ioo ANIMAL PROTEINS 



cured, prone to unsoundness. Large quantities of goat- 

 skins also come from the Bast. Many of these are imported 

 in a tanned state (B.I. Goat). These skins are tanned with 

 turwar bark, which contains a catechol tannin. They are 

 also heavily oiled with sesame oil, and need degreasing. 

 The tannage is also stripped as far as practicable, and the 

 skins retanned with sumach before finishing. They make 

 good morocco leathers for many purposes, but the primary 

 catechol tannage renders them ineligible for finishing under 

 the specifications of the Committee of the Society of Arts. 

 The skins have a Persian or Indian origin. India also 

 supplies a large number of raw dried goatskins which are 

 small and of variable quality. These, however, are more 

 extensively used for chrome uppers. 



Goatskins are imported in either a salted or a dried 

 condition. The great aim of soaking is to obtain the skins 

 in a thoroughly soft condition. Hence the soaking is 

 prolonged, and some mechanical treatment is desirable in 

 addition to various steepings in water. To be certain of 

 softness it is desirable to avoid the use of alkalies in the 

 soak waters, for although they cause hydration of the fibres 

 by imbibition, they also have a plumping effect which is 

 not wanted at this stage. Salted goatskins are first im- 

 mersed in water and left until the following day. This 

 dissolves the salt. They are then stretched and given a 

 fresh soak liquor of water only to soften further, clean, and 

 remove the rest of the salt. This second water lasts only a 

 few hours, and the goods are then drummed well in running 

 water. This not only cleans quickly, but has an excellent 

 softening effect. They are again returned to a soak liquor, 

 then softened mechanically by working them over a beam. 

 This treatment must be repeated, drumming again if neces- 

 sary, until the skins are perfectly relaxed and thoroughly 

 softened. If the treatment be very prolonged it becomes 

 advisable to use antiseptics in the soak waters after the 

 first drumming. Solubilized (or emulsified) cresols of the 

 " Jeyes fluid " type are the most suitable antiseptics, but 

 too much must not be used or the sterilization affects the 



