36 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



THE CONES AND BARK OF PINE TREE FOR 

 TANNING 



(Translated from ''La Hacienda") 

 The continuous advance in the price of 

 oak-bark and bark of other trees producing 

 tannic acid, and the considerable quantity 

 of this substance which is contained in the 

 cones and bark of pine trees, has suggested 

 their use in the joreparation of hides. The 

 French tanners were the first to use these 

 materials and they saw that no special pro- 

 cedure was necessary to make them useful. 

 The cones and bark of the sea pine, so abun- 

 dant in the central and northern parts of 

 Europe, are much used in Austria, Bohemia, 

 Switzerland and in different parts of Ger- 

 many, and it would seem that the tanners of 

 other countries should consider the cones 

 as i)art of their tanning material. It has 

 been seen in Europe that the leather prepared 

 with the assistance of the cones and bark 

 of the pine tree is in no way inferior to that 

 made by the ordinary process of tanning with 

 oak or fir-l)ark, but that, on the contrary, 



the pine cones present many advantages 

 when compared with oak-l)ark. They are 

 less bulky and the glazed exterior renders 

 them less subject to deterioration through 

 dampness, which is so prejudicial to the 

 greater part of the other materials used in 

 tanning. The pine cones are as easily pre- 

 served as they are gathered. This use of 

 the cones does not prevent the gathering of 

 the seeds for seeding nor utilizing the fibrous 

 portion as fuel. 



The use of the bark of the pine and the 

 fir has been found practicable, and if ex- 

 perience confirms the results obtained by the 

 laboratory tests on the cones, the tanning 

 industry will have an important aid in the 

 pine tree. It is calculated that an acre of 

 land planted with pine trees produces each 

 year only 10 pounds of tannic extract; a million 

 acres, therefore, will produce 5,000 tons. The 

 tannic extract which could be obtained from 

 the pine-bark which is wasted annually may 

 be considered to be as great as thy t contained 

 in the cones. 



Bagged sugar in Cuban warehouse awaiting shipment 



