PART I. HIDES FOR HEAVY LEATHERS 



SECTION I, THE RAW MATERIAL OF 

 HEAVY LEATHERS 



THE term " hide " possesses several shades of meaning. 

 In its widest sense it applies to the external covering of 

 all animals, and is sometimes used derogatively for human 

 skin. In this wide sense, it is almost synonymous with 

 the term " skin." The term " hide," however, has a 

 narrower meaning, in which it applies only to the outer 

 covering of the larger animals, and in this sense is used 

 rather in contrast with the term " skin." Thus we speak 

 of horse hides, cow hides, camel hides, and buffalo hides. 

 It is used in this sense in the title of Part I. of this volume. 

 As such hides are from large animals, the leather which is 

 manufactured therefrom is thick and in large pieces, and 

 is therefore commercially designated as " heavy leather." 

 From the standpoint of chemical industry hides are amongst 

 the most important of animal proteins, and their trans- 

 formation into leather for boots, shoes, belting, straps, 

 harness, and bags comprises the " heavy leather trade," 

 which is one of the largest and most vital industries of the 

 country. The heavy leather trade predominates over other 

 branches of leather manufacture, not only because of the 

 comparatively large weight and value of the material 

 handled, but also because the resulting products have a 

 more essential utility. There is also a still narrower use 

 of the term " hide," in which it applies only to the do- 

 mesticated cattle the ox, heifer, bull and cow which 

 use arises from the fact that the hides of these are both 

 the largest and most valuable portion of the raw material 



