14 ANIMAL PROTEINS 



Sterilizing the hides has been frequently suggested, 

 but no method has yet been advocated which does not 

 interfere either with the tanning processes or with the 

 quality of the finished leather. 



Hides from the European Continent, usually wet salted 

 and well flayed, exhibit much the same variable quality 

 as the home supply, those from highland districts tend- 

 ing to be thick, yet even, well grown, tight textured and 

 smooth grained, whilst those from lowland regions are 

 less satisfactory. Thus hides from the Swiss Alps and 

 Scandinavia have ranked high, whilst the spready Dutch 

 cows are typical of a lowland hide. In the hides which 

 once came from Germany the same features appear. Ba- 

 varian highland hides had an excellent reputation, whilst 

 those from Berlin, Cologne, etc., tended to be long in shank 

 and not well grown. French hides are often ill flayed, and 

 Spanish and Portuguese are often subject to scratches. 

 Italian hides have a very good name, being small but stout 

 in butt. 



The American supply is important. South America 

 yields an excellent class of hide, salted or dry-salted. They 

 are from an excellent breed of animals, slaughtered and 

 flayed with every care, and efficiently cured. A most 

 serious defect in this class of hide is the " brand/' which 

 is both deep and large and in the most valuable part of the 

 hide. One side, however, is usually unbranded, so that each 

 hide yields one good " bend." These hides, e.g. " Frigori- 

 fics/' have recently been much more extensively tanned in 

 Britain because of the shortage in the home supply of market 

 hides caused by the European War. South America also 

 yields good horse hides. North American hides are usually 

 wet-salted (e.g. packer hides). They are usually good. 

 Central America yields mostly dried hides exhibiting the 

 usual defects. 



The Asiatic supply comprises the frozen China hides, 

 which are clean but small, with flaying of uncertain quality. 

 There are the buffalo hides from Asia and East Europe, 

 which are suitable for cheap and sole and strap leather, 



