328 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



The hides of walrus, sea-lion, sea-elephant, etc., are generally so 

 damaged by the animals fighting among themselves, and from other 

 causes, that, while the raw pelts may be abundant and cheap enough, 

 it is difficult to secure them sufficiently free from defect to permit of 

 their use as fancy leathers with economy. On this account, seal skins, 

 which are comparatively free from the objection noted, are generally 

 used to imitate those leathers, the tanning and currying process being 

 so modified as to develop the peculiar grain desired; and while there 

 is much genuine walrus leather, sea-lion leather, etc., the great bulk 

 of that on the market sold under those names is made from seal skins. 



The skins of fish are generally glutinous and soluble in water, but 

 the texture of most of them is sufficiently firm and strong to permit 

 of their use as leather, although their employment for practical pur- 

 poses is rather limited. Skins of cusk, cod, eels, flat-fish, and the like, 

 have been converted into leather suitable for gloves, purses, boot tops, 

 etc. The tubercular skins of many sharks, rays, and allied fishes are 

 largely employed under various names for polishing purposes and for 

 covering boxes, sword grips, etc. All of these miscellaneous skins 

 are valued principally because of their peculiar grain or markings, 

 and are tanned so as to bring the grain into prominence. Their use 

 is principall}^ in small articles as belts, cardcases, pocketbooks, and 

 the like. Recently they have been applied to the artistic binding of 

 books, planned at the suggestion of Mr. George F. Kunz. Among 

 these was the catalogue of the Izaak Walton exhibition at the Grolier 

 Club, New York City, in 1894. Beautiful efi'ects have been secured 

 by the use of variously colored shark skins, polished to a smooth sur- 

 face and frequently inlaid with some other material. The possibilities 

 for the development of this use of fish skins are remarkable. 



Fish skins are employed extensively^ in the preparation of glue and 

 fertilizer stock. Especially notable in this connection is the waste 

 from the New Ei^gland factories engaged in preparing boneless codfish 

 in the forms of bricks, and thousands of dollars' worth of skins of cod, 

 hake, haddock, etc., are annually converted into fertilizer and glue. 



GENERAL METHODS OF PREPARING AQUATIC LEATHERS. 



Leather manufacture is of great antiquity. A process of tanning, 

 difi'ering principally in detail from that practiced at the present time, 

 was doubtless followed long ])efore the days of Simon the tanner. 

 While its kindred industrial arts, spinning and weaving, have made 

 enormous progress, the art of tanning has remained almost stationary 

 for ages, the methods of the present day surpassing those in vogue 

 centuries ago in expediting the process rather than in the quality of 

 the product. Leather-making is simple, consisting in unhairing the 

 skins, removing the fatty matter clinging to the membrane, soaking 

 them in an infusion of tannin, and then softening them by means of 

 greases. 



