HIDES ARE STILL HIDES
BUT THE FINISHED PRODUCT
15 SOMETHING ELSE ? ?
By ROBERT H. MOULTON
1IK needs nf mankind mul
tiply with amazing rapid
ity. Were it n??t that scl
eutilic discovery . creative
chemistry and the me
chanical arts have some
how managed to keep
pace with the enormous
demand for natural prod
ucts, ?>r something equal
ly good or better, indus
trial progress in many
lines would long ago have
been halted for lack Of raw materials
"7vj*>rr/?if f%zr zzz?ffaz^2ZRr~*
and manufactured products of many
kinds.
Take leather, for example. If th*
world's requirements for leather were
to be supplied by hide leather as It
was made a century ago, the industry
would he paralyzed almost over ni^rht.
Production simply couldn't keep up
with the demand. Fortunately, ways
have been found to multiply the
amount - of usable leather that can be
produced from a single hide.
Probably the originul process of eur
in^ skins was that of simple clean
ing and drying. In contrast, the mod
ern practice, while It Involves both of
these operations, calls for many other
essential operations before hide stock
If made into linishcd leather. Hides
are still hides, but leather is a prod
net transformed by the chemical and
mechanical means rather thap by nat
ural agencies. The processes now used
In making it have been developed
through a known period of more than
8,000 years.
For the purpose of a trade defini
tion the hide of an animal consists of
three layet's: the outer, which has no
blood vessels and is hard and bony:
the Inner true skin, which Is made up
of gelatinous fibers, and the fatty
under tissue In which the perspiratory
and sebaceous Vlauds are embedded.
The inner layer or true skin is by far
the most valuable and serviceable to
the leather manfuacturer. Some idea
of how I eat he! is made may be gained
by following in sketchy detail the va
rious rperations of a large tannery.
Enter first the enormous hide house.
II?*re the green, salted hides are un
insured from enrs and stored until the}
axe ifriidy to be put through the tan
r.inj: process. They are in their or
iginal condiMon as taken from the
animals except that they have been
treat* d with suit for thirty .lays to
preserve them.
The next operation takes place In
the beam house where the hides are
washed in clean water to remove all
dirt and salt. Here they are put
through the green fleshing machine
which removes all superfluous flesh
that will not ultimately make lejrther.
Following this operation the hides
are placed in frames and lowered by
means of an electric crane into coq
crete tanks containing a solution of
lime and water. After a week's Im
mersion in this solution the hides
swell and the hair becomes lose. Tliey
nre next lifted out and put through
the unhairing machine. Then tney
are passed through the fleshing ma
chine again to remove any superfluous
fat missed in the first operation. After
a final rinsing they are ready for tan
ning.
The scene now shifts to the tan
yard, an immense building equipped
with hundreds of huge vats. Here
the hides are placed on frames and
lowered into a mild tanning liquid,
which is strengthened every day for
a period of ten days. The tanning
process Is not completed at this time,
but It is sufficiently advanced to put
the leather in condition to be split.
Naturally, when the leather Is tak
en out of the vats, it Is thoroughly
saturated with the liquors. Accord
Royal Sword of Scotland
The great two-handed sword with
which Robert the Bruce fought at Ban
nockburn has been handed down from
generation to generation of the Bruce
family who possessed Ciackmamion
tower. The last survivor of thts
branch was Mrs. Catherine Bruce, a
lady of remarkable character and
?trorg Jacobite convictions, who was
convinced that her possession of the
Sttral Sword of Scotland gave her
ingly, the next operation is to puss it
through wringers to remove all excess
moisture. This is done in a room
called the preparing room. The rough
edges are then trimmed and the hides
selected by weight for splitting.
In the splitting room the leather
manufacturer produces three or four
sheets of product from a single hide.
The operation itself is of special in
terest because of Its Importance In
the industry. Hides, because they are
variable in thickness and Irregular in
shajK*, arc difficult to split ; at least,
that was true before the ingenious
belt-knife splitting machine wus de
vised. The most vital part of this
machine is the belt-knife, which trav
els hundreds of feet per minute. Its
cutting edge kept sharp by two em
ery wheels continually grinding. Flex
ible rubber rolls hold the guide at a
uniform tension under an adjustable
gauge-roll as the rapidly moving knife
slices the leather in Bheets of the re
quired thickivess. The ldde Is passed
into the machine on one side and Is
withdrawn on the other, with one full
pattern split off. Each hide Is passed
through this machine three or four
times, multiplying, as It were, the
number of hides procurable from a
single animal.
After the hides are split they are
sent to a re-tan room, where they are
again placed In the tanning solution
until they are completely tanned and
also treated with oil ? a process which
requires only two or three days, be
cause the splits are now much thinner
than the original hide. The splits are
now stretched on frames and taken to
the drying loft where they remain un
til all moisture lias been removed.
This requires about twenty-four hours.
It may be noted. In passing, that
from the time the stock leaves the
drying room up to the finishing po:nt.
it Is known as russet leather. The
next operation takes place In the shav
ing, softening and russet depart
ments, where the leather Is made pli
able and any variations In tl^ickness
caused by the splitting machine are
shaved off.
When the hides are split, the top
piece, or first cut, Is known as the grain
or hair side of the split. The next
two pieces, or cuts, are known as
splits. These grains and splits vary
in size, thickness and quality and are
therefore sorted before they are sent
to the finishing shops. The means em
ployed to finish leather vary greatly
with the purpose for which It will
be used. In the factory under obser
vation practically all the grain leather,
and a very large proportion of the
split leather produced, Is used by the
automobile trade for upholstery pur
poses.
