grained Parchment , or Shagreeno 311 
eighty-five roubles per hundred, to Persia, where there is 
a searcity of such hides, and from which the greater part 
of the shagreen manufactured in that country is prepared. 
The hind part only of the hide, however, which is cut 
out in the form of a crescent about a Russian ell and a 
half in length across the loins, and a short ell in breadth 
along the back, can properly be employed for shagreen. 
The remaining part, as is proved by experience, is im- 
proper for that purpose, and is therefore rejected. 
The preparation of the skins, after being cut into the 
above form, is as follows:— They are deposited in a tub 
filled with pure water, and suffered to remain there for 
several days, till they are thoroughly soaked, and the 
hair has dropped off. They are then taken from the tub, 
one by one, extended on boards placed in an oblique di- 
rection against a wall, the corners of them, which reach 
beyond the edges of the board, being made fast, and the 
hair with the epidermis is then scraped off with a blunt 
iron scraper called uraJc. The skins thus cleaned are 
again put in pure water to soak. When all the skins 
have undergone this part of the process, they are taken 
from the water a seeond time, spread out one after the 
other as before, and the flesh side is scraped with the 
same kind of instrument. They are carefully cleaned 
also on the hair side, so that nothing remains but the 
pure fibrous tissue, which serves for making parchment, 
consisting of coats of white medullary fibres, and which 
has a resemblance to a swine’s bladder softened in 
water. 
After this preparation, the workmen take a certain 
kind 4)f frames called pulzi, made of a straight and a 
semi-circular piece of wood, having nearly the same 
form as the skins. On these the skins are extended in 
as smooth and even a manner as possible by means of 
cords ; and during the operation of extending them they 
