Weigh the pickled skins. For every hundred pounds of skins dissolve five pounds of salt in twelve gallons of water and drum the skins in the solution five minutes. The first or chrome bath consists of five pounds of bichromate of potash boiled until dissolved in four gallons of water ; to this solution add four pounds of muriatic acid, these quantities being for one hundred pounds of skins. Pour the liquor into the drum and run the drum from three to five hours, depending upon how thick the skins are. When the skins are a deep yellow color clear through, take them out of the drum and place them over horses to drain several hours. The workman who handles the skins must wear rubber gloves as the liquor is poisonous and will make the hands sore. The second bath should consist of eighteen pounds of hypo- sulphite of soda for every hundred pounds of skins, boiled in eight gallons of water until dissolved and cooled down by the addition of seven gallons of cold water. Into a pail nearly full of water, pour and stir six pounds of muriatic acid. Put the 13 194 PRACTICAL TANNING. skins into the drum with the solution of hyposulphite of soda, close the drum and start it. As soon as it is started, pour the acid solution through the gudgeon into the drum and run the skins in the liquor four hours after the acid was put in. The drum should never be stopped until the skins have been drummed in the liquor at least one hour, or the skins will be seriously injured. The funnel and pipe connected with the drum should be made of lead. In the second bath the color of the skins changes from yel- low to blue. Unless they are blue through the thickest part of the heaviest skin, they are not fully tanned and must be run longer in the liquor. When they are blue clear through they are tanned and should then be taken out of the drum, horsed up a few hours and then washed. Any one of these three processes can be depended upon to tan the skins satisfactorily. How TO Color Chrome tanned Calfskins. Chrome-tanned calfskins are easily colored any shade with aniline and alizarine dyes, provided they are properly prepared to receive the dye and the right materials and methods are used in the coloring operations. There are numerous methods used by leather dyers in their work. The methods and pro- cesses of course, vary according to the experiences that have taught each dyer the method that seems to be the best for his particular requirements. The common method of preparing this class of leather for the reception of aniline dyes is by the use of some vegetable tanning or coloring material which gives up tannin to serve as a mordant. Sumac, hemlock, palmetto, fustic, and peachwood extracts are the materials that give the best results; and they are therefore in common use. Gambler also is an excellent material with which to mordant chrome leather for aniline coloring. Alizarine dyes are applied directly to the skins, no mordant being necessary. Before any attempt at coloring the skins is made, however, it is very essential that they be thor- THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 1 95 ■oughly washed and neutralized in order to rid them of all acids and salts acquired during the process of tanning. This wash- ing must be very thorough. And after the skins have been washed, and before they are colored, it is necessary to shave them and make them of nearly uniform thickness, and smooth and clean upon the flesh side. During the time that the skins are being washed and shaved they must be kept from grease and stain which are readily taken up by them at this stage of the work and interfere with the subsequent coloring and finish- - ing. When the skins have drained over horses some hours after tanning, they are ready to be washed. The most common way to wash them is by using borax in the first water in which they are washed, then washing the borax away with clear water. A wash wheel supplied with running water, that has plugs to make it tight is used to wash the skins in. For the first washing use one pound of borax and fifteen gallons of Avarm water. Dissolve the borax in a pail of hot water and add it to the water. Put the skins and water into the wash wheel and wash the skins for thirty minutes ; then take out the plugs and turn on running water and wash the skins forty min- utes longer. The leather is then ready to be struck out or pressed and shaved. Very good results have been obtained by washing the skins with sodium phosphate. Use two and a half pounds of it for each hundred pounds of leather, with water at a temperature of 80 degrees Fahr., and wash the leather thirty minutes ; then allow the liquor to run ofif, run in fresh water containing a little bicarbonate of soda and wash the leather twenty minutes. The skins should be free from all trace of acid and salt at the end of the washing process. Where a "twister" is available it should be used as it accomplishes more in a stated time than any other form of washing apparatus. When the skins are not full of acid simply washing them in hot water is sufficient. The temperature of the. water should be 120 degrees Fahr., and there should be two changes of ig6 PRACTICAL TANNING. water. Chrome leather will stand any amount of washing with- out detriment. It is always best to shave the skins before coloring them. After they are shaved, put them on a table in a well-lighted room and sort them. Only those with good, clear grain should be colored ; those having discolored and broken grain should be dyed black. Ganibier and Fustic Mordant. — For each hundred pounds of skins to be colored use : Gambier 2 pounds. Extract of Fustic i pound. Boil these materials in four gallons of water until they are dissolved ; then add eight gallons of water. Put the skins and liquor into the color drum and run the drum thirty or forty minutes ; then dissolve in hot water and pour into the drum Titanium Potassium Oxalate 4 ounces for each hundred pounds of skins, and run the drum ten min- utes longer. If the skins have taken up the mordant, the liquor can be run ofif and either basic or acid aniline dye solu- tion run in without washing the leather. If the liquor does not seem to be fully exhausted, it is advisable to run it off and wash the skins before applying a basic dye. For acid dyes washing is unnecessary. Titanium salts, used as directed in this and the following receipts, forms with the tannin an excel- lent yellow bottom on which all shades of brown, tan, oxblood, yellow, etc., can be obtained in a most satisfactory manner. At the end of the ten minutes, the liquor should be drained out of the drum, the drum started and the solution of dye poured in, the skins drummed at least twenty minutes, then rinsed off and fat-liquored. Gambier Mordant. — Use two and a half pounds of gambier for each hundred pounds of skins. Dissolve it by boiling in four or five gallons of water, then add enough cold water to make twelve gallons of liquor. Use the same as the gambier and fustic liquor. Quermos Extract Mordant. — For one hundred pounds of THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 1 9/ skins use two and a half pounds of this material, and enough water to make twelve gallons of liquor, and apply it to the skins in the same manner that gambier and fustic are applied. This is an excellent mordant for any shade of color. Sumac Mordant. — Use one pound of the extract of sumac for each dozen skins. Small skins can be mordanted with less sumac according to their size. The extract is mixed into water at a temperature of i lo degrees Fahr., and the skins are drummed in the liquor twenty minutes. A solution of titanium salts is then poured into the drum and the drum is run ten minutes longer, when the liquor is drained off and the aniline liquor run in. Palmetto Mordant. — Chrome-tanned calfskins may be pre- pared for aniline coloring by the use of palmetto extract. This material neutralizes any acid in the skins and makes the grain smooth and firm and in good condition to receive the dye. A practical method of using the extract is to apply it to the skins in a drum. The liquor may be made of one pint of the extract and a little glycerine for one hundred pounds of leather. The skins should be drummed in the liquor thirty minutes ; then to the liquor, without stopping the drum should be added four ounces of titanium-potassium oxalate dissolved in hot water and the drum run ten minutes longer. The liquor is then drained off and the skins are ready to be colored. Fustic Mordant. — The extract of fustic is another excellent article to use as a mordant, either alone or combined with logwood or gambier. Young fustic alone followed by titanium salts gives a light tan. Gambier and red fustic alone followed by titanium salts produce a brownish tan shade. From five to twelve ounces of liquid extract of fustic for each dozen skins according to their size may be used for either light or dark shades. For very dark shades, such as chocolate brown, it may be used in equal proportions with pure logwood liquor. The skins should be drummed in the liquor at a temperature of no degrees Fahr. for twenty minutes; then a solution of titantum-potassium oxalate should be run in, the drum run ten 198 PRACTICAL TANNING. minutes longer, the liquor then drained off, and the dye liquor run in. Clearing the Grain and Setting the Color with Tartar Emetic. — When tanning material is used to prepare chrome leather for aniline dyes it is advisable to use some material that will over- come any tannin not combined with the leather, to clear the grain and to fasten the dye evenly and permanently upon the leather. Tartar emetic does this perfectly. After the skins have been drummed in the tan liquor the required length of time a solution of tartar emetic is poured into the drum and the skins are drummed twenty minutes longer. Four ounces for each dozen skins is sufhcient. At the end of the time stated, the liquor should be run out of the drum, the skins rinsed and then colored. When titanium salts are used it is not necessary to use tartar emetic ; and when tartar emetic is used it is not necessary to use titanium salts or bichromate of potash to set the color. The writer personally prefers the use of titanium salts. ■ OxBLOOD Shades. Receipt No. i . — For each hundred pounds of skins use Hypermic Extract 23^ pounds. Logwood Crystals ii'2 ounces. Leather Red Vo ounce. Dissolve these material by boiling in a few gallons of water^ then add enough cold water to make twelve gallons of liquor and use it at a temperature of 130 degrees Fahr. Drum the skins in this liquor one-half hour, then dissolve in hot water^ for each hundred pounds of skins, Titanium-Potassium Oxalate 43<^ ounces, and pour into the drum and let the drum rotate fifteen minutes; longer. Then remove the skins from the drum, wash and fat- liquor them. Another way to use this process is to put the skins and twelve gallons of hot water into the drum, start the drum and then add the dyestufTs through the hollow axle. The formula THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 1 99 given above produces a nice shade of oxblood at less cost than aniline colors, and the color is rich and fast. Receipt No. 2. Oxblood Shade. — Prepare the skins with gam- bier and fustic, or with sumac and titanium-potassium oxalate, then apply the following dyes : Amaranth 3-R 2 pounds. Amaranth i-R 12 ounces. Chocolate Brown o 4 ounces. These quantities are for five dozen small skins. Divide the amaranth 3-R into four portions, and drum the skins ten min- utes after each portion is put into the drum. Then add the other two dyes and drum the leather one-half hour, then drain and fat-liquor it. Receipt No. J. Dark Oxblood Shade. — For one dozen small calfskins use as a mordant Peachwood Extract 2 pounds. Fustic Extract i pound. Dissolve these extracts in boiling water and use at no de- grees Fahr. Drum the skins one-half hour, then add the solution of titanium-potassium oxalate and drum ten minutes longer. Then dissolve by boiling the following anilines : Amaranth 3-R 6 ounces. Malachite Green 3^ ounce. When the ten minutes are up, drain the liquor out of the drum and run in the dye, using two or three gallons of water for each dozen skins. Receipt No. ^. Oxblood Shade. — For one dozen large calf- skins use as a mordant Peachwood Extract 2]/^ pounds. Fustic Extract i pound. Dissolve by boiling and apply to the skins at iio degrees Fahr. Run one-half hour. In the meantime dissolve by boil- ing in a clean pail Amaranth 3-R 12 ounces. Glycerine 8 ounces. Strain the solution, add three gallons of water and add the liquor to the skins at iio degrees Fahr. Drum the skins one- 200 PRACTICAL TANNING. half hour, then dip each skin separately in clean water, run off the dye liquor and wash out the drum. Put the skins back into the drum and run them in a solution of two ounces of bichromate of potash per dozen for fifteen minutes. The skins should then be taken out, struck out and fat-liquored. This gives the correct shade of oxblood. A greater depth of color can be obtained by increasing the strength of the peachwood and fustic liquor. For a light shade use more fustic