176 ANIMAL PROTEINS 



shortened to 4 or 5 days. Fresh lime liquors are some- 

 times used without any sulphides. Another method is 

 to place the skins in a paste of lime to which realgar has 

 been added in slaking. In any method it is necessary to 

 saponify or emulsify the grease on the grain, or difficulties 

 occur in dyeing and finishing. 



Skins which are to be tawed for glove kid are both 

 puered and drenched. They are heavily puered at 70 F. 

 for 3 hours, or even longer for the heavier skins. After 

 scudding they are drenched with 10 per cent, bran and 

 some pea meal at 95 F. for a few hours only. 



In preparing the tawing paste, the flour should be 

 mixed with tepid water ; the egg yolk should also be 

 diluted with tepid water slightly, and strained if necessary, 

 and then added to the flour. The oil is then carefully 

 mixed in. The alum and salt are dissolved separately at 

 110 F. and added to the flour and oil. The tawing paste 

 should be used at about 105 F. For every hundred 

 medium-sized lambskins there will be required : 10 Ibs. 

 flour in 2 1 gallons water, i quart preserved egg yolk, 3! 

 Ibs. alum and i Ibs. salt. The skins are drummed in this 

 for an hour or so and dried out on poles rapidly, but not 

 with great heat. This is essential to get " stretch." They 

 are next wet back, staked, dried and staked again. They 

 are then " aged." 



To wet back for dyeing and finishing the skins are 

 drawn through warm water and then drummed in water 

 at 95 F. for 15 minutes to wet evenly and thoroughly. 

 This liquor, which contains much of the tawing material, 

 is run off and replaced by the dye solution, e.g. fustic or 

 turmeric, with which the goods are drummed for half an 

 hour. Iron, chrome or copper salts may be used for 

 saddening. After this " bottom " colour is obtained, a 

 coal tar colour is added for " topping " and the drumming 

 continued until the required shade is obtained. The excess 

 liquor is now run off, and the materials lost in soaking are 

 replaced by drumming further with egg yolk and salt for 

 15 minutes. This is known as " re-egging." Blacks are 



