SECTION II. GOATSKINS 



GOATSKINS are amongst the most valued raw material for 

 the manufacture of light leather. The leather obtained 

 from them is of the very finest quality in respect to dura- 

 bility and adaptability to the principal purposes in view. 

 The texture of the fibres in goatskin is exceedingly compact 

 and very strong, whilst the grain exhibits naturally a 

 characteristic pattern which renders it most suitable for a 

 grained finish. Hence for purposes like upholstery, book- 

 binding, slippers, it forms almost an ideal material. The 

 tanning and finishing of goatskins into " morocco leather " 

 may indeed be taken as a quite typical example of light 

 leather manufacture. 



The skins are obtained from all quarters of the globe 

 where goats exist, and the excellent quality of the leather 

 produced has created a demand which is greater than the 

 supply. This is due not only to the demand for morocco 

 leather, but also to the popularity of the goatskin chrome 

 upper leathers such as " glace kid ' ' (see Part III., Section IV.) . 

 The large American trade in the latter has produced the 

 saying that wherever there is a goat there is an American 

 waiting for it to die ! The European supply of skins is 

 somewhat limited. They are obtained from the Balkans 

 and Bavaria, in which case they are small, fine-grained and 

 plump skins. The Swiss goatskins are larger, and have 

 also a fine grain ; they are well grown and well flayed. 

 Scandinavian skins have a poor reputation, being very flat. 

 The African supply is important ; Abyssinian skins are 

 exceedingly compact and tough, and are very suitable for 

 " bold grain " finishes. The Cape skins are particularly 

 large, strong and thick, but their quality is often impaired 

 by the cure, the skins being flint-dry, and, like hides so 



