DYE-STUFFS USED IN ITALY. 213 



may be seen on the surface of the leather curried in Tuscany arise from 

 the peculiar process applied to it, to give it a finish, by currying the 

 skins with the liscia or Vorhello, which is a glass implement, re- 

 sembling the bottom of a glass bottle ; it is furnished with a handle ; 

 to lift up the skin, it is held on one side, and a little elevated, but to 

 smooth the skin, it is held horizontally ; the skin is next stretched with 

 the orhello, and afterwards the last polish is given by the liscia. 



Tanning with myrtle leaves, which is still of great use in the small 

 tanneries dispersed over the Neapolitan provinces, is effected by stretch- 

 ing out the skins, covered with myrtle, in a pit filled with water, where 

 they remain from 30 to 36 months ; the leaves are changed every 30 or 

 40 days. In Sardinia many tanners make use of myrtle, lentiscus, 

 tamarisk and alum. In Lombardy, and particularly at Pavia, Brescia, 

 Trento, and Venetia, they use almost exclusively valonia for tanning, 

 •even without mixing it with myrtle. 



A method of tanning, called French tanning, has been for a long time 

 carried on in Piedmont ; it might indeed with propriety be called an 

 Italian method. In the provinces of the centre and south of Italy, it is 

 performed by spreading layers of yew bark and cork bark over the skins, 

 whilst in Piedmont they more generally make use of oak bark, common 

 oak bark, &c. In certain parts of the north of the peninsula, at Biella, 

 Bra, and Mondori, for instance, they make use of oak galls, but this 

 method, less approved than that where bark is used, is growing more 

 into disuse every day, and is already confined to certain localities. In 

 some tanneries they use a mixture of oak bark, dividivi, and the leaves of 

 the Rliododendrum. 



The bark tanneries which enjoy the highest reputation in Italy, are 

 those of Messina, in Sicily ; of Castellamare of Naples ; of Pavia, Milan, 

 Leghorn, Santa Croce, in Tuscany ; Turin and Pinerolo, in Piedmont. 



For the manufacture of leather for saddlery and harness, the skins 

 coming from the slaughter-houses are almost exclusively used ; they are 

 treated with holm oak bark, cork bark, and the leaves of the sumach. 

 The skins for saddlery are made chiefly at Fabriano, at Turin, and at 

 Castellamare, and are exported to the various provinces of Italy, to the 

 Levant, and Germany. 



This manufacture of cow-hides and calf-skins curried and waxed for 

 boots and shoes, which has acquired such importance in Nantes, Bor- 

 deaux, Geneva, and Lausanne, has been now for some time imported 

 into Italy. Turin, Naples, and Florence have made great progress in its 

 prosecution. 



Italy imports from France, and still more from Germany, the greatest 

 part of the japanned leather which it makes up. For some years this 

 manufacture has been introduced into Lombardy, Naples, Florence, and 

 especially at Turin. The art of dyeing tanned skins with bark and with 

 oil, &c, flourished in the fifteenth century at Venice and Florence. The 