and less peachwood extract. If sumac extract be used for a mordant, take one pound for each dozen skins, then proceed to color as directed above. Or work according to the following instructions : Mordant the skins with sumac extract, then add a hot solution of titanium salts and drum the leather ten minutes. Then drain the liquor out of the drum and give the skins the amaranth and glycerine solution as described above, drumming the leather in the dye thirty minutes; then wash it, strike it out and fat-liquor it. Alizarine Brown on Chrome Calfskins. Receipt No. 5. — No tannin mordant is required. For each hundred pounds of skins use Alizarine Leather Brown B No 9052 12 ounces. Extract of Yellow Fustic i quart. Heat six gallons of water to 190 degrees Fahr. and dissolve in it the alizarine dye, then add six gallons of cold water and use the liquor at a temperature of 165 degrees Fahr. Put the skins into the drum and start the drum; then pour the liquor though the funnel and gudgeon and drum the skins one-half hour. In the meantime dissolve the extract of fustic in a gal- lon of hot water, run it into the drum and drum the skins fif- teen minutes. Then drain off the spent dye liquor and fat- liquor the leather. Chocolate Browns with Dyewoods and Aniline Dyes. Receipt No. 6. — A dark chocolate brown can be obtained on chrome calfskins by using the following dyes in the quantities stated : THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 20I - Fustic Extract, lemon shade 2}/^ pounds. Hypermic Extract 10 ounces. Logwood Crystals 3 ounces. These quantities are sufficient for one hundred pounds of shaved skins. Dissolve by boiling in a few gallons of water, add enough cold water to make twelve gallons of liquor. Use at 130 degrees Fahr. Put the skins into the drum and run the dye liquor in through the hollow axle ; then run the drum thirty minutes. When the time is nearly up dissolve in hot water : Titanium-Potassium Oxalate c 5 ounces. Pour the solution into the drum at the end of thirty minutes, and run the drum ten minutes longer. The leather should then be washed and fat-liquored. Receipt No. 7. — Mordant the skins with either gambier and fustic or palmetto extract. Drum them thirty minutes, then add the solution of titanium salts and run the drum ten minutes longer. Chocolate brown 270 is the proper dye to use. Ac- cording to their size from four to twelve ounces are required ior one dozen skins. Run them in the dye liquor thirty min- utes, then wash, and give them the fat-liquor. Receipt No. 8. — Upon skins mordanted with fustic, sumac or gambier and titanium salts use : Yellow 849 , % pound. Run the skins in this solution ten minutes ; then dissolve and pour into the drum : Chocolate Brown 270 i pound, Bismarck Brown Y S % pound, Chocolate Brown O 3^ pound, and run the drum twenty minutes, then wash and fat-liquor the skins. Receipt No. p. — A good shade of brown can be obtained in the following manner: For each dozen skins use ten ounces of liquid of fustic or sumac dissolved in hot water. Drum the skins in this liquor fifteen minutes, then pour into the drum four ounces per dozen of tartar emetic also dissolved in hot water, and continue the drumming fifteen minutes, after which 202 PRACTICAL TANNING. rinse the skins in warm water and color them in the drum with these dyes : Phosphine for Leather 8 ounces. Leather Green M i^ ounce. Methyl Violet 2B i ounce. The aniHnes must be thoroughly dissolved and mixed before they are used. In place of tartar emetic, titanium salts may be used. The skins, after they have assumed the color desired should be washed, struck out and fat-liquored. Light and Dark Tan Shades. Receipt No. 10. — For light tan shade, use for each hundred pounds of skins : Yellow Fustic Extract 2 pounds. Titanium-Potassium Oxalate 4 ounces. Have twelve gallons of fustic liquor and use it at 130 degrees Fahr. Drum the skins in it for one-half hour; then pour into- the drum the titanium salts dissolved in hot water and run the drum fifteen minutes. The skins should then be washed and fat-liquored. Receipt. No. 11 . Dark Tan. — Dissolve in boiling water for each hundred pounds of skins: Red Fustic Extract 4 pounds. Apply to the skins at 130 degrees Fahr., running the drum one-half hour; then add, in solution, Titanium-Potassium Oxalate 6 ounces, and run the drum fifteen minutes longer. Wash and fat-liquor the leather. No aniline dye is used to produce these two shades of tan, the fustic extract and titanium salts serving to color the skins the right shade at much less cost than aniline dyes. How TO Dissolve Aniline Dyes. Put the dye into hot or boiling water and boil until it is dis- solved ; then strain the solution through cheese cloth into another vessel and add cold water until there is twelve gallons THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 203. of liquor. A safe temperature is 130 degrees Fahr. It is best not to let the temperature of the liquor in the drum fall below 100 degrees Fahr. The drum should not be stopped until the dye liquor has been in at least ten minutes ; and while the dye is being poured into the drum the latter should be kept in motion. These points carefully observed help materially in getting satisfactory colors. The drum and pails used should be kept as clean as possible. Process of Coloring After Fat-Liquoring. Very uniform results are obtained in the coloring of chrome calfskins by coloring them after they have been fat-liquored. After the skins have been washed and shaved, mordant them with gambier or palmetto extract or with gambler and fustic ; then fat-liquor them with acid fat-liquor or with any good emulsion of soap and oil, but preferably with the acid fat- liquor; then color with aniline dyes and dry them for fin- ishing. This method of coloring is preferred by some dyers to the method of fat-liquoring after coloring. The work can also be done by fat-liqaoring the skins first, then applying the vegetable tanning-material and then coloring to shade with aniline dye. Skins handled this way can be treated with titan- ium salts in the same manner as skins that are colored before they are fat-liquored. How TO Dye Chrome-tanned Calfskins Black. Dyeing with Logwood and Titmiinm Salts. — After the skins have been shaved, they are dyed. Weigh them ; and for each hundred pounds use logwood and fustic as follows : Logwood Crystals i)^' pounds. Fustic Paste 4 ounces. Boil the logwood in ten gallons of water, then put in the the fustic paste and a few ounces of borax and stir the liquor thoroughly. Add enough cold water to make fifteen gallons ; use at 125 degrees Fahr. Drum the skins in the dye one-half hour; then add, in hot solution, to the logwood liquor, Titanium- Potassium Oxalate 6 ounces. 204 PRACTICAL TANNING. Run the drum twenty minutes, then wash the leather and prepare it for the fat-liquor. No copperas or iron liquor is necessary, the skins coming out of this process a rich, jet black. Dyeing with Logwood and Bichromate of Potash. — For one hundred pounds of skins use: Logwood Crystals 1 1^' pounds. Fustic Paste 4 ounces. Dissolve the logwood by boiling in ten gallons of water. Dissolve the fustic in a pail of hot water, add it to the logwood liquor, stirring thoroughly. Add water to make fifteen gallons of liquor and drum the skins in it at 125 degrees Fahr. for one- half hour. In the meantime dissolve in a gallon of hot water for one hundred pounds of skins : Bichromate of Potash i ounce. At the end of the first thirty minutes, pour this solution into the drum and process the skins fifteen minutes longer. Then drain the drum and wash the skins in two or three changes of water before fat-liquoring them. Add to the logwood liquor three ounces of salts of tartar for one hundred pounds of skins. Dyeijig with Logwood and Copperas. — Use for each hundred pounds of skins ; Logwood Crystals i)-^ pounds. Fustic Paste 4 ounces. Boil the same as in preceding receipts and drum the skins in the liquor one-half hour. Add four ounces of borax or salts of tartar before using the dye, prepared by boiling in a pail of water : Copperas 2 ounces. Bluestone o y-^ ounce. Add enough cold water to make five gallons of liquor. Pour it into the drum and run the same fifteen minutes, then drain the drum, and wash the skins in two or three changes of water to remove all the copperas; then fat-liquor them. Dyeing with Aniline Black. — Drum the skins in a solution of gambler, sumac, palmetto or fustic the same as for colors. THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 20$ Then dye with methyl violet aniline, and fat liquor them. Then run in aniline black solution, six ounces per one hundred pounds, for twenty minutes, and then pour into the drum four ounces of titanium-potassium oxalate and run the drum fifteen minutes. Wash the leather, oil the grain and hang up to dry. Use one pound of the titanium salts in a barrel of seasoning,, omitting copperas. Fat-Liquors for Black and Colored Chrome-tanned Calfskins. In order that chrome-tanned skins may be finished into soft and well nourished leather, it is necessary that they be treated with soap and oil in the form of an emulsion after they have been colored and washed. To a great extent the quality of the finished leather depends upon how this work is done and what materials are employed. Nothing can be used that will effect the color or cause the leather to be greasy, streaked, or spotted. After the coloring operations are completed, the skins should be washed and struck out or pressed to remove the surplus water. A suitable pin mill or drum is then heated with live steam to 140 degrees Fahr., the condensed steam drained out, and the leather thrown into the drum. The latter is then set in motion and the leather drummed for a few minutes to warm it. The hot fat-liquor is then poured into the drum through the funnel attached to the hollow gudgeon; and after the last of it is in, the drum should be run thirty or forty min- utes so that all the grease can be taken up by the leather leaving nothing but water in the drum. Some tanners in order to ex- pedite matters, do not wash their leather after coloring. They simply drain off" the spent dye liquor, and then run in the fat- liquor. Fat-liquor emulsions should be used hot at a temper- ature of from 120 to 160 degrees Fahr. The less water there is in the leather the more quickly the fat-liquor is taken up. Any one of the following formulas can be used with perfect safety on black or colored skins. 206 PRACTICAL TANNING. No. I . — For one hundred pounds of leather use : Fig or Olive Soap i pound. Neatsfoot Oil 2 pounds. Moellon Degras 2 pounds. Caustic Soda i ounce. Boil the soap in a few gallons of water until dissolved, then add the oil, and boil the soap and oil for fifteen minutes; then stir the moellon degras thoroughly into the emulsion, adding the caustic soda dissolved in water. Stir the mixture very thor- oughly for several minutes. Add enough water to make twelve gallons of fat-liquor. Use at 125 degrees Fahr., and run the leather in it for thirty minutes. This is a good fat-liquor for bright-finished leather. No. 2. — This is a good fat-liquor for colored leather. For one-hundred pounds of skins use : Soap )-o pound. Olive Oil 2 pounds. Treated Cod Oil 2 pounds. Birch Oil • 2 ounces. Salts of Tartar 3 ounces. Boil the soap until it is dissolved, then add the olive and cod oils, and boil for twenty minutes ; add the birch oil and then the salts of tartar dissolved in a little water. Run in water to make twelve gallons of fat-liquor, and use it at 125 degrees Fahr. Drum the leather in it for thirty minutes, then place it over horses to press and drain several hours before striking it out and hanging it up to dry. No. J. — For light calfskins colored or black, this fat-liquor is recommended : Palermo Fig Soap 10 pounds. Neatsfoot or Cod Oil 4 gallons. Egg Yolk 10 pounds. Comnnon Salt 2 pounds. Put the soap into a clean barrel with several gallons of water. Boil with steam until it is dissolved. Now take the oil and cut it by stirring into it a few ounces of potash or sal soda dissolved in hot water. Stir the oil into the soap solution, then run in forty gallons of cold water to cool the emulsion. Then add THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 207 the egg yolk and salt; stir the whole again and apply to the skins at a temperature of 80 degrees Fahr. The quantity to be used must be determined by the judgment of the operator. Twenty gallons is sufficient for ten dozen small, light skins. It gives excellent results on skins for upper leather and glove stock. Care must be taken to cool off the soap and oil emulsion before adding the egg yolk in order to prevent coagulation of the albuminous constituents of the egg. For use on heavy calfskins, add five or six pounds of French degras to the oil and soap, mixing thoroughly, and reduce the quantity of egg yolk to five pounds. No. ^. — An excellent fat-liquor for chrome calfskins is made of the following ingredients : Palermo Fig Soap 20 pounds. Wyandotte Tanners' Soda 5 pounds. French Degras 100 pounds. Boil the soap in twenty gallons of water until it is