79 



adopting the mesquite.and. was satisfied that, with ordinary 

 care and skill, all danger of failure from that source was 

 removed, even in the hottest weather. All the facts 

 revealed respecting the tanning properties of the mesqnite 

 convince my mind fully of- its excellence — of its special 

 adaptiveness to our climate, and that it offers exhanstless 

 resbiirces for the maniifacrure of all our hides into leather, 

 and indeed, all the hides of the United States. Farther, 

 I think it will be found that our country, with this 

 material, has advantages over the north in the manufac- 

 ture of leather, as far, and' perhaps in a greater degree, 

 than it has in jthe manufacture of cotton and woolen goods. 

 The warm temperature of the climate the year roiind will 

 hasten the perfecting of the chemical process of making 

 leather, while our climate is also equally in our favor in 

 cotton and woolen manufacture; but the cheapness and 

 abundance of the raw rpaterial gives us advantages that 

 must make these manufactures more profitable here than 

 they can be where the raw material has to be imported at 

 great expense. All we want is capital and skilled labor, 

 and these cannot much longer be kept from our country 

 when they can be so profitably employed. 



LETTER FKOM MR. COORPENBER. 



EivER Side, Near Seguin, July 20th, 1868. 



W. Richardson, Esq.— Dear Sir^The Rev. Mr. Wilson 

 read me his reply to your communication calling for addi' 

 tional statements and explanations by way of corrobort),- 

 tion of his description of the mesquite as a tanning material. 

 T am happy to be able to state that my experience in the 

 use of the mesquite as a tanning agent confirms in the full- 

 est degree all that Mr. Wilson has written as to its quali- 

 ties and even more ' 



I will repiark that I was connected as a partner with 

 Dr. Park for two years in the tannery. When he left, I 

 carried it on myself for a year, and only abandoned it 

 from the difficulty of procuring skilled labor to carry it on. 

 I will give, under differ«^nt heads, my views of the mesquite, 

 derived from experience and observation. 



1st. As to its richness in tannic, acid, according to 

 actual test, it is richer than the best of bark. When 



