SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
Srupy or FunpamMentAL Principtes Essentrar, 
The first applications of chemistry should be devoted to investiga- 
tions of the molecular mechanism of present processes, the fundamental 
principles of which are not yet definitely known. Any increase in 
knowledge in this direction would permit the establishment of more 
satisfactory systems of control over the processes. In such investiga- 
tions it is likely also that new principles would be discovered, and these 
might form the basis for new and better processes. | Because much of 
the necessary experimental work would require very refined apparatus 
and great skill in accurate measurements, it would seem that the best 
results would come from close co-operation between the industry and the 
university. . 
With little extra work and no sacrifice of any of the objects in view, 
the chemist of the university could make much of his research in pure 
chemistry of direct value to the industry if only he were aware of the 
industry’s needs. Often a very elaborate-and painstaking research 
would prove of the greatest value to leather chemistry if a few addi- 
tional data had been obtained, which would have been easy enough with 
the apparatus set up and the work in full swing, but which would 
present formidable difficulties to the tannery chemist without suitable 
equipment. “It would undoubtedly prove very profitable for the in- 
dustry to finance research on a large scale at the university, and all _ 
results of such work should be published freely to be of greatest good. 
While the work would be primarily concerned with the chemistry of 
‘leather manufacture, it will be seen from the problems now to be out- 
lined that the field is so broad that the gain to pure science would prob- 
ably be fully as great as that to the industry. 
Soarine rau Hines. 
Hides are received at the tannery in any of four different conditions: 
fresh, salted and wet, salted and dried, and dried without salting. The 
first of the chief operations is “soaking,” which consists in putting the 
hides into vats of water and changing the water frequently until the 
hides are clean and have reached equilibrium with the water; usually 
several days are required. Dried hides absorb water very slowly, but 
they must remain in the soak vats until they have acquired their normal 
amount of water or the leather later on will not have the proper sup- 
pleness. The process of imbibition is sometimes hastened by adding 
alkalis to the soak water. 
Un iarrina. 
_ The next step is to free the hides from hair and epidermis, and this 
is commonly done by putting the hides into saturated lime water con- 
taining an excess of lime and some sodium sulphide. Since these 
liquors are used over and over again after restrengthening, they gene- 
rally contain decomposition products of the protein constituents of the 
hide, such as polypeptides, salts of aminoacids, amines, and ammonia, 
and all of these seem to play a part in this process, which is known as 
“Timing.” 
_ After the hides have been in the liquor for several days, the mal- 
pighian layer of the epidermis is destroyed and the corneous layer and 
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