dissolved, then run in enough cold water to reduce the temperature to 140 degrees Fahr. Then add the soda and degras and stir the mixture vigorously for five minutes, but do not boil it after putting in the degras and soda. For one hundred pounds of leather use two gallons of this fat-liquor with six gallons of hot water. Use at 125 degrees Fahr. After running the leather for thirty minutes, take it out, rinse in a tub of warm water, set out and oil the grain. JVo. 5. — This fat-liquor is suitable for dull or mat-finished calfskins. For one hundred pounds of skins use: Palermo Fig or other good Soap i pound. Treated Cod Oil 4 pounds. Moellon Degras 2 pounds. Caustic Soda i ounce. Boil the soap, add the oil and boil again, then add the de- gras and soda and stir five minutes. Use at 125 degrees Fahr. and drum the skins in it for one-half hour. No. 6. — Sulphated oil or acid fat-liquor is a splendid material for chrome leather. From five to five and a half pounds are sufficient for one hundred pounds of leather. Use it by dis- 208 PRACTICAL TANNING. solving it in warm water and applying to the skins at 95 de- grees Fahr. Have the skins thoroughly warmed up before giving them the fat-liquor, and the drum also warm so that the oil will not congeal. Run the skins in the liquor thirty min- utes, then take them out and rinse them ofif in clean warm water to remove all traces of grease. Be sure to have a clean warm drum, warm skins and warm fat-liquor. The grain needs no subsequent oiling when acid fat-liquor is used. Oiling and Drying the Leather. When the fat-Hquoring has been accomplished, the skins should be placed smoothly over horses for several hours so that the grease may combine with the fibers. The skins should then be struck out upon the grain and be given a light coat of warm oil. The striking-out is done to smooth out the wrinkles,^ to work the leather out as much as possible and to lay the • grain down smooth and flat. The oil that is applied is the basis of the subsequent finish and should be of good quality, free from tendency to gum or spew. The water should be pressed out of the leather before the oil is put on so that the latter can quickly penetrate into the body of the skin, where it will add strength to the fibers. For glazed and bright boarded finish a mixture of one part neatsfoot oil and three parts paraffine oil is recommended ; for dull leather the mixture may be equal parts neatsfoot and paraffine. Olive oil is also recommended for glazed leather. A mixture of one part olive oil and three parts paraffine is quite satisfactory. Sperm oil, treated neats- foot and Dull Morocco Dressing Oil are all good. It is advisa- ble to warm the oil before use, to apply it evenly over the body of each skin and to rub it into the grain and not to apply any of it to the flanks. After the skins have been oiled they are hung up to dry. It is best to dry them rather slowly in a moderately warm room with good circulation of warm air. The next treatment is dampening and staking, which should not be done until the leather is perfectly dry. the manufacture of calfskin leathers. 209 Dampening and Staking. To dampen the leather, have a tub two-thirds full of hot water. Take a few skins at a time and put them in the water, allowing them to soak a few minutes, then place them in a pile on the floor or put them in a box, press them down hard and cover the pile with damp sawdust. Let the skins remain in the box over night; then stake them. The skins should not be staked too hard, the flanks especially being staked lightly. When the skins have been sufiEiciently worked out on the stak- ing machine, tack them out smooth on the tacking boards or frames to dry. They soon dry, and should then be trimmed and given a coat of seasoning. For glazed finish stake after trimming. Glazed Finish. Give the skins a coat of seasoning, hang them up to dry, then glaze them. Next give them a second coat of seasoning, dry and stake ; then glaze them the second time. Oil the glazed finish lightly with hot finishing oil or with a mixture of equal parts of neatsfoot and finishing oils and the leather is done. The leather can be handled this way also : After the first glazing, stake the skins, then apply the second coat of season- ing, dry and glaze. Good glazing liquors or seasoning can be bought ready-made. Unless the tanner has a first-class receipt for a seasoning he should buy such material instead of using a finish that may not prove satisfactory. To clear the grain of grease, rub into it, before applying the first coat of seasoning, a dilute solution of lactic acid, rubbing it in well. When this has dried, apply the seasoning. Or clean the grain before the leather is staked. Boarded or Box Finish. The leather for boarded grain should be glazed and the grain pressed. To obtain a sharp and regular grain it is best to press the leather before boarding or graining it. A pow- erful press and sharp cut rolls are required ; then the skins are 14 210 PRACTICAL TANNING, boarded first from head to tail, then from side to side. They are then oiled the same as smooth finish. Smooth Dull Finish. Take the skins from the tacking frames and trim them ; next apply a coat of dull finish to the grain and dry it; then give another coat of finish and dry; finally iron with a hot iron, then stake them. Finished this way the leather is soft and full, having a fine break and feel. Seasoning for Dull Finish. — This will make a fine dull finish with a soft, dry feel : Ivory Soap • i pound. Neatsfoot Oil i pint. 'Wh<;le Flaxseed impound. Beeswax 3 ounces. Nigrosine Black 3 ounces. Powdered Aloes • • • i ounce. Wood Alcohol >2 P''"t. Boil the soap, oil, flaxseed and beeswax for one-half hour in two gallons of water. Cool and strain. Then dissolve the nigrosine in a quart of water and add it to the solution. Then dissolve the aloes in the wood alcohol and add the solution to the finish. Stir thoroughly. Seasoning for Glazed Finish. — A good finish for glazed calf- skins is made of: Whole Flaxseed 2 ounces. Logwood Cr\ SI als 2 ounces. Nigrosine Black 2 ounces. Bichromate of Potash }4. ounce, Vinette Y^W^^- Beef Blood I quart. Glycerine Yz pint. Crystal Carbolic Acid i ounce. Boil the flaxseed one-half hour in a gallon of water and strain. Then add the logwood, nigrosine and bichromate of potash. When the mixture has cooled to 90 degrees Fahr., add the vinette, blood, glycerine and carbolic acid. Stir the finish very thoroughly. There should be two gallons of seasoning. If there is less add enough cold water to bring the quantity up to two gallons. THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 211 Gun Metal Finish. — To get this popular finish, take the skins after trimming and give them a coat of bright finish, dry and glaze and then stake them. Next apply a coat of the fol- lowing finish, dry the skins, iron them, then oil the grain with hot oil : Gum Tragacanlh i ounce. Yellow Dye i^ ounce. Glazed Seasoning i gallon. Soak the gum tragacanth twenty-four hours in two quarts of water; then stir it until completely dissolved. Dissolve the •yellow dye in a quart of water. Take one gallon of the season- ing for glazed finish and stir into it a quart of the gum solution. Then add the solution of yellow dye a little at a time, stirring thoroughly, until the color of the finish has changed from black to greenish-black. Too much yellow dye must be guarded against or the leather will be too green. For oiling off after finishing, use a hot mixture of equal parts paraffine and neats- foot oils or any good finishing oil. Seasoning for Chrome Colored Calfskins. — When the skins are trimmed apply a coat of seasoning, dry and finish. Make the seasoning of: Ivory Soap — 1 1^ pounds. French Gelatine 3 ounces. Blood Albumen 3 ounces. Soak the soap in six quarts of water for twenty-four hours, ■or shave and boil it until it is dissolved. Dissolve the gelatine in a quart of hot water. When cool, mix and stir the soap and gelatine together. Soak the blood albumen over night in two •quarts of water at 90 degrees Fahr. In the morning stir into it the soap. Strain a quart of the finish into six quarts of water, at 90 degrees Fahr. After giving the leather a coat of this season- ing, dry it and stake it lightly, then give a second coat and hang up to dry. When the leather is half dry, roll it ; then •dry it and jack it lightly, using a piece of hard felt in place of the glass. The pressure must be light or the leather will show shaded spots. 212 practical tanning. Calfskin Glove and Mitten Leather. The skins should be sorted right at the beginning so as to get the different sizes and weights into separate lots. Large, thin skins are the most profitable for glove and mitten leather. Soak green salted skins in clean cold water twenty- four hours, then run them in a drum fifteen minutes, put them back into water and soak them eighteen hours longer. The next work is trimming and fleshing, after which the skins are ready to be put into lime. The skins should be well opened out when they are put into the lime and should not be crowded in the liquor but have plenty of room. For the first lime use two and a half pounds of lime for every hundred pounds of skins. , Have it well slaked and plunged up in the vat. Leave the skins in the first lime twenty-four hours, then pull them out, plunge the lime up and put the skins back. On the third day, pull the skins out and add two and a half pounds of lime, well slaked, and return the skins to the vat. On the fourth day, pull the skins out, plunge the lime, and put the skins back. On the fifth day add to the lime in the vat three and a half pounds of lime and two pounds of red arsenic for each hundred pounds of skins and leave the skins in until the seventh day, at which time add three pounds of lime and one and a half pounds of red arsenic and warm the lime liquor to 75 degrees Fahr, On the eighth day take the skins out, warm the lime to 80 degrees Fahr. and put the skins back in again. Nine days lining is sufificient. On the ninth day the skins should be unhaired, washed a few minutes in cold water, then refleshed and worked for fine hair, after which they are bated. The following described process of bating is recommended for calfskins. It is cheap, simple, safe and effective. Run water into a paddle vat and heat it to 120 degrees Fahr. Put two pailsful of dry bran into the warm water and let stand until the next morning. Then heat the mixture up to 95 degrees Fahr,, add one-half pint of lactic acid for each hundred pounds of skins, stir thoroughly and put the skins in. After the skins THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 213 are in, add another half-pint of lactic acid for each hundred pounds of skins and run the paddle wheel for three and a half hours ; then take the skins out and wash them in warm water. They will be found in excellent condition, soft and clean and iree from lime. For the next lot of skins run out about twelve inches of the liquor and replace it with water; do not use any more bran but use one pint of lactic acid for each hundred pounds of skins and bate the skins exactly as the first lot was bated. After using the old liquor for a week, run if out and make up a new one with two pails of bran and a pint of lactic acid for each hundred pounds of skins to be bated. The skins, washed from the bate, are then pickled. Make up a brine in a paddle vat by adding thirty-five pounds of salt ior each hundred gallons of water in the vat, then add ten pounds of salt and one and one-half pounds of sulphuric acid to the brine for each hundred pounds of washed and drained skins. Plunge the pickling liquor thoroughly, then throw in the skins and run the paddle for two hours so that the liquor will be stirred during the process. When the two hours are are up, take the skins out and horse them up nice and smooth for twelve hours ; then tan them. The two-bath chrome-system of tanning is carried out as fol- lows : Weigh the pickled skins. In four gallons of water dissolve by boiling five pounds of bichromate of potash for each hundred pounds of skins in the lot, then add six gallons of cold water and one pound of sulphuric acid to the chrome solution. Put half of this liquor into the drum with the skins and start the drum. As soon as the drum has been started pour the rest of the yellow liquor through the gudgeon and drum the skins in it for three and a half hours, then take them out and place them smoothly over horses and leave them for twenty-four hours. The workman who handles the skins must wear rubber gloves or his hands will become sore from the action of the poisonous chrome liquor. Prepare the second part of the pro- cess by boiling eighteen pounds of hyposulphite of soda for 214 PRACTICAL TANNING. each hundred pounds of skins, in ten gallons of water, and coof the solution down by adding six gallons of cold water to it. Put four pounds of muriatic acid into a pail of water. Throw the skins into the drum with the hyposulphite solution and start the drum. As soon as the drum starts pour the solution^ of muriatic acid slowly into it through the funnel attached to the hollow axle. Drum