288 PREPARATION OF LEATHER. 



this article, which is an important branch of ex- 

 port trade for belts, boots, &c. The leather of 

 the hog-deer, or kota-pacha, is the most valu- 

 able, but all kinds of leather prepared with the 

 bark of the babul are fully equal, if not supe- 

 rior, to the leather of Europe. Any quantity 

 of babul bark is procurable at Khyrpoor, in- 

 deed anywhere along the banks of the Indus. 

 A profitable speculation might be made by 

 Treacher and Co., or some other chemist, by 

 preparing extract of this bark for exportation to 

 England, where a substitute for oak bark is 

 much required, the supply being unequal to the 

 demand for tanning purposes. The extract 

 must, however, be made in earthen vessels, as 

 iron utensils cause the extract to discolour the 

 leather and render it brittle. Both babul and 

 mangrove barks are much used by the tanners 

 of Sindh ; but the barks themselves could not be 

 exported with profit by reason of their bulk. 

 One especial advantage in employing the man- 

 grove extract is, that it takes effect on the 

 leather in half the time of oak bark. These 

 tanning barks are now, in a great degree, 

 wasted, which would thus be turned to excellent 



