Method  of  tanning  Leather.  1 1 5 
a more  adtive  one  may  be  prepared  from  kelp  or  pot-afh, 
taking  care,  however,  not  to  make  it  too  ftrong  of  the 
allies,  nor  to  allow  the  leather  to  remain  too  long  in  the 
ley. 
The  oil  being  fufficiently  difcharged,  the  leather  is 
ready  for  the  ooze,  and  at  firft  is  thrown  into  fmaller 
holes,  which  are  termed  handlers;  becaufe  the  hides  or 
fkins,  during  this  part  of  the  procefs,  are  taken  up,  from 
time  to  time,  and  allowed  to  drain ; they  continue  to 
work  the  leather  in  thefe  handlers,  every  now  and  then 
ftirring  it  up  with  the  utenfil  called  a plunger,  which  is 
nothing  more  than  a pole  with  a knob  at  the  end  of  it, 
until  they  think  proper  to  lay  it  away  in  the  vatts.  In 
thefe  holes,  which  are  the  largeft  in  the  tan-yard,  the  lea- 
ther is  fpread  out  fmooth,  whereas  they  tofs  it  into  the 
handlers  at  random,  and  between  each  layer  of  leather 
they  fprinkle  on  fome  powdered  bark,  until  the  pit  is 
filled  by  the  leather  and  bark  thus  laid  in  Jlratum  fuper 
Jlratum : ooze  is  then  poured  on,  to  fill  up  interftices ; and 
the  whole  crowned  with  a fprinkling  of  bark,  which  the 
tanners  call  a heading. 
In  this  manner  the  leather  is  allowed  to  macerate, 
until  the  tanner  fees  that  it  is  completely  penetrated  by 
the  ooze : when  this  is  accomplifhed  (which  he  knows  by 
Q 2 cutting 
