TANNING. 



813 



orders of Europe. He was a Knight of the Holy 

 Ghost, Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour /rom 

 its first creation in 1805, a Knight of the Golden 

 Fleece, Grand Cross of the Orders of St Stephen 

 of Hungary, the Elephant of Denmark, Charles 

 III. of Spain, the Soteer of Greece, the Sun of 

 Persia, the Conception of Portugal, the Black 

 Eagle of Prussia, St Andrew of Russia, the crown 

 of Saxony, and St Joseph of Tuscany. It has 

 been remarked as singular that, not withstanding he 

 took an active part in the formation of the consti- 

 tutional government of Belgium, he had not re- 

 ceived the Order of Leopold. He was a member 

 of the Academic des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, 

 and the Academie des Sciences Morales et Poli- 

 tiques. 



TANNING, (a.) The bark used for tanning is 

 the bark of the oak, though many other substances 

 contain the tannin principle. The outside rough- 

 ness of the bark, which is called the crut, is first 

 taken off with a large drawing-knife; and after the 

 eriit (which is not employed in tanning) is removed, 

 the bark is dried in a kiln and ground in a mill ; 

 the bark thus ground is then mixed with water in 

 the pits, and forms what are called the woozes. 

 The term hide is applied to the skins of horses, 

 oxen, and cows, which are intended for sole leather 

 and other substantial purposes, and the term skin 

 is limited to the skins of calves, seals, and other 

 animals, from which a thinner and more flexible 

 leather is made. When hides are brought to the 

 tanner, the stoutest parts of them are selected to 

 make butts or backs, which are for the sole-leather 

 of very thick shoes. Ox and cow-hides are called 

 crop-hides, and are also used for sole-leather. The 

 first process used towards the skins of horses, 

 oxen, &c. is to soak them in water for a few hours 

 to get out the blood, and they are then put into 

 pits containing lime and water, where they remain 

 ten days or a fortnight, being taken out and in two 

 or three times a-week : after that they are taken 

 out and put across a beam, which is a piece of wood 

 rather convex on the upper side, about three feet 

 broad, and four and a half in length, one end of 

 which rests on the ground, the other end being 

 supported on legs at a convenient height for the 

 workman, who spreads the hide on it, and takes 

 the hair off with a blunt kind of drawing-knife, 

 called a working knife, which is curved to suit the 

 form of the beam ; this being completed, the hides 

 are " fleshed," that is, the fat, &c. is all removed 

 from the inside of the hide with a double-edged 

 drawing-knife, called a flesher. The hides are then 

 put into a weak wooze, and frequently handled, i.e., 

 drawn in and out of the pit to prevent creases, and 

 that they may thoroughly imbibe the tanning prin- 

 ciple : from this weak wooze they are removed 

 gradually to woozes stronger and stronger. The 

 same woozes are used for many hides in succession. 

 The pits in which the woozes are contained are 

 usually about seven or eight feet long by four 

 broad. From six to eight months in all are suffi- 

 cient to complete the tanning of the commonest 

 kind of sole-leather, called crop by the trade. 

 After being taken from the pits, crop-hides are 

 hung up to dry, in an airy shed or loft, and when 

 fully dried, after a very slight dressing with a sort 

 of scraper, are fit for the market, and for their 

 purpose. They are of a brownish-white appear- 

 ance, wrinkled in the grain and a little rough on 

 the other or ftesh side, and are generally (at the 

 thickest) between a quarter and half an inch in 



thickness. From the combination of the tanning 

 with the gelatin of the hides, they are rendered 

 strong, yet flexible, and unputrifiable. 



When it is wished to make cow-hides into a 

 stronger kind of leather, called bend, the tanning 

 process is carried on for a longer period. As bend 

 is the strongest of sole-leather, the thickest and 

 best cow-hides are selected for the purpose of 

 making it ; and nearly a year's immersion, in various 

 ways, in the tan liquors, is necessary for its manu- 

 facture. The cow-hides applied to this purpose, 

 after being tanned for that time, are not simply 

 dried for the market like crop, but are beaten, 

 when they are dried, into a firm consistence, so 

 that a piece of bend looks like a polished pebble 

 on being cut. The instrument with which bend 

 is beaten is a broad brass hammer. From being so 

 long in the tan-pits, the colour of bend is a deep 

 brown. 



Such is the manner of procedure, when it is 

 wished to convert cow-hides into the two principal 

 forms of leather used for the soles of shoes. Cow- 

 hides also form the upper or black leather of strong 

 and coarse shoes. The weakest and smallest 

 species of cow-hides are generally appropriated to 

 this purpose. After being removed from the lime- 

 pits, and denuded of the hair, they are placed in 

 pits filled with a solution of the ordure of pigeons, 

 which has the effect of removing all vestiges of the 

 lime. They are then placed upon a board, called 

 a beam, and " shaven (as it is called) in the bait." 

 That is, the inner or flesh side is shaven with a 

 sharp knife, and considerable slices or portions 

 taken from it, until the operator thinks it reduced 

 to the proper thickness. This process is necessary, 

 as it is obvious that the same degree of thickness 

 will not suit both upper and sole-leather. After 

 getting this primary shaving, the hides are put into 

 the tan-pits, and undergo a steeping, which occu- 

 pies a little shorter time than that required for 

 crop hides. When the operation, at the end of 

 some six months or so, is over, the cow-hides des- 

 tined for upper leather undergo a degree of drying, 

 after which they are handed over to the currier, 

 who has to convert them into upper leather. They 

 are given by the tanner to him in a thickish, rough, 

 and somewhat hard state, and of a brown colour, 

 and he has to convert them into the soft, easily 

 flexible, smooth, neat, and black-hued article which 

 they appear when used in shoes. 



The currier'sfirst processis to steep them, and then 

 to shave the.<n further with the very peculiar knife 

 which he uses. This is a double-edged knife, with 

 a horizontal handle at each end. The edges of this 

 knife are not straight, but curved, and, therefore, 

 in cutting, the knife is held nearly at right angles 

 to the hide, which is thrown over an upright beam, 

 something resembling an erect tombstone of small 

 size. The workman stands behind the beam, and, 

 holding the knife with both hands, shaves the sur- 

 face of the hide downwards. The currier's whole 

 task is to shave down the leather, to soften it pro- 

 perly, and to blacken it. He accomplishes the 

 thinning or shaving of it in the way mentioned. 

 The softening is effected by rubbing in grease into 

 it with hard brushes upon a large broad table. In 

 order to let the grease enter the leather properly, 

 the hides are hung up in a greased state to dry. 

 When they are taken down, great care is exerted 

 to take out the superfluous grease by scraping, &c., 

 as the cleanness of the leatlu r would be otherwise 

 destroyed, nor would it blacken well. The last 



