Count 1'n Hides and Skins. 
1 1 
and marketing them. Much improvement is possible along these 
lines, and this rests almost entirely with the farmer and the country 
butchers. 
There are three important operations in the handling of hides 
and skins: Take-off or skinning; salting and curing; and marketing. 
Every effort should be made to perform these operations properly 
and efficiently, bearing constantly in mind that the hide or skin, as 
well as the meat, is an article of value. To the small butcher, and 
even to the farmer with only an occasional hide or skin to market, 
the avoidable loss is appreciable, and collectively it amounts to mil- 
lions of dollars annually. The correct methods of skinning, salting, 
curing, and marketing, when carefully followed, will more than off- 
set the little extra time and effort required, by the improvement in 
quality and the better returns. 
DIRECTIONS FOR SKINNING, SALTING, AND CURING. 
Country hides and skins can be so handled in the take-off and cure 
and so marketed that they will yield leather of high quality, and as 
a consequence bring prices but little lower than those paid for the 
packer products. They should not be penalized if their value in 
finished leather is equal to that of packer hides and skins of similar 
class and grade. 
A recent survey made by the United States Department of Agri- 
culture shows, in many sections of the country, a marked improve- 
ment in the condition of country hides and skins. In many case;; 
this improvement is recent and has been made in response to better 
prices and to educational campaigns inaugurated by progressive hide 
concerns for the purpose of promoting greater hide conservation. 
The previous discussion and the following directions and sugges- 
tions are offered with the object of enabling producers of country 
hides and skins to improve the quality of their products through 
better skinning, salting, and curing and also to encourage more care- 
ful and profitable marketing. 
The small producer, such as the farmer or stockman, of course, is 
handicapped by having a limited number of hides and skins at a 
time, and consequently can not afford ideal conditions that include 
the installation of special facilities. Nevertheless, with a knowledge 
of the correct principles and precautions and a judicious use of the 
means ordinarily available, he can produce an article of excellent 
quality. 
TAKE-OFF OR SKINNING. 
For killing and skinning on a sma 11 scale, only a few simple tools 
are required. Among them are an ax, preferably with a small cylin- 
drical head, for felling; an 8-inch straight-blade knife for sticking; 
