TANNING ON THE PLANTATION. 
109 
from decay, but worms. It insures them without 
cessation, all the elements most required, and es¬ 
sentially necessary to their healthy growth, and 
gives them a beautiful green appearance, and lux¬ 
uriance, not obtained by the use of any other sub¬ 
stance as a manure. 
All farmers are familiar with the fact that coal¬ 
beds, where pits have been formed for the purpose 
of preparing charcoal, produce a most luxuriant 
growth of vegetable substances or weeds. It has 
been generally supposed by those who have wit¬ 
nessed the fact, that it was caused by the ashes 
remaining on the bed, which is not so. It is ow¬ 
ing to the hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, azote, &c. 
absorbed by the carbon. If the coal were even 
deprived of all the qualities specified, its black 
color alone would make it valuable, if only to at¬ 
tract the sun’s rays, and thereby warm the soil. 
Robert L. Pell. 
TANNING ON THE PLANTATION. 
One of my neighbors last year induced me to 
subscribe to your work, with which I am much 
pleased, as I find it embraces information of utility 
to the inhabitants of every part of the country, and 
well merits its title, “ The American Agricultu¬ 
rist.” 
I do not know whether you have ever treated 
on the process of tanning,* in fact it is not an agri¬ 
cultural business; but in the way I am about to 
mention it, one that I consider as very necessary 
to cotton planters, and perhaps to some others. 
By tanning small quantities of leather for our own 
use, not only a saving of money may be effected, 
but our plow and cart gears, saddles, bridles, &c., 
would always be kept in good order, to the great 
comfort of working animals, and profit of the plant¬ 
er. We daily see old leather, half rotten, and 
pieces of rope used instead of good, sound, and 
soft leather, to the great annoyance of the animal 
and loss to the owner, in back-bands, head-stalls, 
&c. I am no advocate to the doctrine of every 
man living as much within himself as possible, by 
raising everything at home that he wants, but on 
the contrary, to the old adage of “ not having too 
many irons in the fire,” for, the fewer branches of 
business a man follows, the better will they be done ; 
but in the present instance we furnish ourselves 
with a very essential article for carrying on our 
agricultural pursuits, with little loss of time, and 
comparatively no expense. 
I would advise planters to have nothing to do 
with old, dry hides, which require soaking to soft¬ 
en, and breaking , as the tanners call it; but to use 
green hides just taken from the animal. These 
are to be put into lime and water of considerable 
strength, in order to raise the grain, swell the skin, 
and open the pores, to prepare them for re¬ 
ceiving the tan, and allow the hair to be easily ta- 
* Note.- We gave a capital article on this subject by 
Mr. Affleck, Vol. II., page 276, which Mr. Winfree had 
not seen when he favored us with this communication ; 
but we are not the less happy to hear from him, and glad¬ 
ly insert this, for we like to see the south becoming more 
and more independent by developing its own great natural 
resources.—E d. 
ken off with the back of a drawing-knife. They 
must be examined twice a day, and as soon as the 
hair will come out easily, let the operation be done; 
they must then be washed out in clear water and 
divested of all the lime in them, and immediately 
put in tan. A vat, barrel, or tub will answer for 
tanning; this and your bark for tanning must 
be ready beforehand. Oak-bark is generally used 
for tanning, and when it is used it must be well 
pounded or ground, that the water may saturate 
it properly, and imbibe the tannin matter tobe com¬ 
municated to the hide. But I write principally 
for my neighbors, and to them I say that we have 
plenty of palmetto, the roots of which are as good 
for tanning as anything else, and they are merely 
to be dug up with grubbing hoes, cut in pieces, 
and put into water with your hides; they are so 
porous as not to require pounding or grinding, and 
at the same time that we are procuring these we 
are divesting our ground of a noxious root. In 
placing your hides have some of this at the bot¬ 
tom of your vessel, and place some between every 
fold, so that no one part of the skin shall come in 
contact with another. If your hide is large it is 
best to cut it in strips of two to four pieces, so as 
to handle and be able to put it in tail more conve¬ 
niently. While in the process of tanning, it is 
necessary to take it out now and then, in order to 
wring or allow the water to drip out, that it may 
receive stronger ooze, and to see that every part 
is receiving the ooze equally. Take every oppor¬ 
tunity of this kind to cut and scrape off as much 
of the flesh as you can, that will be found adhering 
to the hide. If half a day out of tan every two or 
three weeks, it will be benefited instead of receiv¬ 
ing injury by it; but it must be kept in the shade, 
as the sun would greatly injure it. Take out your 
tanning matter frequently, and supply fresh ; it is 
better to do this than to crowd your leather too 
much. When thoroughly tanned, which you may 
know by cutting a small piece and letting it dry, 
take it out, and before quite dry, grease it with 
whale (tanners’) oil, or neats-foot oil, and holding 
a part of it in your hands, beat it well on a block, 
changing the place of holding every now and then, 
so that every part may receive a proper pounding, 
and that this pounding may stretch it in every di¬ 
rection ; then have a strong table or bench, and 
on this double and roll it and stretch it in every 
direction, turning first one side and then the other 
out, so as to make it perfectly soft and pliant. If 
on drying you find it not worked enough, grease 
and go on again. This is for harness or shoe leath¬ 
er ; sole leather does not require this greasing and 
working, but simply to be hung up in the shade to 
dry. Every time your leather is taken out of tan, 
you ought to pull and cut off as much of the flesh 
as you can—especially just before greasing and 
working it as above mentioned. Strong ashes 
will answer in place of lime. Do not crowd your 
leather too much, and let your ooze be always 
strong. 
Currying is a distinct branch, and requires an 
experienced hand; but after cutting out your girths, 
bridle reins, &c., almost any carpenter or man 
knowing how to use a drawing-knife, may, with 
a smooth board placed under it, or the wooden 