the skins without stopping four hours after the acid is put in, then take them out of the drum and horse them up to drain over night. The next process is wash- ing which should be done first in warm borax water and then in clear water until the skins are free from all acid and salt. The one-bath process of tanning can also be used. The manu- facturers of the tanning material furnish directions for its use and by following the instructions any tanner can make good chrome leather with perfect safety. A good way to treat the skins is to tan them with one-bath tanning material, then, without washing them, to color, fat- liquor and dry them, then staking them and washing them for two hours before drying them again for the final finishing. When the two-bath processes used it is best to wash the skins before coloring them, then to trim and shave them. Light and dark shades of tan are popular colors for gloves, and mittens. By following the directions given below very nice colors can be obtained. Light Tan. — Weigh the shaved skins. Dissolve two pounds of yellow fustic extract in a pail of hot water. Put the skins into the drum with twelve gallons of water at 130 degrees Fahr. for each hundred pounds of skins. Start the drum and then pour the fustic liquor through the hollow gudgeon into the drum; drum the skins in the liquor one-half hour. While the drum is running, dissolve four ounces of titanium-potassium oxalate in hot water ; at the end of the half hour add this solu- tion to the contents of the drum and run the drum fifteen minutes longer ; then wash the skins and fat-liquor them. Dark Tan. — For each hundred pounds of skins dissolve four pounds of red fustic extract. Put the skins into the drum with THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 21 5 twelve gallons of water at 130 degrees Fahr., start the drum, then run the fustic liquor in upon the skins. At the end of thirty minutes add to the liquor in the drum six ounces of titanium potassium oxalate in solution, run the drum fifteen minutes longer; then wash and fat-liquor the skins. Light Yellow. — Make a gambler liquor by boiling twelve pounds of gambler in twenty-two gallons of water ; when the gambler is dissolved add to the solution one-half pint of muriate of tin and one and a half ounces of tin crystals. When this liquor has cooled down to 90 degrees Fahr., it is ready for use. For from one hundred to one hundred and fifty skins, ac- cording to size, use four pails of this gambler liquor and two gallons of water. Drum the skins in this mixture for one hour, then add one-half pound of picric acid, and one-half pound of fustic extract dissolved in three gallons of hot water, and let the drum run thirty minutes longer; then place the skins over horses, and let them drain until the next morning, and finally fat-liquor them. The foregoing process is a good one to use on skins tanned in a one-bath process. Do not wash them after tanning nor after coloring; but after they have been dried out wash them for two hours, then dry again, stake and finish. The color will be very uniform and permanent, and the leather very soft. Make the fat-liquor of fig soap, sod and neatsfoot oils and degras. Boil ten pounds of the soap in fifteen gallons of water. Pour into the dissolved soap three gallons of neatsfoot oil and one gallon of sod oil, and boil and stir oil and soap together, then stir into the boiling liquor seven pounds of de- gras and add enough water to make fifty gallons of fat-liquor. The exact quantity to use must be determined by the size of the skins. One hundred large skins require from fifteen to twenty gallons, applied at a temperature of 125 degrees Fahr. Dry the skins in a hot room, and when they are dry keep them in a dry room for a week, then dampen and wash them if they were not washed after tanning, dry them again and then stake them once or twice to get them soft and well worked out. 2l6 PRACTICAL TANNING. After the skins have been staked, throw them into a drum with three to four quarts of soapstone for each hundred skins and run the drum two hours. Finally stake the skins again and they are finished ; and if the work has been carefully done the leather will be all that could be desired as regards soft- ness and color. A nice yellow shade can be obtained on the skins by the use of fustic and auramine II. For one hundred pounds of leather dissolve twenty-six ounces of extract of fustic in five gallons of water; add to this solution five ounces of tin crystals and when dissolved add enough water to make ten gallons of liquor. Drum the skins in this yellow liquor one-half hour. In four gallons of boiling water dissolve a little more than five ounces of the auramine dye and run the solution into the drum on the fustic bottom, and let the drum rotate twenty minutes longer, drain the leather a few hours and then fat-liquor it. Chrome Wax Calf Leather. The tanner of chrome calfskins finds among his skins many that are imperfect on the grain. Such skins can be retanned and finished into chrome wax. Heavy skins are more suitable for this leather than light ones, the latter being more suitable for ooze leather. All skins from a medium up to ten or twelve pounds can be worked into chrome wax, provided they are free from butcher cuts on the flesh side. The skins are worked through the beamhouse the same as those for chrome leather; they are tanned preferably with one-bath chrome material and then shaved. After they are shaved they are washed and then retanned. Retanning. — This consists in retanning the skins with hem- lock extract or with a mixture of hemlock and oak extracts or with any other suitable vegetable tanning material. Two methods of retanning will be here described. The first liquor is a 5-degree barkometer hemlock liquor in which the skins are hung twenty-four hours. This liquor is then strengthened to 8 degrees and the skins are left in the same THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 217 forty-eight hours, after which it is strengthened to 10 degrees, the skins remaining therein forty-eight hours. The skins are then transferred to a 14-degree liquor where they re- main six days. Handle every two days or give them a 16- degree liquor for four days, and handle every two days, then they should be given five days in an i8-degree liquor, being handled every other day. The retanning is then completed. The liquors may also be made up of oak and hemlock extracts in the proportion of three parts of the latter to one part of the former. Retanning may also be done in a drum in the following manner: The first liquor is made of three pounds of hemlock extract and one pound of oak extract and five pounds of salt in twenty-five gallons of water for one hundred pounds of skins, weighed after tanning in the chrome liquor. In this liquor the skins are run one hour, then they are piled down for twenty four hours. The second liquor may be the same as the first, the skins being run in it one hour, then piled down for twenty-four hours. On the third day the skins are given the last retanning liquor, which is made up of three pounds of oak extract and one pound of hemlock extract and no salt. The skins are run in this liquor two hours, then placed in piles for twelve hours. Retanning by suspension in the liquor is doubt- less the better method of the two. In handling the skins through the tan yard it is well to take them from the vats and allow them to lie in a pile from four to six hours. After they are fully retanned, they should lie on a pile forty-eight hours and then be fat-liquored. Pat- Liquoring. — The fat-liquor is made of sop and degras. For every dozen skins in the lot eight ounces of good soap are boiled in ten gallons of water; when dissolved, four pounds of moellon degras are stirred in. This liquor is given to the skins at a temperature of 125 degrees Fahr., the skins being run in it forty minutes, then left in a pile over night. The next day they are pressed, hung up and dried slightly for the second fat-liquoring. 2l8 PRACTICAL TAA'NING. The second fat-liquor consists of stearine, hard grease and cod oil. The workman must depend upon his judgment to tell him when the skins are in suitable condition for the stuffing. The necks and flanks should be dampened more than the rest of the skins so that they will not absorb too much grease and be made coarse. The quantity of grease to be used must also be decided by the judgment of the operator. Chrome wax will not carry as much grease at vegetable-tanned leather. The stuffing should be used at a temperature of 140 degrees Fahr. After the skins are taken from the drum they should be placed in a pile and covered up and left until the next day. They are then set out on the flesh side with a slicker, and then with a stone, and hung up by the hind shanks until partly dry ; they are then reset on the grain side. When the skins are dry, they are piled down nice and smooth for six days when- they are ready for whitening. It is best to whiten by hand. After the skins are whitened they are grained with a heavy cork board going from right back shank to left front shank and vice versa. They should be thoroughly softened before they are blacked. Blacking. — A good black is made as follows : Take eight gallons of water and dissolve in it one and one-half pounds of logwood crystals, then add one-half ounce of bichromate of potash and stir well. Next add five pounds of good tallow soap and one-half pound of caustic potash and boil for two hours, then add five pounds of good gas lampblack and boil for three hours. There should be twenty gallons when fin- ished. This soap black should be stirred fifteen minutes every three hours until it is entirely cold, when it is ready to be used. The blacking can be put on by machine and better results are obtained by giving the skins one coat and glossing them ; then give another coat and gloss again. After the second glossing the skins are read}' for the paste. Paste. — Mix two and a half pounds of iiour with water until it forms a thin batter. Start by using a small amount of water THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 219 SO as to get all the lumps worked out ; keep adding water until there is a thin batter. Now add to the batter one-half pound of soap cut into small pieces and one-fourth pound of frozen glue that has previously been soaked over night in a quart of cold water, two ounces of black nigrosine and one pint of cod oil. Boil this mixture half an hour and allow it to cool over night. In the morning add sufficient water to make it thin enough to feed through the machine. Give the skins a light coat of this paste and hang them up until almost dry, then take them down and gloss on the glossing jack and hang up over night, as it is very important that the paste be absolutely dry before the finish is put on. Finish. — The finish is made as follows : Soak one pound of frozen glue in three quarts of cold water twenty-four hours^ then add to the soaked glue one-half pound of ivory soap, two ounces of beeswax cut into small pieces, one and one-half pounds of white tallow, four ounces of black nigrosine, and boil the mixture twenty minutes and allow it to stand twenty- four hours undisturbed. Now add very carefully fourteen quarts of cold water, adding the same slowly and stirring all the time. When all the water is mixed in the finish is ready for use. This finish will give the skins a fine, mellow feel, and should be put on by hand, using a sponge. The skins should be given a good coat and hung up to dry. When thoroughly dry they are ready to trim and measure. The finished leather is very fine and soft. Vegetable Tannages for Calfskin Upper Leather. Gambier Tannage. — Calfskins as well as sheep, kangaroo and goatskins can be made into fine soft leather by tanning with gambier. A good-process of tanning the skins is applied in practice in the following manner : The skins, after having been bated and washed, are run in an old 12-degree barkometer liquor until colored ; they are then put into fresh gambier liquor, being hung therein for about twelve days, during which time the liquor is gradually strengthened every day. The skins are 220 PRACTICAL TANNING. then pressed and wheeled and shaved or split as they may require; then they are run in a 12-degree liquor for a day or two before being placed in a 34- degree fresh gambier liquor sixteen days more. Salt should be added to the liquors to aid the tanning and to keep the liquors from getting sour. Light skins, of course, require less tanning than heavy ones, the pro- cess as described being suitable for heavy kangaroo and calf- skins. The skins, after they are tanned, are washed, set out on a machine, oiled lightly on the grain and dried in a mod- erate temperature. Skins that are to be colored fancy shades should be dried in a dark room. When dry, the skins improve in texture and feel by being stored some time before finishing. It improves the grain of gambier-tanned leather to drum the skins in a solution of alum and salt for thirty minutes after they are tanned. Seven pounds of alum and five pounds of salt dissolved in seven pails of Vv'ater