CHALLENGE OF HEREFORD CATTLE. 
277 
side up, and ivork them over (mb and press them) 
with the knife until all the gummy or mucilagin¬ 
ous matter is worked out. This should be re¬ 
peated two or three times during ten or twelve 
days, being each time baited pew in fresh water. 
And this working aver must only be done when 
the sides feel soft and smooth to the touch; as 
they will at times, from some unexplained cause, 
feel rough, at which time they must not be worked 
over. While they are thus baiting , they must 
not be neglected, or they will soon spoil. Tanners 
are in the practice of adding 1000th part of sul¬ 
phuric acid (oil of vitriol) to the last bait, which 
has the effect of swelling the pores and distending 
the fibres, and' thus rendering the skins pore sus¬ 
ceptible to the action of the ooze: forty-eight hours 
generally suffice for this last baiting. 
In the meantime, some good strong ooze should 
be prepared for the first tanning process,, called 
coloring. Fill a vat a little more than half full 
of water, and add bark* in the proportion of 1| 
bushels of ground, or 2 bushelsof pounded bark, 
to the barrel of water, which will bring the vat 
up to about two thirds full. When the bark has 
soaked from four to five days, the sides are put in, 
and allowed to remain 15 days ; during which they 
must be once well and carefully fleshed and worked 
aver, and must be drawn up and down every morn¬ 
ing, for the first week at least, and the bark 
well plunged or stirred up, to have them color 
evenly. 
After this, the vat being now two thirds full of 
this same ooze, after drawing out the hides, lay a 
good coating of fresh bark, of say an inch thick, on 
top of the water, on which it will float; lay on 
this a side, spread out evenly; and v if it has to 
be lapped over in any part, lay on more bark until 
it is all well coated,, taking care to place those 
hides at the bottom of the vat now* that were at 
the top last time. On this side lay an inch-coating 
of bark, and on that another side, and so on* with 
alternate layers of bark* until the vat is full* or the 
sides all laid away. 
In this, which is called the first bark the sides 
must lie four weeks. They are then drawn out, 
and the spent-bark taken out with a skimmer or 
drainer. The sides are then replaced as before, 
with alternate layers of fresh bark, in the same 
ooze, which has acquired some additional strength, 
notwithstanding the amount of tannin and extrac¬ 
tive matter, contained in the bark, that has become 
intimately combined with the animal fibre of the 
hide. In this second bark they remain six weeks 
undisturbed, when they receive a third bark, in 
the same way, in which they are left another six 
or eight weeks. Three barks will suffice to tan 
deer, hog, calf, and other small skins; four barks 
will make good sole leather, but five are preferable. 
The tanning process being completed, sole 
leather is taken out of the vat, rinsed effectually, 
and dried in the shade, hanging the sides up by 
two of their corners to joists, where they may 
remain until wanted. Those sides intended for 
upper and harness leather, (which are those of 
cows, &c.—the largest and thickest bullock hides 
being used for sole leather), as also deer, hog, 
and other small skins* being thoroughly rinsed, 
are spread out on a strong table, with the grain 
or hair side up, and scoured with a stiff brush, 
like a very stiff horse-brush, occasionally throw¬ 
ing on pure water, until all the ooze is scoured 
out. Tanners use the edge of a stone, made 
smooth, to assist in rubbing out the ooze, and 
all the water that can possibly be rubbed out. 
They also use what they call a slicker, being a 
dull edge of copper of about six or seven inches 
long, set in a piece of wood, to serve as a handle. 
After they are all served thus, and rubbed as 
dry as possible, the table is cleaned off, and the 
skins thrown back upon it, grain side up, and 
are rubbed with tanner’s oil (cod-fish oil)* as long 
as the leather will receive it. Harness leather 
must be completely saturated. As they are oiled, 
fold them up and lay them aside. When they 
are all gone over, lay one on the table at a time, 
flesh side up, and with a rag rub on ail the dub¬ 
bing that the leather will absorb.' Thin hides 
require but a small quantity; harness leather must 
have a heavy coating. 
Dubbing , which consists of equal parts of tar 
and tallow, melted together, and well mixed, must 
be made the day previous to being used. Lard 
may be used in place of tallow* but will require 
a lesser proportion of it. Each side of leather 
is then hung up by two corners to joists, there 
to remain until perfectly dry, or until wanted. 
If iron or steel touches a hide during the pro¬ 
cess of tanning, when in the least wet, or even 
moist, it will discolor it, forming an indelible 
black mark. 
To blacken harness or other leather, take the skin 
when completely dried, and if any greasy spots ap¬ 
pear, showing that more oil or dubbing has been 
applied than the leather could absorb, wet the spots 
with a little strong ooze, and scrub them out with 
the brush. Then apply a good coat of copperas 
(sulphate of iron) dissolved in ooze, until the 
leather has a good color all over. After this, when 
dry, put on another good coat of oil. The leather 
may then be smoothed off with a rounding edge 
of polished steel* or glass* or stone. 
T. Affleck. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
CHALLENGE OF HEREFORD CATTLE. 
Hereford Hall * near Albany , 
September 10 th, 1843. 
I have had a number of breeders from all parts 
of the United States to view the Herefords, and 
most of them say they are agreeably disappointed * 
they expected to see, from what they had heard 
and read of them, coarse, plain animals. Now, 
sir, to remove this erroneous impression* and to 
place them in a position for proof, I will show six 
to ten breeding cows, and a bull, all pure Here¬ 
fords, for beauty, symmetry, quality, milking, and 
activity for breeding working oxen, against a sim¬ 
ilar number of any breed in the United States, for 
a silver tankard, value $50, and meet the acceptor 
half way. I do not do this to “ brag,” but to de¬ 
fend. 
William H. Sotbam.. 
