82 THE SCIENTIFIC ASPECTS OF TANNING. 



acted upon by boiling water, is a question for the chemist to 

 answer. In both conditions it has an affinity for Tannic acid, 

 which would lead us to infer they are the same. The analysis of 

 skin by Weinholt gave — 



Fibrinous matter ... ... ... 74-42 



Uncoagulated albumen ... ... 3.49 



Extractive matter, soluble in water in- 

 soluble in alcohol ... ... i7-44 



Extractive matter, insoluble in water ... 2.32 



Fatty matter and loss ... ... 2.33 



100.00 



The albumen and other substances soluble in water are lost or 

 destroyed during the preparation of the skin for tanning. We 

 have, therefore, simply to do with the fibrinous texture. The skin 

 we will take for granted is in its normal condition, as received from 

 the butcher in the home market, possessing its original moisture 

 and flexibility. This requires but little skill to prepare it for the 

 process of tanning. Our home slaughter was valued in 1873 at 

 seven millions sterling, but the imported hide and skins from all 

 pans of the world give a total value of ^9,500,000. 



The v^ast Pampas bordering on the Riv^er Plate in South America, 

 yield us large quantities of the best hides — the number exported 

 from thence in 1870 being 774,806 ox and cow hides, 34,602 of 

 which were dry hides. The great disproportion between the two 

 being explained from the fact, that it is a matter of considerable 

 difficulty and often loss, to restore the dry hide to its original 

 condition. Therefore the wet salted have the preference in the 

 market. Other hides from tropical countries as an additional 

 security are salted and dried, such as those from Brazil, and kips 

 from the East Indies. The latter are obtained from a small breed 

 of cattle, peculiar to India. In the year 1872, 20,043,959 were 

 exported from thence, of which 7,057,000 were, discharged at the 