make a satisfactory solution for 125 skins. This clears and strengthens the grain. The leather is then drained and either oiled on the grain by hand or run in a drum with five quarts of neatsfoot oil to every 125 skins. After this the leather is set out and hung up to dry. A very satisfactory method of tanning is by the use of vats or tubs with paddles. Tn the first vat the skins are colored and handled ; in the second they are tanned until ready to be skived or split ; in the third the skins are tanned out after skiving. At the start the liquor should be four to five degrees barkometer and gradually strengthened as the tanning pro- ceeds until the skins are fully tanned. Into the water in the vats should be put six or seven pails of gambier liquor stand- ing 75 degrees (Baume test) in the pails or stock solution, also four or five pails of sediment gambier after the boiling. When the liquor is ready, put the skins in and run the paddle wheel thirty or forty minutes to assure a good color on the grain. The liquor should be strengthened twice daily with two or three pails of gambier and sediment, morning and even- ing, and the paddle should be run three times daily ten or fifteen minutes each time. At the end of four or five days THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 22 1 the skins should be taken out of the liquor and struck out on the flesh and then put into the second or stronger liquor of eight or ten degrees barkometer. By running the paddle three times each day and by adding three pails of 75-degree gambier liquor each day the skins will be well struck through in about fourteen days. Set them out on the flesh side, skin them and then put them into the finishing liquors of 12 to 15 degrees for seven days. Each day the liquor should be strengthened with two pails of gambier and the wheel should be run fifteen minutes each time. One pail of salt should be added to the liquor each week. The final tanning can also be done in a drum. After they are fully tanned, the skins should be drummed in the solution of alum and salt, oiled and dried. After the skins are dry they should be dampened, run in warm water and shaved, after which they are fat-liquored, set out and dried again. When dry, the skins are dampened and colored. Another way to treat the skins is to wash them after tanning, then fat-liquor them, dry them, dampen, shave and mill them in sumac, and then color them. Sulphonated oil makes a splendid fat-liquor for colored gambier-tanned skins. Good leather is made by fat- liquoring lightly after tanning and washing, then drying the skins out, coloring them and then giving them the second application of fat-liquor. Dongola Leather. — Gambier, alum and salt make what is known as dongola leather. The first liquor of the process may be made of six-degree liquor and adding thereto ten pounds of alum and seven pounds of salt to each one hundred gallons of liquor. In this liquor the skins may remain for three days, the liquor being strengthened every day, the skins then being pressed and shaved. The second liquor should be straight gambier, alum and salt being left out. The skins must be watched and the strength of the liquor regulated according to the thickness and condition 222 PRACTICAL TANNING. of the skins. The strength of the liquor may range from i8 to 20 degrees and three days in such liquor will complete the tanning. The skins are then washed, pressed and fat- liquored with oil and hung up to dry. When dry, the skins are dampened, run in sumac, colored, refat-liquored and dried for finishing. Tanning with Palmetto. — For tanning with palmetto ex- tract, calfskins should be limed in arsenic limes, then bated with a bacterial bate, or drenched with lactic acid in the same manner as for chrome tanning ; pickling, however, can be omitted. The tanning is begun in cold palmetto liquor, 8 degrees barkometer, the skins being left therein one-half hour. They are then transferred to a drum and tanned with palmetto liquor 30 degrees Baumo, (51 degrees Twaddle) at 75 degrees Fahr. One hundred pounds of skins should be given about sixty-five pounds of extract. After six or seven hours the skins are tan- ned through. They are then pressed, wheeled, split and shaved and then retanned half an hour in 8 degree liquor, then retanned in a drum one hour with strength of extract 30 degrees Baume, (51 Twaddle). The leather is now fully tanned. It is washed in cold water, pressed and fat-liquored and dried. When dry, the leather may be retanned in sumac and colored or dyed black, then finished. Tanning can also be done by suspending the skins in weak palmetto liquor and gradually strengthening the same until the skins are tanned through. Quebracho and Palmetto Tannage. — Soft, plump and well filled leather is made by tanning calfskins in liquors composed of 75 per cent, quebracho extract and 25 per cent, palmetto extract. The skins are suspended in a weak liquor which is strengthened each day until the skins are tanned through. The leather is then washed, fat-liquored and dried. Quebracho Tannage. — Calfskins intended for soft upper leather may be tanned with quebracho extract in the same manner as skins for fancy leather. THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 223 Quebracho and Hemlock Extracts used in the proportion of one part hemlock to two parts quebracho make a better tan- nage than hemlock alone, which is rather harsh. The skins are nailed on sticks and suspended in weak coloring liquor. The coloring should take about twenty-four hours. The skins are then taken out and placed in a 10 degree barkometer liquor which is strengthened from day to day until the skins are tanned through. Retanning may be done with quebracho and hem- lock liquor or with a solution of palmetto extract, preferably in a drum, the skins being then washed, fat-liquored and dried out. Still tanning produces plumper and better filled leather than tanning in drums or in vats with paddles. Tanning can be begun in hemlock liquor and finished in gambler or palmetto liquor. Palmetto extract is especially suitable for retanning. It puts the leather into condition to stand heat well and to take and carry grease, and it also toughens the leather and makes it more water-proof. Hemlock-tanned leather is always improved by being re- tanned with palmetto or gambler or with gambler and sumac. The harshness of the hemlock is toned down and the leather takes and retains a better color. Fat-liquors for Vegetable-tanned Calf Leather. The following fat-liquors are suitable for gambler, palmetto, dongola, hemlock, quebracho and combination tanned leather: Receipt No. i. — For two hundred pounds of dry leather or four hundred pounds of wet leather, weighed after washing and pressing from the tan, three pails or seven and one- half gallons of the following fat-liquor will be sufficient: Borax-chip Soap 24 pounds. Sal Soda 12 pounds. Treated Cod Oil • . • •. 15 gallons. Birch Oil 2% gallons. Boil the soap and sal soda in five pails of water in a barrel until dissolved, then add the oils, stir and boil thoroughly, then add enough water to make forty-five gallons of fat-liquor. This 224 PRACTICAL TANNING. fat-liquor when made with birch oil is excellent for colored Russia ; for black leather the birch oil may be omitted. Receipt No. 2. — For colored or black vegetable-tanned calf- skins : Potash Soft Soap 10 pounds. Best Neatsfoot Oil 4 gallons. French Moellen Degras 10 pounds. Boil the soap in twelve gallons of water. Cut the oil by pouring into it and stirring thoroughly four ounces of borax dissolved in a quart of boiling water ; then pour the oil into the soap and stir thoroughly. Then add the moellen degras to the oil and soap and stir again very thoroughly. Run in enough cold water to make fifty gallons of fat-liquor. Ten gallons is enough for fifty skins averaging ten square feet per skin. After the leather is dj^'ed black or colored, press out the surplus water and apply the fat-liquor at a temperature of 120 degrees Fahr., drumming the leather in the liquor forty minutes. Remove the leather from the drum, horse it up for some hours, then strike out and apply a coat of neatsfoot or other suitable oil and hang the skins up to dry. Fat-liquoring may be done after tanning and washing, the leather being then dried and subsequently dampened and colored. The drum should always be heated with live steam, the water drained out and the leather run in the drum a few min- utes to warm it before being given the fat-liquor. It is also always best to add fat-liquor in portions of a pailful at a time at intervals of five minutes until the requisite quantity has been given to the leather. Receipt No. j. — For palmetto and gambier-tanned skins, fat- liquored after tanning, use: Potash Soft Soap ij^ pounds, Moellen Degras i quart for no pounds of wet leather. Use at 120 degrees Fahr., and drum the leather fifty minutes, then wash it, strike it out and hang it up to dry. After the leather has been dry some time THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 22 5 it can be sorted and finished into colors or black, or into patent leather, as may be desired. Receipt No. /. — To make a barrel of fat-liquor for black or colored leather use : Potash or Chip Soap 4 pounds. Sal Soda 1 1^ pounds. Treated Cod Oil 7 gallons. Moellon Degras i gallon. Prepare the fat-liquor in the usual manner and use it at a temperature of 115 degrees Fahr. A barrel of liquor will fat- liquor three hundred pounds of leather. Receipt No. 5. — This is a good fat-liquor for combination tanned skins : Potash Soft Soap 25 pounds. English Sod Oil 50 pounds. Treated Neatsfoot Oil 1^2 gallons. Boil the soap in twenty-five gallons of water until dissolved ; then add the oils and stir thoroughly. A few pounds of de- gras may also be added. Enough cold water is then run into the barrel to make fifty gallons of fat-liquor. Twenty gallons of this fat-liquor is required by one hundred pounds of dry leather ; the exact quantity to be used depends, however, upon the nature of the tannage. Some tannages require less fat- liquor than others and a smaller quantity will often produce the desired softness. Giving Two Applications of Fat-Liquor. — In the manufac- ture of colored leather excellent results are obtained by drying the leather after washing and pressing from the tan and then drumming the skins in a solution of alum and salt to cleanse the grain and improve the color and texture of the leather, then applying the first fat-liquor, which should be preferably .sulphonated oil. The leather is now dried, dampened, colored, dried again and then given the second and main fat-liquoring which may be either sulphonated oil or an emulsion of soap, oil and degras. Skins for black and colored leather, imitation kangaroo and dull and glazed boarded grains are also satisfactorily fat-liquored 15 226 PRACTICAL TANNING. twice, once after they have been retanned, pressed and sam- mied, and again after coloring. After the leather has been retanned, pressed and shaved, it should be uniformly sammied and fat-liquored and then dried. Imitation kangaroo and dull printed grains are generally yel- low-backed before the second application of fat-liquor. Blue- backed leather is generally dyed or stained on the flesh and dyed on the grain afterward. Colored leather is usually given the second fat-liquor after it has been colored. Fat-liquoring is one of the most important processes in the manufacture of leather. Only the best grades of oil, soap and degras should be used so that the leather will not be greasy or gummy, or apt to spew after it is finished. Sumac Mordant for Colors. Gambler, palmetto and combination-tanned calfskins in- tended for colored leather, after being fat-liquored are dried out, then moistened in warm water in a tub and placed in piles for a number of hours to become thoroughly softened. To prepare them for any shade of color they are, preferably, milled in a drum in a solution of sumac prepared in the follow- ing manner: For sixty medium sides or ninety average calf- skins, one-half of a pailfuU of sumac is scalded in a closed vessel for two hours. To the sumac solution are added four pails of water and one gallon of lactracine. The temperature of this liquor, when it is applied to the skins or sides, should be lOO degrees Fahr., and the leather should be run in it for twenty-five minutes. This prepares the leather for the process of coloring, and is a very practical method, simple and easy to use and always productive of good results. It can be applied to skins and sides tanned in any process or combination of processes. In some instances it is not necessary to use sumac for the purpose of freshening up the leather, it depending upon the nature of the tannage and the condition of the leather. It is always good practice, however, to thoroughly soften the stock THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 22/ before applying any dye to it ; and it is also well to wash the leather in warm water in order to remove from it all the par- ticles of dirt, dust and tannin. In the treatment of leather that has acquired a dark color from the