PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION B. Ill 



Sample No. 6 was tested four days after extraction ; sample 

 No. 5 after fourteen days. The age of sample No. 4 was not known, 

 but it was older than No. 5. 



The colour reactions do not appear to be reliable, but vary with 

 the age of the sample. 



Summary. 



(1) Raspberry juice, tested by the wool test, can give a stain on 

 the final wool. This stain is of a brown colour. 



(2) Fresh raspberry juice does not produce this stain. 



(3) The stain is produced if the juice has undergone decomposition. 



(4) The stain might also be produced if the juice has remained 

 in contact with the solid matter of the raspberries for any length of 

 time. 



(5) The action of various reagents upon raspberry juice is not 

 reliable as a means of identification, the reactions varying with the'.'age 

 of the sample. 



11.— THE QUALITY OF LEATHER. ^ 

 By F. A. Coomhs. 



(Abstract.) 



The greater number of manufacturers engaged in the leather 

 industry do not judge the quality of the leather by the results obtained 

 after the chemist has analyzed a sample. It is safe to say that the 

 majority of those engaged in this industry know very little about this 

 method of determining some of the qualities of the various leathers. 

 Tanners, boot, and harness manufacturers have their own methods of 

 testing the quality of leather, and these methods are the outcome of 

 considerable practical experience. 



Practical experience in the leather industry is absolutely necessary 

 to enable one to speak confidently and correctly about the quality of 

 leather. " It feels well " is an expression often used by men when 

 examining leather, and just what that " feel " means to the tanner or 

 those manufacturing leather goods is not easy to explain ; but there 

 is no doubt that to the expert the " feel " of the leather is the best 

 test for determining quality. Coupled with the above test is the 

 general appearance. When sole leather is examined by an expert, one 

 will usually find that he examines the thickness or substance of the 

 leather ; by cutting a piece off he views the texture, and by feeling 

 and bending it a decision is given as to the pliability and solidity of 



1 Pub'.ished in full in The Australasian Leather Trades Review, 1913. 



