The Tanning and Braying or Skins. 61 



the skiu, and with a bhmt-edged bush-pick or Dutch hoe, or with a 

 dull spade, chops and scrapes the hide This removes fat, bits of 

 muscle, and other tissue. It also dislodg-es a great deal of hair, 

 which drops from the lower side. A considerable amount of force is 

 employed in the chopping, but the skin gives when struck, therefor 

 the hoe does not go through it, i.e. not unless the skin has been 

 damaged and weakened daring the hair-loosening process. After the 

 work on the flesh side has been completed the skin is removed, turned 

 over, and again laced tightly in the frame. The chopping and 

 scraping, as already described, is carried out until the hide is free of 

 hair. 



(3) Braying the Hides. 



After the hair has been removed the skins could be put into 

 curing or colouring mixtures, but, as already indicated, the raw 

 leather of the Western Province is produced without the aid of 

 chemicals. It is whitish in colour. 



Small Skins. — After the skin has been scraped clean it is washed 

 in clean water and then soaked until thoroughly wet, after which it is 

 brayed. A very small skin is worked with the hands, but a medium 

 sized one is laid on a dry bag and trampled with the feet. The bag 

 soon gets wet and must be replaced by a dry one. When the skin 

 has been worked until only a slight amount of dampness remains in 

 it, fat is added to the flesh side and braying continued until it is dry. 



Large Hides. — After the skin has been scraped and removed from 

 the frame it is washed lightly, merely enough to remove any soil 

 clinging to it. A large hide is not soaked, because if it becomes 

 saturated it requires a great amount of labour to work the water out 

 again. After the skin has been washed it is rolled up and placed on 

 dry bags, which are replaced by dry ones when necessary. A few 

 coloured workmen are set to work trampling and dancing on the 

 hide, vigorous action being necessary. After a couple of hours of 

 this treatment the skin is nearly dry and begins to turn white. At 

 this stage fat is rubbed on the flesh side of the hide, and trampling 

 continued until it is worked through to the hair side. When this 

 is accomplished it is an indication that the work has been well done. 

 The hide is then hung \\]) until next day, when, if it feels at all hard, 

 more fat is added and the trampling process repeated. Almost any 

 kind of fat is used, but, if the leather is to be used for harness, un- 

 salted fat is preferred, as the presence of salt has a tendency to cause 

 rusting of buckles and other metal parts. 



Eiem-making. 



At the Cape, raw leather is prepared by one of the processes that 

 have. been described in the previous pages. The riems are then cut 

 from this prepared leather. As a rule the Cape riems are very soft 

 and pliable. In the Trans\aal, Orange Free State, and other parts 

 of the up-country riem-making is carried out in an entirely different 

 manner. The hair is removed by one of the methods already described 

 as being in use at the Cape, but after the skin has been scraped it is 

 salted and left unbrayed. It is either cut into riems at once or else 

 laid away in a shady place until wanted. If it becomes hard and dry 

 it is soaked in water before being cut. 



Occasionally riems are ^nade from skins from which the hair has 

 not been removed, but generally this is looked upon as a mark of poor 

 or slovenly workmanship 



