on the flesh side, and hung up in considerable numbers in a small 

 close room heated by flues, where they remain to putrefy for a 

 given time. During this process a thick slime works up to the 

 surface of the skin, by which the regularity of the process is ascer- 

 tained, and the wool is loosed so that it readily comes off with a 

 slight pull. Each skin is then returned to the beam, the wool 

 taken off, and all the lime worked off with the knife, and the rough 

 edges pared away. The skin is then put into a pit filled with lime- 

 water and kept there from two to six weeks, according to the nature 

 of the skin, which has the effect of checking the further putrefaction, 

 and prociuces a very remarkable hardening and thickening of its 

 substance, and probably also it detaches a further portion of the 

 slime. The skin is again well worked, and much of its substance 

 pared down, and all inequalities smoothed with the knife. Pains 

 and judgment are required in these operations on the one hand not 

 to endanger the substance of the skin by the putrefaction, and on 

 the other hand to work out every particle of the lime, of which the 

 least if retained will prevent the skin from dressing well in the 

 subsequent processes, and from taking the dye uniformly and well. 

 The skin is then again softened and freed from the lime. All the 

 thickening produced by the lime is thus removed, and the skin is 

 now highly purified, and is a thin extensible white membrane called 

 in this state a pelt, and is fit for any subsequent operation of tawing 

 or dyeing, or oil-dressing, or shammoying. 



The method of bringing kid and goats' skins to the state of 

 pelt is nearly the same as for lambs, except that the lining is 

 used before the hair is taken off, the hair being of but little im- 

 portance, and only sold to the plasterers; but the lambs' wool, 

 which is more valuable, would be greatly injured by the lime. 

 Kids' skins will take a longer time in tanning than lambs'. 



If the pelts are to be tawed they are put into a solution of alum 

 and salt in warm water, in the proportion of three pounds of alum 

 and four pounds of salt to every 120 middle sized skins, and worked 

 therein till they have absorbed a sufficient quantity. This again 

 gives the skin a remarkable degree of thickness and toughness. 



The skins are now taken out and washed in water, and then 

 again put into a vat of bran and water and allowed to ferment, 

 till much of the alum and salt is got out and the unusual thicken- 

 ing produced by it is for the most part reduced. They are then 

 taken to a room with a stove in the middle, and stretched on 

 hooks, and kept there till fully dry. The skins are now converted 



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