YUFTS. 



bark, as they are laid one upon another for fale, through all 

 the tans. It muft not, however, be imagined that the excel- 

 lence of the Ruffian yufts depends on this ; for in Siberia, 

 where are no oaks, and but tew willows of any Cze, they 

 tan yufts with only birch-bark, which are not much worfe 

 than the Ruffian. The bark is made fmall by either ordinary^ 

 tan-mills, turned by horfes or by water ; or the tanner him- 

 felf, in many towns where there are no mills, caufes it, at 

 unneceflary expence and labour, to be pounded in wooden 

 mortars, or excavated blocks, with peftles, almoft like thofe 

 in the tan-mills, by day-labourers. 



The dyeing of the yufts is performed in two ways, and of 

 two colours 



have. Some work the fkins with the hands !i, Ll dry, not 

 fprmkhng them till they are mangled with the card. Lallly 

 thofe Ikins which are too harlh and ftiff to the feeling, are 

 more or lefs fprinkled with linfeed-oil, and thus are ready 

 for the merchant. 



In this connection we (hall introduce from the fame author 



an account of the Ruffian method of preparing and dyeing 



their laffiau, maroquin, or Morocco leather, which are dyed 



at Aftrachan of three colours, red, yellow, and black. The 



treatment of the red faffians, whicli are the moft famous, is 



ufually as follows :— The raw hides are firftlaid in large vats, 



_ , ?"^ ^^"^ """ ^^ts"" poured upon them, in which they are 



lours. The commoneft and moft natural cuftom of left to foak for three or four times twenty. four hours. They 



the colour to the hides is, by fewmg them together are then taken out, the water is drained and fqueezed from 



each ili'm, and are fcraped one by one on the ftretching-bank 

 with fcraping-irons, uraki, quite gently on the flefh fide, io 

 order to take away the groffer impurities, but principally 

 for opening the ilcin, and to qualify it for the enfuing 

 operation. 



They now proceed to make the hair fall clean off, chiefly 

 by the application of lime. To a hundred hides is ftirred 

 in about half a buihel of unflaked lime in vats with river 

 water, and the hides are laid in fo as that the lime may as 

 niuch as poffible be equally diftributed over all of them. 

 ftamed, appears outwards, pouring the dye upon it out of The Aftrachan Tartars let the hides lie in this hme-pit fre- 

 *.u^ J — i,_.*i- *:ii ..1 u„i„ /!,:„ ,, J 1 T^u_ .. __i _ .1 .1 1 . ■ . ... . . . C _ 



