January, 1909. J 



DYES AND TANS. 



THE USE OF TERMI N ALIA ARJUNA 

 BARK FOR TANNING. 



By D, O. Witt, i.f.s. 



Until I came to the Nimar division of 

 the C. P., the use of the bark of Termi- 

 nalia Arjuna (Kuhar) as a tanning 

 material was unknown to me. 



That its use is far from general may be 

 gathered from the fact that no mention 

 otitis made in Watt's Dictionary of 

 Economic Products, Vol. VI, Part 1, page 

 16, nor in Brandis ' Forest Flora of the 

 North- West and Central India, p. 225, 

 though both authorities mention the 

 bark as used medicinally. 



Its use would, therefore, seem to be very 

 restricted and hence of little importance, 

 and in calling attention to it, it is 

 more with a view to point out a parti- 

 cular form of damage that may be caused 

 to our forests by its use than to assist in 

 further developing the industry. I will 

 hist give a brief sketch of the industry 

 and the methods employed in the use of 

 the bark. It is extensively used by 

 chamars in the Nimar District for the 

 tanning of hides, and especially by the 

 shoe-makers of Burhanpur, a fairly large 

 community, where its use first came to 

 my notice. 



Removal and Collection of the Bark — 

 The bark is stripped from tiie trunk aud 

 main branches during the months of 

 April to June. The period of the year- 

 is an important point to Avhich I shall 

 refer later. This time of year is chosen 

 as the sap is then most active in the 

 cambium layer and the bark separates 

 more readily from the wood than when 

 the flow of sap is at its lowest. I need 

 hardly add the collectors strip off the 

 entire, bark, and are not in the least con- 

 cerned with the immediate result, viz., 

 the death of the tree. 



Treatment of the Bark.— The bark is 

 then dried in the sun and pounded with 

 mallets until reduced to shreds or as fine 

 a consistency as possible. No further 

 treatment is necessary. It is now ready 

 for use, and is carefully stored away 

 until required, great care being taken 

 not to expose it to rain or damp. 



Process of Tanning.— \. Lime Treat- 

 ment. — A fresh hide being taken, the 

 inner side is well rubbed in with lime, 

 tightly folded up, the inner side inside, 

 and immersed in water contained in a 

 broad-mouthed earthern pot or " nand" 

 for ten to twelve days, the hide being 



kept pressed down with a heavy weight. 

 During this period it is taken out every 

 third or fourth day, well shaken, and 

 again rubbed in with lime and put back 

 in the "nand." About three seers of 

 lime are rubbed into an average sized 

 hide on each occasion. As many as four 

 hides can be treated at the same time in 

 this way. In place of the "nand" a pit 

 two feet by two and half feet is some- 

 times dug in the ground for the same 

 purpose. When the above process is 

 complete the hide is taken out, well 

 kneaded with the hands and the lime 

 washed off with cold water. All shreds 

 of meat that remain attached to the 

 inner side are carefully removed with 

 an instrument know as a " rapi," while 

 the hair remaining attached to the skin 

 is removed by scraping with a blunt iron 

 blade (kulpi) worked with both hands. 

 It is then once more washed with cold 

 water. 



2. Dyeing.— The next step is to give 

 the hide the requisite colour. This is 

 done by the aid of one or two dyeing 

 materials, viz., the young leaves of 

 Anogeissus latifolia (dhaura), of the 

 mature leaves and twigs of Phyllanthus 

 emblica (aonla). The leaves of the 

 "dhaura" are collected in the month of 

 May when they are young and tender, 

 and after being dried in the sun and 

 pounded are ready for use. The 

 "aonla" leaves and shoots, on the other 

 hand, are collected in November and 

 December when they are mature 

 and tough. About four seers of the 

 powdered " dhaura " or " aonla " leaves 

 are put into a " nand " with cold water 

 and well stirred iu this solution, the 

 hide now immersed and left for from 

 6 to 8 hours. It is then taken out, 

 wrung dry, and again immersed in a 

 fresh solution. This process is continued 

 every two or three days until the hide 

 has assumed the required colour vary- 

 ing from a pale yellow to a light brown. 

 The length of time required to give the 

 requisite colour may be from three to 

 nine days, according to circumstances. 

 Sometimes both "dhaura " and " aonla " 

 leaf solutions are used alternately. 



3. Tanning.— The colour process being 

 completed the hide is new ready to 

 be tanned. The edges of the hide are 

 brought together and stitched so as to 

 form a sort of bhisti's "mashak" cap- 

 able of holding liquid, aud termed 

 "adhurhi." It is then slung up to a 

 post or tree and filled with water. Into 

 this water is now thrown from 20 to 30 

 seers of the prepared Kohar bark. An 



