368 ^^^ Philippine Journal of Science 1915 



This water is almost sterile as it comes from the well and was 

 very little contamined in carrying to the tannery. The hides 

 were next placed in a pit with 40 liters of lime and 400 liters 

 of artesian water, and were left for eight days, during which 

 time they were handled five times.^ They were then fleshed 

 and dehaired and placed in a 1 per cent phenol solution for 

 twenty-four hours. A bath in a 0.2 per cent solution of sul- 

 phuric acid for fifteen minutes followed, for the purpose of 

 neutralizing the surface lime of the pelts. They were placed 

 in a suspender containing very weak, fresh tan liquor, with a 

 specific gravity of about 1.000 at ordinary temperature, and 

 whose strength and acidity were increased every day during 

 ten days up to 1.004 specific gravity and 0.2 per cent acetic acid. 



After ten days in the suspender liquor the hides were removed 

 and laid in another clean pit with 50 kilograms of half-used 

 tan bark and sufficient tan liquor of specific gravity 1.006 to 

 cover the hides. On the fourth day they were handled, and 50 

 kilograms of fresh bark were added. On the ninth day they 

 were again handled, with an addition of 100 kilograms of fresh 

 tan bark. On the twenty-fifth day they were again handled, 

 with an addition of 130 kilograms of fresh bark; on the forty- 

 fifth day with 210 kilograms, and on the sixty-fourth day with 

 162 kilograms. The specific gravity of the liquors was taken 

 after each handling. 



Table XXIII. — Specific gravity of handled liquors. 



Handling; No. Specific gravity of tan liquor. 



1 1.006 



2 1.006 



3 1.007 



4 1.012 



5 1.017 



6 1.020 



7 1.022 



While in the suspenders and during the first forty-five days in 

 the laying pit the rate of tannage was rapid. Thereafter it 

 decreased markedly, as is shown in Table XXIV, 



The rate of tannage of the carabao hide is noticeably slower 

 than that of the cattle hides on account of its thickness. Such 

 thick hides should consequently always be tanned separately. 



' The only advisable changes in the Filipino method of liming would 

 be to use from one to three changes of lime liquor and to keep the lime 

 pit clean. 



