62 Journal of the Department of Agriculture. — July, 1922. 



The riems are cut to the desired width, say one to one and a halt 

 inches. When cuttinf? them it should be remeniheied that during- 

 the braying' process they are stretched, and the finislicd article is 

 slightly narrower and mucli longer than when first cut. The hide 

 may ))e cut into strips of the required length, or it may be cut into 

 one long single riem, by beginning at the outside edge and cutting 

 around and around the hide until nothing remains. 



The short riems are made into a bundle, one end of which is 

 fastened to a limb of a tree. Similarly, a long- riem is looped over a 

 limb, and hangs down like a skein of wool. A stick of wood is 

 passed through the lower end of the loop or fastened to the lower end 

 of the bundle of short riems, and a heaA-y weight, such as a wheel 

 from a buck-wagon or a stone weighing from thirty pounds upward 

 (de])(Midiiig !)n ihe number of riems), is lashed to \]\v. piece of wood, 

 as shown in the illustration. 



Plate II. 



The braying is then begun. The stick, with the attached weight, 

 is turned around and around until the riems are twisted very tightly, 

 •somewhat like a rope. The stick is then released. The weight causes 

 the twisted bundle of riems to unwind. The bu)idle is then twisted 

 in the opposite direction and allowed to unwind. The alternate 

 iwisting in opposite directions and unwinding is kept up until the 

 strips of hide are nearly dry and are becoming soft. 



Fat is then applied and the twisting continued. As the fat works 

 into the leather, more is applied if necessary, xit the end of from one 

 to three days the braying is finished. Sometimes, however, it is kept 

 up considerably longer. The number of days required for the work 

 depends on several factors, sucli as the condition of the skin at the 

 beginning, the degree of softness desired, and the energy and persis- 

 tence employed in the twisting. 



