190 CAENIVORA. 



the dirty, greasy, hairy mass. When the Seal-skins 

 arrive at a Seal-dresser's factory they are counted and 

 marked, and then they undergo the first process of 

 " bhrbhering," which is that of placing the raw skin on 

 a beam of wood placed at an angle in the ground, and 

 removing with a blunt knife the strips of blubber or 

 flesh which still adhere to the skin after the necessarily 

 hurried flaying at the slaughter of the animals. The 

 blubber, ears, and strips of skin are sold by the ton as 

 a valuable manure, which is much prized by hop- 

 growers. 



The ears are then cut off, and the skins washed in a 

 tank in warm water with a weak solution of alkali. 

 When the skins are taken out of the water, they have a 

 beautiful silvery grizzled appearance, but they soon lose 

 this when dried. The skins are next stretched on iron 

 hoops, and dried in warm rooms where currents of hot air 

 pass. In the dried state skins will keep a considerable 

 time. After this, the skins are soaked in water till the 

 hair is loosened, but not the fur, one day being sufficient 

 for some skins, and several days for others. 



When ready the skins are warmed on the fur side in 

 the stove room, and placed across the unhairer's beams, 

 and the top hair is then removed with a blunt knife. 

 The hair comes off in handfuls. The skins have to 

 be kept warm during the whole process. 



" Stagey " skins, as a rule, have to be unhaired from 

 the pelt side. This is not such a difficult matter as 

 might be supposed, as the hairs penetrate much deeper 

 into the skin than the fur, which grows nearer the 

 surface, the hairs thus being able to be extracted by the 

 roots, without touching the roots of the fur. The skins 

 now have only the fur left, which is of a light drab 

 colour. 