tannage, it is advantageous to bleach the stock before coloring it. Practical methods of bleaching leather are given in another chapter. They produce good results when applied to calfskins. When leather has been freshened up in a sumac bath, it is apt to contain uncombined tannin, which has a tendency to cause uneven and cloudy coloring. To prevent such a result, tartar emetic or antimonine may be used. In using either of these articles, the leather is first milled in a sumac liquor. This may consist of one pound of extract of sumac in the re- quired quantity of water, at lOO degrees Fahr., for four dozen medium-sized skins or thiry-two average sides. In this liquor the leather is drummed for twenty minutes, then for the quan- tity of stock mentioned one-half of a pound of either tartar emetic or antimonine may be dissolved in warm water and added to the leather and sumac, and the drumming continued twenty minutes longer, when the grain will be cleared and ready for the aniline dye. No bichromate of potash or other setting agent is required, as the aniline will be fixed firmly and evenly upon the leather. The leather should be washed off before it is colored. Titanium Mordant for Colors. — Take one hundred pounds of dry leather and dampen and soften it with warm water. Pre- pare a solution of eight ounces of titanium-potassium oxalate with warm water and drum the skins in the same ten or fifteen minutes. This gives a yellow-brown base. Run the liquor out of the drum, put in a solution of suitable acid aniline dye and color the leather to the shade wanted. Then wash and fat- liquor the leather, and dry it for finishing. If basic dyes are to be used, it is best to wash the leather after running it in the titanium solution and then to color it with the aniline dye. Other suggestions in regard to coloring 228 PRACTICAL TANNING. the leather are given in the Section on side leathers and also in that on sheepskins. The Coloring and Finishing of Vegetable and Combi- nation-tanned Calfskins. After becoming thoroughly dried out the skins may be kept in storage for some time before they are colored and finished. When the coloring and finishing operations are to be carried out, the dried leather is moistened in warm water and placed in piles for twenty-four hours to become thoroughly moistened through and soft. For black leather the flesh is next colored blue or yellow, as may be desired. For a Blue Flesh a solution of logwood is most commonly used. To the logwood solution may be added a few ounces of blue aniline or of nigrosine. Of logwood extract, paste or powder, one pound of the same may be boiled with a few ounces of borax or sal soda in ten gallons of water and used for each one hundred pounds of leather. The leather is milled in the color solution for twenty minutes, then removed from the drum and dyed black upon the grain with logwood and striker. A stronger solution than that mentioned above may be used, and after the leather has been drumming in it for twenty minutes, it may be spread on a table or run through a machine and the color developed by the application of the striker. This method gives a blue flesh and black grain. A Good Blue Flesh is obtained from the use of blue nigro- sine. For twenty-four skins of medium size, eight ounces of nigrosine are used. This is dissolved in boiling water and applied to the leather at a temperature of 90 degrees Fahr. Running the leather in this liquor for twenty minutes enables it to absorb all the dye, after which it may be blacked upon the grain, oiled off and dried out. For Yellow Flesh the stock should be uniformly and thor- oughly moistened. One-half pailfull of sumac is scalded for two hours in a closed vessel. For use, one gallon of lactracine and four pails of water are added to the sumac THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 229 liquor. This quantity of liquor is sufficient for ninety calfskins of average size. The temperature of the liquor should be from 90 to 100 degrees Fahr., and the leather milled in the solution for thirty minutes. Then the skins should be piled up on both sides of the drum and the color solution added. One pound of Yellow S. is dissolved in one-half barrel of water. After the ■drumming in the sumac, four pailfuls of the color liquor are added to the sumac bath and the leather is drummed therein for ten minutes, or until the latter is permeated with the yellow dye. The grain is next blacked with logwood and striker, then well set out, oiled lightly and the leather dried out and finished in any desired way. Dyeing Leather Black Upon the Grain. Some form of logwood is generally used. Logwood chips, logwood extract in paste, and solid and liquid forms are used ; also the powdered products of logwood such as Hemolin XS Patd., Hsematoxylin, and Haemetine. The use of logwood chips in leather dyeing has been greatly superseded during the last few years by the use of logwood in powder and extract iorms. The results gotten from the use of these articles are better and more uniform than the results obtained from the use of chips, since the extracts and powders, and especially the latter, are always uniform in strength and quality. Logwood paste is very excellent so long as it does not get frozen. When once frozen the color produced is not satisfactory, being a muddy grey black. This trouble is not met with in using the powders. Logwood chips require a very thorough and long boiling to get all the color extracted. When the logwood paste is used from six to eight pounds of the same are dissolved in forty gallons of warm water with one- half pound of borax or sal-soda, and brought to the boiling point. This liquor is very strong and may be reduced in strength by the addition of more water. Hemolin and other powdered dyes are used in the proportion of about six pounds of the powder to a barrel of water. The dye is first boiled for 230 PRACTICAL TANNING. a few minutes in one-half barrel of water and the barrel is then filled up. From one to two pounds of borax or sal-soda may be added to the dye liquor. A few fustic chips may also be boiled with it and serve to intensify the color. The leather may be blacked in a drum, on a machine, on tables, or by being folded and passed through the dye in boxes or trays. It is first given the logwood dye, and then the striker. Sometimes two or three applications of the dye are required to get a satisfactory black, according to the strength of the liquors. Strikers. — ( i ) Four and one-half pounds of copperas, and one and one-half pounds of blue vitriol, dissolved in one-half bar- rel of water by boiling. Then the barrel is filled up with water. For use in machine dyeing, twelve pounds of copperas and four pounds of blue vitriol are used for each barrel of water. To this are added one and one-half pounds of ground nutgalls, and one pound of epsom salts to each six pounds of copperas and blue vitriol combined. (2) Nine pounds of copperas, four ounces sulphate of mag- nesia, six ounces acetic acid and one ounce nutgalls, mixed together and dissolved by boiling in ten gallons of water, and then turned into a barrel, and enough water added to make forty gallons. (3) Three gallons iron liquor, two pounds of copperas, dis- solved and mixed together. Three quarters of a pound of verdigris dissolved in two quarts of vinegar and added to the copperas and iron liquor. In place of verdigris, three quarters of a pound of blue-stone dissolved in two quarts boiling water may be used. The liquor should be well stirred and allowed to settle, and the clear liquor only used. (4) Nine pounds of copperas, one-fourth pound of epsom salts, six ounces of acetic acid and one ounce of nutgalls. Forty gallons of water. Dyeing with Logwood and Titanium Salts. — To color calf- skins a deep black the use of titanium-potassium oxalate is recommended. One hundred pounds of dry leather require THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 23 1 about ten ounces of the titanium salt. Dampen the dry leather and run it in a solution of five ounces of the salt for ten min- utes Then put alkaline logwood liquor into the drum and run the leather in it twenty minutes. Another solution of five ounces of titanium salt is then added to the liquor in the drum and the drumming is continued ten minutes, when the leather will be found to be colored, on both flesh and grain, a very satisfactory color. If the leather has not been fat-liquored, it should now be washed, fat-liquored, dried and finished. Russet and Fancy Leather Calfskins. For vegetable-tanned calfskins that are to be colored fancy shades and used for fancy leather purposes, only the finest skins should be selected ; they should be free from butcher cuts and other imperfections as much as possible. Light weight skins are to be preferred. Soaking, liming and bating are done in the same manner as for chrome tanning. To get the skins soft and fine, lime and red arsenic are used. Bating is done with bacterial bate; and after bating, the skins are pickled. To lime and bate the skins in the following described manner produces fine, soft leather that tans and colors satisfactorily: Soak green-salted skins twenty-four hours in clean, cold water; then wash them in a mill for fifteen minutes and next soak them for twelve to eighteen hours so that they will be perfectly clean and soft when they are put into the lime. Trimming and fleshing should be done after soaking and in a careful manner, after which the skins are ready to be limed. The first lime should contain two pounds of lime for every hundred pounds of skins. Slake the lime very thoroughly and mix it into the water in the vat or paddle. On the second day, haul the skins out, plunge the liquor and put them back into it. On the third day, after hauling the skins out, add two pounds of lime to the liquor and put the skins back. On the fourth day, haul the skins out and put them back; and on the fifth day add three pounds of lime and a pound and a half of red arsenic, 2 32 PRACTICAL TANNING. thoroughly slaked together, to the lime liquor. All that needs to be done on the sixth day is hauling the skins out, plunging the liquor, and putting them back. On the seventh day, after hauling the skins out, add three pounds of lime and one pound and a half of red arsenic, warm the liquor to 75 degrees Fahr., and put the skins back. On the morning of the eighth day, haul the skins out, heat to 75 degrees Fahr. and put the skins back. Unhairing should be done on the ninth day, when the hair should come off easily. After the skins have been unhaired, wash them for ten minutes in cold water; then reflesh them and work them for fine hair. This process of liming produces soft, supple, fine-grained skins. Bating should be done with bacterial bate, such as chicken manure or Puerine, or with a fermented lactic acid bath. When manure is used, the bating liquor is warmed to 90 degrees Fahr. ; the skins are put in and the paddle is run for one hour. Then allow the skins to rest an hour, after which paddle them thirty minutes at a time at intervals of one hour until they are low and soft. They should now be taken from the bate, washed in warm water for five minutes and then pickled. The manure should have been soaking a few days before it is used. For every one hundred skins one bushel of the soaked manure should be used. Bating with lactic acid in the following manner is more cleanly and simple than bating with manure and really a very good process: Heat water in a paddle to 120 degrees Fahr., and put into it two pails full of dry bran and let it stand over night. The next morning bring the temperature up to 95 degrees Fahr. ; add one-half pint of latic acid for every hun- dred pounds of skins. After stirring the liquor very thor- oughly put the skins in and then add another half-pint of lactic acid, making one pint for each hundred pounds of skins. Run the paddle wheel for three or four hours, then take the skins out, wash them in warm water and pickle them. A clear grain is essential on fancy leather; and this metliod of bating, fol- lowed by washing and pickling, makes the grain clear and even THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 233 and the skins soft and yet plump. Pickling, which is also essential for fancy leather, is done in a paddle wheel. For every one hundred pounds of skins use fifty pounds of salt and one and one-fourth pounds of sulphuric acid. This quantity of salt is for the first lot of skins only. For the next lot of skins and all lots following, ten pounds of salt and one and one- fourth pounds of acid are sufficient. Run the skins in the paddle two hours and let them lie in the liquor a few hours or over night. Then let them drain over horses for twenty-four hours before tanning them. Vegetable Tanning Processes, — Calfskins for fancy leather purposes are tanned in numerous ways. Quebracho extract, in either solid or liquid form, is in common use. It produces soft, tough leather. It is also combined with hemlock and palmetto extracts. A practical way to tan calfskins with que- bracho extract is carried out as follows : A quantity of the ex- tract is boiled with water until it