340 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



from 188;» to 1890. Duriuo- the last few yeans the fishery lias not 

 been prosecuted, owin<>' to conditions in the leather market, hut it 

 appears prol)al)lc that it will be reestal)lished at an early date. 



The porpoise ai"e dressed as soon as practicable after they are dead. 

 The ilippei's and the dorsal tin are cut ofl' and the skin and blubber cut 

 alon*^" the middle of the back and of tlu^ abdomen from nose to flukes, 

 and the whole peeled ofi' in two uniform parts, the hide and blubber 

 being- removed toj^etlier. The halves are laid on an inclined beam, 

 similar to that used by curriers, and the blubt)er sha\'ed ofi' and 

 processed for extracting the oil, w'hile the skins are salted for the tan- 

 ners. Tlii^ larj>c>st catch of porpoise on the coast is reported to have 

 been a))out 20,(>()() in 1887. The value of the green hides was about $2 

 per side, and when tanned they were worth $10 or $12 per side. 



The conunercial porpoise leather of England is made from tlu* skin 

 of the beluga or white w hale. This species attains a length of 18 feet 

 or more, and averages perhaps 1-1 feet in length and 10 or 12 feet in 

 circumference. At several places along the coast of northern Europe, 

 and to a nuich less extent in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in Hudson Ba}', 

 on tlie coast of Newfoundland, etc., the beluga is captured chiefly for 

 its hide, to be used in leather-making, and also for the oil that may be 

 rendered from the blubber. The principal fishery is prosecuted b}' 

 vessels from Dundee, Scotland, and from i)orts of Norway and Sweden. 

 It is estimated that the annual take is over 7,000, of which 6,000 are 

 obtained north of Europe, leaving 1,000 as the catch in the northern 

 part of the American continent. The value of the hide when green is 

 about $8 per side, and when tanned it averages prol)ably $25 per side. 



While the skins of other cetaceans are occasionally tanned, the 

 product is of no commercial importance. These skins are very spongy 

 and usually have a villous or wooll}^ surface. 



TANNINCx PORPOISE SKINS. 



According to Mr. R. G. Salomon, of Newark, N. J., to whom we 

 arc indebted for most of our information in regard to the method of 

 tanning this leather, skins of the beluga and of the Hatteras porpoise 

 are tanned in precisely the same manner, but the former require much 

 longer time on account of the greater body. Both are received at 

 the tanneries in a salted condition, and the first operation consists in 

 cleaning out the salt by soaking them in water for two or three days, 

 according to the state of the hides and the temperature of the water. 

 After this soaking, they are washed thoroughly in warm water and 

 again soaked for a da}-^ or so, and the grease worked out by hand or 

 by machinery. They are next immersed in lime solution for a length 

 of time depending on the condition of the hides, ])ut usually nuich 

 shorter than for cowhides. After liming tlu>y are l)ated and washed 

 thoroughly to remove the lime and other impurities. The skins are 

 now immersed in whateNcn- tannic acid is desired. When half tanned 

 they may be reduced to the required thickness by splitting, or this 



