X, A, 6 Gana: Leather Industry of the Philippines 357 



hides have been removed from the hme pits and have been 

 fleshed and dehaired, they are again returned to the Hme liquors 

 if the tanner believes more plumping is desirable. The lime 

 liquors are used only once. 



The limed hides are taken to the river and depilated, fleshed, 

 and cleaned by scraping the hide with a blunt knife to take out 

 as much lime as possible (Plate II, fig 1). They are left in the 

 river under water for a few hours to be freed from lime and 

 are then ready for the tan pits. Except the hair, all the flesh- 

 ings and scrapings and even parts of the pelt itself go to the 

 refuse basket. All this waste is mixed with the lime and pressed 

 into cakes, dried in the sun, and sold for 9 pesos a picul * to glue 

 makers. This return is customarily divided into one half for 

 the tanner and the other half for the laborers. 



The tan pits, partly above the surface of the ground, under 

 cover of a large, open shed, are walled up with adobe stone ^ 

 and ordinary mortar. Each pit measures 1.9 meters by 1 meter 

 with a depth of 1.2 m.eters and holds 20 native or Chinese cattle 

 hides or 17 Australian hides. For each such pack a tan bark 

 infusion is prepared by placing from 500 to 600 kilograms of 

 chopped camanchile bark in the tan pit and macerating it for 

 three days with about 1,200 liters of a liquid consisting of two 

 thirds fresh water from a surface well and one third old, used 

 tan liquor. A date for making the infusion is so chosen that 

 the dressed hides will be ready for the tan pits on the fourth day. 

 The bark is then removed and used for laying between the hides. 



In laying away the pack, the workman places a hide smoothly 

 grain side up, so that about half its surface rests on a layer of 

 bark in the bottom of the pit. Another layer of bark is spread 

 over this surface, and the other half of the hide, which has in 

 the meantime been supported in the hands, is folded along the 

 middle of the back down upon the bark. After another layer 

 of bark has been placed over this hide, the remainder of the 

 pack follows in the same manner, and the whole of the bark 

 infusion is added. The pack is handled and the hides are 

 kneaded with bare feet four times during tannage, usually once 

 on each of the first four days. After each handling the hides 

 are returned to the pit as before. Sometimes a fifth handling 

 and kneading or even a sixth is resorted to when necessary to 

 prevent putrefaction. 



The object of kneading is to compress and distort the hide 



* One picul is equivalent to 63.25 kilograms. 

 " Porous volcanic tuff. 