is dissolved. Solid extract should be dissolved in a tub containing a false screen bottom which prevents the extract adhering to a solid surface. The liquid extract should be dissolved in water standing at r8o de- grees Fahr. The resulting solutions from both grades of ex- tract should be stirred well and allowed to cool down gradually before being used. It is a great mistake to suddenly chill the extract solution by running it into cold water or vat-liquors. Skins should always be started in a weak liquor; and having the liquor too strong and thereby drawing the grain must be ■carefully guarded against during the entire process. The sus- pension method, by which the skins are not violently agitated, produces the plumpest and best tanned leather, especially along the sides and in the flanks. The skins are held in sus- pension by tacking them on wooden strips, using galvanized iron or copper nails so as not to stain them. The first liquor, in which tanning begins, is quite weak. Its strength should not exceed 10 degrees barkometer. Salt must be added to the tan liquors to prevent the acid in the skins from doing any injury. As the tanning progresses the liquor 234 PRACTICAL TANNING. is Strengthened until it reaches 20 to 25 degrees towards- the end of the process. The length of time required to ac- complish the tanning of the skins depends upon their thickness and the strength of the liquor. It is better to tan slowly so as to get a fine, smooth grain than to hasten the process and get a rough, coarse grain. When the tanning is completed, the skins should be washed, pressed and fat-liquored. From seven to fourteen days is usually the time required to fully tan the skins. Hemlock and quebracho extracts combined make a good tannage. The quebracho tones down the harshness of the hemlock and makes soft leather of good color. The taa liquors should be about two-thirds quebracho to one-third hemlock; and this proportion should be kept up during the process. The strength of the liquors is increased daily until it is about 25 degrees barkometer and the skins are fully tanned. Quebracho and palmetto extracts make a very desirable upper and fancy leather tannage. The correct proportions are seventy-five per cent, quebracho and twenty-five per cent, pal- metto. The leather produced by the combination is plump,^ full and mellow ; and owing to the rapid tanning qualities of both extracts, tanning is completed in a comparatively short time. The process is carried out by suspending the skins in weak liquor, say 8 to 10 degrees barkometer, and gradually increasing the strength of the same until the skins are tanned. This combination may also be used for retanning hemlock leather. For some purposes it may be advisable to modify the combination, but for most purposes three- fourths quebracho and one-fourth palmetto will be found satisfactory. Fat- Liquor ill g. — For the purpose of making the leather soft and supple some sort of grease is required. The best results are obtained when an emulsion of oil and soap, or of soap and moellon degras, or a solution of sulphated oil is applied to the skins. Any good fat-liquor may be used. A good one is made of: IHE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 235 Palermo Fig Soap * 10 pounds. Neatsfoot Oil 4 gallons. Borax i}^ pounds. Dissolve the borax in ten gallons of hot water in a clean barrel. Put in the soap and boil with steam until dissolved. Then add the oil and continue boiling for fifteen minutes ; then add sufficient water to make twenty gallons of liquor. Give the leather just enough to make it very soft without being greasy, and drum it in the liquor for forty minutes. Then strike the skins out on the flesh side and hang them up to dry. Another excellent fat-liquor consists of five pounds of soap and nine pints of moellon degras, in sufficient water, say one- half barrel, for four hundred and fifty pounds of leather. When the skins are tanned, remove them from the tan liquor and wash them in lukewarm water; then press them. Heat the drum with live steam, put the skins in and start the drum." Put the fat-liquor in through the hollow axle and run the drum for forty minutes. Then open the door and let water run on the skins to wash them for ten minutes. Hang the leather up to dry. When dry, let it lie in the dry condition as long as possible before finishing it. Then dampen the skins, shave, color, and dry them for the final finishing. Good leather is also made by drying the skins after tanning, then dampening, shaving and coloring them, fat-liquoring after color- ing, and then drying them for finishing. The use of sulphated oil is recom.mended for this kind of leather. The skins may be given two applications of the oil in the following manner: After they are washed and pressed from the tan liquor, drum them in a solution of the oil in warm water, and dry them out. When they are dry, the skins are dampened and colored, and then given another application of the sulphated oil, after which they are dried and finished. Preparation for Coloring. — After the skins have been dry for some time, they are sorted and colored. Those that are light in color, clear of grain and free from imperfections, are colored the lightest and most delicate shades. Those that are not suit- able for colors are dyed black. The skins are drummed for 236 PRACTICAL TANNING. thirty minutes in a sumac liquor to freshen up the grain. They are then struck out and shaved, and are then ready to be colored. If the skins are of light and clear grain they do not need to be bleached ; but where the tan has made them dark a bleach- ing treatment is necessary. Borax and sulphuric acid are used both for plain russet and colored leather, followed by a sumac bath, as described under bleaching. The leather is always given the sumac bath whether it is bleached or not. One to two pounds of sumac in water at 105 degrees Fahr., is enough for one dozen skins. After they have run in the sumac bath, the skins should be rinsed in warm water to re- move adhering sumac, and they are then ready to be dyed. ■Coloring may be done in a drum, in a paddle vat, or by brush- ing the dye on by hand. The drum method is in most gen- eral use. A very satisfactory way to treat the leather is to wash and press it after tanning, then to give it a light application of sul- phated oil, and dry it out. The dry leather is then dampened, bleached or not as it seems to require, treated with sumac, colored and re-fat-liquored, and again dried. Coloring. — For one hundred pounds of skins weighed in the dry condition, dissolve eight ounces of titanium salts in warm water and run theni in the solution for fifteen minutes. This gives a yellow base on which any shade of color can be ob- tained. Run the liquor out of the drum ; put in the acid ani- line solution according to the shade wanted and drum the skins in it for twenty minutes. Then wash them, give them the second application of fat-liquor and hang them up to dry. When the skins are fat-liquored only once, they may be so treated either immediately after tanning or after they have been colored. When basic dyes are to be applied, it is well to wash the skins after the titanium bath, then to run them in the basic dye solution to bring to the shade wanted, and then to wash and fat-liquor them. THE MANaFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 237 All shades of tan, brown, oxblood, red, green, blue, etc., are easily obtained on a titanium mordant ; and the colors are fast, deep and well developed. After coloring and fat-liquoring, when fat-liquoring is done after coloring, the skins are struck out carefully and thoroughly, and either hung up or tacked on frames to dry. Black Leather. — If black leather is wanted, the skins are taken after the first dying, moistened, shaved and run in sumac and then colored. An excellent color is secured by using the fol- lowing process : Drum one hundred pounds of leather, weighed dry, in a solution of five or six ounces of titanium salt in warm water, for ten minutes. Then pour a slightly alkaline logwood- fustic liquor into the drum and run the drum twenty minutes ; then add to the contents of the drum another solution of five or six ounces of titanium salt and run the drum ten minutes longer. If the skins are being treated with sulphated oil, wash and fat-liquor them, and dry them out. If they have received no fat-liquor at all, wash them and apply the fat-liquor, and then dry them out. This method of coloring carries the dye deeply into or right through the leather, which is usually con- sidered desirable on this class of leather. Logwood liquor is made by boiling one and a half pounds of logwood crystals and four ounces of salts of tartar or of borax in ten gallons of water. To the solution are added four ounces of fustic paste. The liquor is then stirred and allowed to cool before it is used. Other methods of coloring are to run the leather in the log- wood liquor and then develop the color with copperas and bluestone or other iron liquor, either in a drum or by running the leather in the logwood, and then applying the iron liquor to the grain only by hand or machine. This leaves a blue flesh and black grain. Aniline-black may be used with good results. Blue-black the skins by running them in a solution of eight ounces of methyl violet for two hundred and fifty pounds of leather.. Then fat-liquor or re-fat-liquor them in the drum; next run in solution of aniline black with green cast, four to six ounces,. 238 PRACTICAL TANNING, and solution of titanium salt four ounces, and drum from ten to fifteen minutes. Strike the leather out and hang it up to dry. Finishing. — Finishing consists of staking, tacking, seasoning, glazing, ironing or graining the leather. For smooth glazed finish, the skins are staked, tacked and seasoned; then glazed. A colorless seasoning is used on colored skins. The season- ing is put on with a sponge or sheepskin pad clipped close and even; and it should be put on evenly and rubbed into the leather. When it is dry, the skins are glazed. For dull finish, they are rolled or ironed. If very soft leather and smooth, bright finish are wanted, the skins are seasoned and glazed, staked, seasoned and glazed sgain, and perhaps staked again, seasoned and glazed the third time. Boarded finish is obtained by graining and printing the leather. Embossed grains are obtained by embossing the leather with any desired grain. The leather, when finished, should be soft and pliable, and tough enough to stand pulling and bending without injury. Bleaching Hemlock-Tajined Skins. — These skins can be given a lighter shade resembling oak calf by bleaching them in sumac. They may be drummed in warm sumac liquor or they may be allowed to rest in it several hours. The fat-liquoring may be done with a mixture of soap, oil and degras, but the skins do not require very much fat-liquor. If they are to be colored, it is advantageous to treat them with sumac and no other bleaching is necessary. If the leather is very dark and dirty, treatment with borax and sulphuric acid should precede the treatment with sumac. The exact treatment that the skins require must be determined by their condition. For some the sumac treatment is sufficient while others require the borax and acid treatment also. Hemlock-quebracho tanned skins have good color, and very little or no bleaching at all is required. Light Russet Color on Leather. A light shade of russet is secured on vegetable-tanned leather by first bleaching with borax and lactic acid, then applying a THE MANUFACTURE OF CALFSKIN LEATHERS. 