The unhaired skins are then "bated" with pigeon's, chicken's, 

 or dog's dung, to remove excess of Hme. Fermented bran-water 

 is sometimes used as the bate. After being again scraped, the 

 skins are sewed into bag form with the grain side outwards, and 

 partly filled through a funnel with a strong decoction of sumach; 

 they are inflated by the breath, tightly closed, and thrown into 

 a vat containing a shallow depth of weak liquor of sumach, and 

 therein made to float about by means of constant agitation, so as 

 to insure the uniform action of the tan-liquor throughout the surface 

 of the skin. After a few hours, the bags are taken out, and 

 piled upon each other so as to promote by pressure a thorough 

 penetration of the liquor through the pores of the skin, and con- 

 sequent chemical combination. This process is repeated with 

 new liquor, and the bags are then unstitched, rinsed, and scraped 

 on the beam, and suspended in the drying-loft. These "crust" 

 skins, as they are termed when in this latter condition, are 

 moistened, rubbed out smooth with a copper tool upon a sloping 

 board, and hung up to dry, previous to undergoing the process of 

 coloring. This method tans the goat-skins in one day. 



Another plan is to steep the skins for several days in a fermenting 

 mixture of bran-water, scrape them on the beam, and soak and 

 rinse them in clear water. After being limed in the usual manner, 

 they are worked or rubbed over with a tool of hard schist, to press 

 out the lime, smooth down unevenness, and soften the grain, and 

 are then fulled by agitation in a revolving cask, lined within with 

 pegs, and containing water. 



The tanning is then effected in the manner before mentioned, two 

 pounds of Sicilian sumach being required for each skin. In France, 

 the tanning is accomplished very much in the same manner as by 

 the fulling above described; the skins are tan-liquor being placed 

 together in a churn-like cask, and the chemical combination pro- 

 moted by causing it to revolve upon a horizontal axis. 



Imitation Morocco — -This leather is prepared from sheep-skins, in 

 the same manner as true Morocco; except that, after being stripped 

 of wool, they must be subjected to powerful hydrostatic pressure 

 for the expulsion of oleaginous matter, which, being contained in a 

 large amount, would otherwise seriously interfere with the tanning. 



They are limed in pits containing 33 pounds of lime for every 

 dozen skins, and are allowed to remain from three weeks to a month. 

 They are then deprived of hair, are resteeped in the pits for five or 

 six days, rinsed, beaten in tubs, and, when perfectly clean, de- 

 posited in ooze for a month. 



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