g"''°g . . . _ „ 



in pairs, the hair fide inwards, while they are yet moift, 

 round the edges, with rufhes or ftripes of bark, thus form- 

 ing them into a bag or fack ; into this fack the colour is put, 

 the fack well fhook, and the fuperfluous dye let to run out, 

 whereupon the flcins are dried. From this method of dyeing 

 them, it feems to proceed that the yufts are called and 

 taken by pairs. The other procefs, whereby much trouble, 

 time, and colour are faved, and the edges of the Ikin entirely 

 prrferved, is the following : Each (Icin is hung upon a horfe 

 over a long trough, fo that the hair fide, which muft be 



the dye -kettle, till the whole Ikin is dyed. The two colours 

 given to the yufts are red and black. The red dye is thus 

 prepared: Pound brafil-wood (fandal) in the pounding- 

 mill, or with hand-peftles, as fine as the tan, and boil it in 

 kettles. Previous to the dyeing, fteep the fltins in alum- 

 water. It is calculated, that to each fmall yuft-fkin a half, 

 and to a large one a whole pound of logwood is put. But 

 the latter are moftly coloured black. To a hundred ynfts 

 to be dyed red, four pounds of alum is fufficient. For 

 dyeing black the brafil-wood is likewife ufed ; but in the 

 red dye, to a hundred Ikins three pounds of good iron 

 vitriol is difFolved. After the firft tinfture the Ikins are 

 dried, and afterwards on tables done over again with the 

 fame dye and rolled up, that they may thoroughly im- 

 bibe the dye. For heightening the colour this tinfture 

 is fometimes thrice repeated. When the fl<ins are now 

 tolerably dried, by hanging, that the colour may not fade, 

 with the flefh fide outwards, the yufts, ftill fomewhat moift, 

 are fmeared over on tables that have ledges. There was a 

 time when it was commanded by authority to ufe nothing but 

 dolphin and feal-blubber for fmearing them ; but by that 

 the yufts are harftier, and have not that yuft fmell, which 

 foreigners prize fo much, unlefs the birch-tar, deggot, pre- 

 pared in Ruffia, at leaft be mixed with it. At prefent this 

 birch-tar alone is ufed for fmearing. This done, the fkins 

 are cleanfed from any impurities that may remain, and are 

 fent to the dreffing-houfe, where (kilful workmen fcrape 

 them firft with fcraping-irons, having two handles, with the 



quently three weeks ; but it is well known, that their faffians 

 are fo harfh and liable to crack, and even fcorched by it, that 

 they are fit for nothing, and can only impofe upon an inex- 

 perienced purchafer. They then take out fkins, wafti them, 

 and carefully fcrape off the hair, now become loofe, with 

 wooden fcrapers. It often happens, that the hair is not 

 perfectly loofened by the firft lime-ley, but that many 

 tender ftubbles and fmall hairs^re left remaining. In this 

 cafe, the hides muft be put into frelh lime-ley, and be left 

 perhaps two weeks in it ; the hair then comes off', and the 

 hair fide of the Ikin gets a green and very white appearance, 

 but the fubftance is then alfo very foft, and the faffians, by 

 this corrofion of the lime, are very little durable in compa- 

 rifon of other kinds of leather. 



The method now for taking the lime again out of the 

 hides, is the fecond treatment with dog-excrement, or 

 white gentian, which is carefully collefted for this purpofe. 

 This excrement, which is indifpenfably neceflary, is pounded, 

 put into a narrow not very large vat, warm water poured 

 upon it, the mafs thoroughly ftirred, and the cleanfed liides 

 are put with it into another vat, fo as that the diflblved album 

 grecum is fpreadandinfinuated over and between every fkin. 

 In thefe ingredients, the (kins muft lie only twenty-four 

 hours, or if the quantity of album grecum prove not rich, 

 fomewhat longer. The proportion here to be obferved cannot 

 be accurately afcertained ; for the faffian-makers are guided 

 generally by eye-meafure, and obferve only that the water 

 be very thick and turbid, and confequently acrid enough. 



dge crofs-wife on a ftretching-bench, that a foft thin leather The hides come out of this corrofive much fofter and thinner 



remains with a clear glofi^y furface, free from all impurities. 

 Other workmen then take the clean-fcraped yufts on large 

 clean tables, fprinkle them on the flefh fide with a gentle 

 fhower of frefti water from their mouths, and lay them 

 flightly rolled up to moiften. This done, the fkins are taken 



than they were, and are now freed from the force of the 

 lime ; but no time muft be loft in endeavouring to extraft the 

 corrofive likewife, that the hide may not be even more ruined 

 by it than by the lime. They are generally very careful 

 that the hides lie not too long in this corrofive, which they 



feparately one after another, folded together, and worked judge of by their eye from the pliancy and fupplenefs of 



and calendered in all direftions, to make them foft and 

 uliant. They are then curried with a kind of wooden curry- 

 comb, with fharp irons fixed in leathers, like a card for 

 carding wool, the fl<in being folded with the hair fide out- 

 wards, by which the whole furface of the yufts acquire the 

 crofs-ftrokes or trellis-like marks they are always feen to 



them. As foon as the fkins are lifted out, the unclean moif- 

 ture is carefully and'forcibly preffed out, and they are laid 

 without lofs of time in a vat, wherem wheat -bran is ftirred 

 to a tolerably thick gruel with warm water; in thisthey lie 

 again about thrice twenty -four hours, whereby all the former 

 defefks are completely remedied, .and the fubftance of the 



fklD 