239 fustic liquor and next coloring with Philadelphia yellow and Nankin yellow. This process is especially suitable for com- bination-tanned leather. To prepare the bleaching liquor, put one bushel of rye bran into a barrel filled with warm water and let it ferment and be- come sour ; it is then ready for use. Use three pails of the bran liquor and four pounds of borax for one hundred and fifty pounds of leather that has been fat-liquored and dried. Dampen the leather with warm water, and when it is soft, put it into a drum together with nine pails of water at 90 degrees Fahr. Add the borax dissolved in hot water to the water in the drum, and run the leather in the solution ten or fifteen min- utes. Then throw in the bran liquor and run the drum fifteen minutes longer. The borax cleanses and saponifies whatever fat there may be in the grain of the leather, and the lactic acid opens up the grain so that bright and clear coloring is obtained. A weak solution of sulphuric acid may be used in place of the bran liquor but it is more liable to weaken the fibers of the leather. After the treatment with borax and bran liquor or acid, the leather should be washed very thoroughly and given the fustic liquor. Dissolve two pails of fustic extract and two quarts of salt in a barrel half full of boiling water; then fill the barrel up with water. For the one hundred and fifty pounds of leather use three pails of fustic liquor and eight ounces of alum. Dissolve the alum in a little hot water and add the solution to the fustic liquor, then add the fustic-alum liquor to nine pails of water heated to 90 degrees Fahr. Drum the leather in this solution fifteen or twenty minutes. Dissolve eighteen ounces of Philadelphia yellow, thirteen ounces of Nankin yellow and six ounces of cream yellow. Add nine pails of water and use the solution at no degrees Fahr., running the leather in it twenty minutes. Use alum to set the color. Dissolve a double handful of alum and add it to the water in which the leather is rinsed after coloring. Rinse the leather, dry and finish it. Leather that has not been fat-liquored may be cleared with alum and salt, 240 PRACTICAL TANNING. then drummed in fustic liquor and colored as above directed. After coloring, the leather is hung up and dried, then damp- ened and fat- liquored, dried and finished. This method of treating the leather produces a light, uniform russet color. Dark Russet Color on Leather. A dark russet color can be obtained by applying the follow- ing process to one hundred and fifty pounds of combination- tanned leather dried out after tanning and without being fat- liquored : Dampen the leather with warm water, then put it into a drum with seven pails of water heated to 90 degrees Fahr. Dissolve three quarts of alum and five quarts of salt in three gallons of hot water and add the solution to the water. Drum the leather in the liquor fifteen minutes, then wash it, and it is ready to be colored. For this purpose run it in a solution of nine pails of water at 90 degrees Fahr., to which three-quarters of a pail of logwood and three pails of fustic liquor have been added. At the end of twenty minutes stop the drum and drain the liquor out. Dissolve in boiling water twenty-four ounces of bronze No. 2 and three ounces of acid orange; add the solution to eight pails of water at iio degrees Fahr. Drum the leather in this solution twenty minutes; then stop the drum and drain the liquor off. In the meantime dissolve in boiling water one pound of Nankin yellow Y, one-half pound of cream yellow and two ounces of Bismarck Brown B. Add the solution to seven pails of water at 1 10 degrees Fahr. and drum the leather in the liquor twenty minutes ; then drain the liquor ofif and hang the leather up to dry before anything else is done to it. Then take the dry leather, dampen it with warm water and, when dampened through, and soft, apply a liberal quantity of fat- liquor. Set the leather out on both sides and then hang it up or tack it on frames to dry for finishing. SECTION FOUR. The Coloring and Finishing of India-tanned Skins. India-tanned sheep and goat skins in various colors and finishes are used for shopping and traveling bags, belts, collar boxes, bookbinding, carriage trimming, linings, and in the manufacture of leather novelties and specialties. These skins have considerable firmness and durability and yet are soft and pliable and, when colored and finished, cannot be excelled by any other leather. They can be finished in heavy and light weights, with any kind of grain, in all colors, glazed and dull, smooth, grained and embossed ; they can be made into firm or soft leather as desired. The large heavy skins are used for suit cases and bags, the smaller ones for other purposes where light, soft leather is required. Bookbinders use India skins in a variety of colors, the staples being dark greens, dark blues, dark wines and blacks, with pebble grain. These skins are colored and finished and then split into the desired sub- stance, as bookbinders' leather must be fairly thin to cover the backs and corners of books. In the preparation of India-tanned skins for coloring and finishing, it is necessary to first thoroughly soften and wash them so as to remove from them all surplus tannin, particles of dirt and dust. Before washing is begun, it is best to soak the skins in warm water, then let them lie in piles for a few hours to soften. As soon as they are wet and pliable, they are transferred to a suitable drum and washed. The water used should be at a temperature of 90 degrees Fahr. ; and its efficacy is increased by dissolving and adding to it some borax or washing soda, in quantity from two to three pounds for each hundred gallons of water. The skins are washed in this solu- 16 ( 241 ) 242 PRACTICAL TANNING. tion for fifteen or twenty minutes, when they are washed in clean water and made ready for further treatment. The skins as they are received from India are imperfectly tanned, of a dark color and quite hard. In order to complete the tanning and to improve the quality of the leather by mak- ing it softer and better adapted for fancy colors, it is necessary to remove from it some of the original tanning material, and to replace it with one that makes soft and light-colored leather. For light-colored leather it is also necessary to bleach the skins with sulphuric acid after the borax bath. A good method of treatment is to wash the skins in borax water, next in clean warm water, and then to treat them with a weak bath containing sulphuric acid. The borax used in washing, while it cleanses the skins perfectly, also darkens the color; the acid bath brightens up the leather. Very thorough washing is necessary afterwards to remove the acid. Other acids may be used in place of sulphuric with good results. To a barrel of water enough acid should be added to bring the solution to the degree of strength that will bite the tongue when tasted. From two to three ounces per gallon of water may be used. Drum the skins in the acid solution, then after washing, for twenty minutes, remove them and run the water out of the drum. Then wash the skins until no acid can be detected in the water coming from the drum. They are now ready to be treated with sumac. The sumac liquor should be quite strong and at a tempera- ture of 105 degrees Fahr. ; and the leather can be treated either in a drum or paddle vat. One to two pounds of sumac may be used for each dozen skins. The}' are run in this sumac liquor from thirty minutes to an hour; after this they should be washed in warm water to remove adhering sumac, struck out with a slicker and hung up to dry. When they have dried, they can be colored any shade of color. Coloring can also be done immediately after washing from the sumac, but best re- sults are secured by drying the skins first and then coloring them. COLORING AND FINISHING OF INDIA-TANNED SKINS. 243 In place of suinac, quermos extract may be used ; also pal- metto. Quermos produces a color equal to sumac, and is stainless. It is used in the same manner as sumac. After washing from the retan, the skins have a nice russet color, and they can be finished without coloring and used for some purposes, or colored with aniline dye. Borax not only removes some of the tanning material, but also washes out much of the natural grease that the skins contain. The acid bath brightens up the leather, and the sumac liquor replaces the tan washed out, thus retanning the leather and making it softer, and prepares the grain for the subsequent coloring process. Some tanners make use of hyposulphite of soda in the wash bath in place of borax. Ten pounds of it are dissolved in a barrel of hot water, and the solution is used at no degrees Fahr. A few minutes' washing afterwards is all the skins require. Coloring the Skins. — To prepare the dry leather for coloring, the skins are moistened with warm water in a drum or tub. One way to color the skins is as follows : Run them in a drum with warm water until they are soft and opened out. Then pour into the drum, through the axle, from two to five ounces of tartar emetic for each dozen skins, according to their size, and run the drum fifteen minutes. This clears the grain and sets the dye applied afterwards. Drain the water out of the drum and run in the dye liquor. ' Another and most excellent process is to drum the skins in a warm solution of titanium-potassium oxalate (eight ounces for one hundred pounds of dry leather) for ten or fifteen min- utes, then rinse the leather and apply the dye. This process is recommended, as it mordants with a titanium tannate, itself a yellowish shade, on which all shades of tan, brown, green, blue, and maroon can be readily obtained. The tita- nium solution can be applied in a drum, as directed, or in a paddle-vat or a tray, or by brushing on with brushes. After running off the liquor, a slight rinsing in warm water is advis- 244 PRACTICAL TANNING. able, but not always necessary. If acid dye is to be applied, the rinsing may be omitted ; if basic dye is to be used, it is necessary to wash the skins only when the mordant bath has not been fully exhausted. If the mordant is all taken up, washing can be omitted, the liquor being run out of the drum and the dye solution put in. For bag, hat, pocketbook and bookbinders' leather, in which India skins are finished, this process of coloring is quicker and cheaper than any other. After the skins are dyed to the shade wanted, wash and finish them. Dyeing the Skins Black. — India-tanned skins can be dyed through flesh and grain by the use of logwood and titanium salts. A fairly strong logwood liquor, slightly alkaline, should be used, and ten ounces of titanium-potassium oxalate for one hundred pounds of dry leather. Dissolve half of the titanium salt and drum the leather in the solution ten minutes. Then put the logwood liquor into the drum and run the skins in it fifteen minutes. Finally, to complete the process, pour the rest of the titanium salt in solution into the drum and continue the drumming ten minutes; then wash the skins. No copperas or iron liquor is used, as logwood and the titanium salt dye a deep, permanent black. It is advantageous to use logwood crystals and to add a little fustic paste to the liquor to intensify the color. To color flesh and grain black with aniline dyes, the skins should be drummed in a solution of methyl violet and then in an aniline black solution. Two hundred and fifty pounds of dry leather require eight ounces of methyl violet aniline and six ounces of aniline black. Drum in the violet solution twenty minutes, next in the aniline black liquor to which four ounces of titanium-potassium oxalate in solution have been added, for fifteen minutes, then wash and finish. The sea- soning used in the finish should contain one pound of titanium salt to the barrel of seasoning. The aniline black should have a green cast to get the best black. Skins that are to be fat- liquored should be fat-liquored after drumming in the violet aniline, and then dyed with the black aniline. COLORING AND FINISHING OP' INDIA-TANNED SKINS. 245 The flesh can be colored blue by the use of blue nigrosine. For each dozen skins two or three ounces of the nigrosine are dissolved in hot water and applied at a temperature of iio degrees Fahr. The skins are drummed in the solution twenty minutes; then blacked upon the grain, by hand or on a ma- chine, with logwood and iron liquor or with logwood and titanium salts, rinsed off and dried. The skins can also be drummed in an alkaline logwood liquor until colored, then spread upon a table or run through a machine and the grain blacked with iron liquor. This method of coloring also produces blue flesh and black-grain, which is usually considered desirable. Black Glazed Finish. — The dried skins, after staking, are ready to be finished. They can be glazed, finished smooth, dull, grained, or embossed as the finisher may desire. A good luster and soft feel is obtained by seasoning with the follow- ing dressing, and then glazing : Egg Albumen i pound. Orchil I pint. Sperm Oil i quart. Logwood Liquor 6 gallons. Dissolve the egg albumen in a quart of rain-water; strain into a large bucket or can, and add the orchil, sperm oil and logwood liquor, stirring the mixture very thoroughly. To get a clear grain, dissolve one ounce of nigrosine in a gallon of water, add to this a small quantity of wood alcohol, and cover the skins with one coat. This should be done before the leather gets the first seasoning. When dry, apply the seasoning, dry, and glaze. An elegant glazed finish also results from the use of the following seasoning: Logwood Liquor 6 quarts. Blood 2 quarts. Orchil 1^ pint. Water I quart. Ammonia t^ pint. Milk I glassful. Apply a coat of this seasoning, and when it is dry, glaze ; then give another coat and glaze again. 246 PRACTICAL TANNING. Smooth Dull Finish. — A fine dull finish and soft, full skins are obtained in the following manner: After staking, the skins are given a coat of dressing, dried, then given another coat of dressing, dried and ironed ; then they are staked. The season- ing is made of: Ivory Soap i pound. Neaisfoot Oil i pint. Whole Flaxseed i;i pound. Beeswax 3 ounces. Black Nigrosine 3 ounces. Powdered Aloes i ounce. Wood Alcohol 1^ pint. Boil in two gallons of water for one-half hour, the soap, oil, flaxseed and beeswax. Cool and strain. Then dissolve the nigrosine in a quart of water and also the aloes in the wood alcohol and add both solutions, one after the other to the finish. This seasoning makes a fine dull finish with a soft, dry feel. Finish for Colored Skins. — Prepare a week before it is to be used the following dressing : Blood Albumen 4 ounces.