CHAPTER XYII. 



DRESSING AND TANNING SKINS AND FURS. 



HOW TO DRESS THE SKINS OF THE BUCK AND THE DOE, 

 AND TO PEEPAEE THEM FOR MAKING MITTENS, GLOVES, 

 ETC. 



There are various ways of dressing these skins, but 

 some are easier and better than others. Several of the 

 recipes given below have been hawked about the country 

 at five dollars each. 



We will commence with what is called oil-dressing, and, 

 to begin at the beginning, the directions would be, " first 

 catch your deer." As soon as the hide is taken off from 

 the deer's back, it should be grained ; to do this, provide 

 yourself with a beam eight inches through, and six feet 

 long ; put two legs in one end, and let the other rest on 

 the ground, so that it will stand at a steep slant. The 

 beam must be of hard wood, shaved smooth, without a 

 ridge in it. 



Provide yourself with a knife. One made for the pur- 

 pose is best, but you may make a very good one by taking 

 an old shaving knife and grinding it square across the 

 edge, until it has a face about a sixteenth of an inch 



across. Then whet the corners smooth, so that they will 



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