and translated this in 1852 in Philadelphia and the method which 

 was to be so important for that time is here reprinted: 



Segicin's Process, 1794 



Seguin's mode of proceeding was as follows: His preliminary processes 

 were the same as those ot others, exxepting, according to Dessables, that he 

 directed the skins, after soaking and fleshing, to be rinsed in running water, 

 so that all parts of them should be exposed to contact with it. He first 

 deprived them of hair by means of lime, and then deposited them in tan-juice, 

 with which was mixed one-five hundredth, and sometimes one-thousandth 

 part of sulphuric acid. For raising the hides, he first used a vat lined with 

 a cement containing a little lime, and filled with water acidulated with one- 

 fifteen hundredth part of sulphuric acid; but this did not answer the intended 

 purpose, as the acid, instead of mixing with the water, combined with the 

 lime. He therefore substituted wooden tubs for vats, filled them with water 

 charged with one fifteen hundredth of concentrated sulphuric acid, which 

 was gradually increased to one-thousandth part, and by this arrangement 

 succeeded, according to the report made by him to the committee of public 

 welfare, in raising hides in forty-eight hours. He asserted, however, that 

 this operation of raising was not essential, and that he procured excellent 

 leather from skins which had not been submitted to the treatment. 



He did not stratify the skins in tan-vats, but placed them in vats filled 

 with "ooze." For procuring this solution, a number of tubs were placed 

 in a row, and filled with ground tan. A certain amount of water was then 

 emptied into each tub, and filtering through the tan, dissolved out its soluble 

 particles, and descending, ran into receiving vessels beneath. The liquid 

 from the first vat was then thrown into the second one, and so on through 

 the range, until it became saturated. As a considerable quantity of avail- 

 able material still remained in the tubs, they were afFused with fresh water, 

 which by a process of displacement, continued extracting the soluble matters 

 until the tan was entirely exhausted. 



Seguin placed the skins, after being taken from the acid bath, in a very 

 weak infusion of tan, and there allowed them to remain only an hour or 

 two for the pvirpose of giving color to the hair sides. They were then taken 

 out and immersed in a stronger solution, and again and again deposited in 

 infusions, increasing each time in strength until the tanning was entirely 

 completed. 



Oak Tanning — A patent was taken out in London, in the year 1804, for 

 a tanning process, which is founded upon the principles established by 

 Seguin. The oak bark is boiled for four hours, in a copper boiler, and 

 when the tan is perfectly exhausted, the decoction is allowed to flow off 

 through tubes into the vats, where it is cooled. The skins are deposited in 

 this after being soaked and pressed, and if they exhaust the liquor before the 

 close of the process, a fresh decoction is substituted. If it is desired to have 

 the hair side whiter than ordinary, tan is mixed with the liquor. By this 

 means a great amount of tannin is concentrated in a small quantity of ma- 

 terial, and much less labor is required than in common; ten or twelve days 

 producing as great an effect as eight or nine months of exposure by the old 

 method. It is believed, however, that the skins are not thoroughly tanned 



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