The finishing of grain leather, be
cause of Its smooth and uniform sur
face, Is accomplished merely by the
application of a very light coating of
specially prepared and colorless Un
seed oil, and then embossed to pro
duce whatever design or "grain" may
be desired ou the finished leather.
In the case of split leather, however,
a much heavier coating Is required
to cover the fibrous character of the
the prerogative of conferring the honor
of knighthood. She. thus honored
many visitors to Clackmnnnon tower,
among them Bobble Burns, who visited
when she was a nonagenarian. As
Burns rose to his feet he gallantly
kissed the old lady's hand. "What alls
thee at :ny lips, Robin?" the ancient
dame is said to have asked.
Lived Thousand* of Years Ago.
- Traces of a settlement estimated
to be from 7,000 to 8,000 years old
have been discovered in the bay of
surface. The film deposited by heavi
er coatings of linseed oil. which was
the original method of finishing split
leather. possesses neither great
strength nor durability; but perhaps
its niosf serious defect Is the brittle
ness which develops with age or at
low temperatures, which caused the
finish produced In thlq manner to
crack very easily.
The first improvement over the Un
seed oil finish for split feather was the
use of a solution made by dissolving
scrap celluloid in amyl acetate and
wood alcohol, with the addition of
castor oil to render the film flexible,
and of course the pigments necessary
to produce the desired color.
It was soon found, however, that
a by-product like scrap celluloid was
subject to too wide variation to pro
duce a reliably uniform finish, and
the next step forward was the prep
aration of similar solutions from nitro
cellulose made especially for this pur
pose in place of scrap celluloid. While
this Improvement overcame the most
serious defect of lack of uniformity,
objections previously overlooked soon
became prominent.
By continued experiment, however,
a solution composed of ethyl ecatate,
denatured alcohol and benzol was pro
duced and found to be entirely satis
factory. The film or coating depos
ited on the leather by this solution Is
strong, tough, durable and waterproof,
yet sufficiently flexible to meet the re
quirements of good upholstery leath
er; it is not subject to cracking with
age or at low temperatures, and pro
vides an excellent medium for retain
ing the impressions of embossing
plates almost indefinitely. Splits from'
hides of good quality, properly tanned,
and carefully coated with these solu
tions are even superior to grain leath
er for purposes where the finished
product is subjected to weather ex
posure and particularly rough usage
? as, for example, the upholstery of
automobiles.
After the leather is finally finished
It Is passed through an automatic ma
chine which measures the number of
square feet in each piece. Despite Ir
regularities in shape this machine does
its work accurately and quickly, where
upon the leather is rolled in tissue
paper and packed for shipment.
Commuter in Tight Place.
I am a commuter. This day of my
life, I had the previous evening been
doing some gardening and had occa
sion to take out my pocketbook and
lay it to one side. Morning came with
the usual hurry to make the train. I
managed to get a seat, and was get
ting nicely settled, when I thought of
my pocketbook, with my ticket with
in. My predicament was no ticket,
and no money with me. "fhe conduc
tor came around and I told him the
situation. He said I should try and
borrow a ride from some one who
lived In my town. I was about to
start on this, novel, but to me very
embarrassing quest, when the gentle
man next to me, from another town,
very kindly rescued me. ? Exchange.
Holingaard, about six miles from
Noestoed in southern Zealand. The
remains, consisting principally of arms
and tools, were found by peat-cutters
at a depth of several feet and rest
ing on the stratum which dates from
an early glacial epoch. Forty flint
axes, with other axes and harpoons
made of bone from the antlers of
animals, have been found. Bones of
royal stags, elks, wild boars, beavers,
foxes and dogs have also been brought
to light and carefully preserved by ?s>
perts from the national museum.
1
Uncommon
Sense ? ? ?
T
sr
JOHN
BLAKE
IMVMWOT
CIVILITY
TpHERE ih an old copybook maxim
to the effect that kind words cost
nothing and are worth much.
Anything that costs nothing and is
worth much is a good investment. We
know of no better investment than
civility. ?
Civility is your best introduction to
a job. It is your best introduction to
success. The genius, perhaps, can dis
pense with it. But geniuses are scarce.
No ordinary man can afford to do with
out it. No matter how. great your abil
ity or how extensive your education,
without civility you will lie set down
at the start as a gloom, and nobody
wants glooms about the place.
Salesmanship, which plays an impor
tant part iu any business ? whether it
, t ? \,J ~ - * ,
: POPULARITY j
' ( ' ? "t !
J ' By GRACE E. HALL \
TX7HO.M all adore 1 cannot love?
Too often lie is weak,
I'liant, adjusting to wish of those
Whose voices speak.
Give, me the strong, who swiftly take
Their chosen way, alone;
Nor cringe nor fawn, but boldly make
The world their own.
Whom all adore I cannot love ?
There is no real force there.
For he whose will is like a rod
Stoops not to share.
Give me the strong ! The lonely tree ^
Upon the storm-swept mountain
great,
lias twice the strengtli of those we
plant
i; Inside our gate.
(. ? V . ]
Give me the strong! The plastic clay
Is molded by the hands
Of every one who pauses, passing by ?
The marble stands.
(? by Do<lil. & Company.)
Is the merchant's, the doctor's or the
laborer's, cannot be successfully man
aged without civility.
From your own experience you know
how often you have gone into a store,
intending to buy, and have been driven
a way by the bad manners of a stupid
clerk.
The great salesmen practice civility
as their cardinal principle. They are
never servile, but they are always civil.
Whatever your business or trade,
you are selling your services. To sell
them you must first make a good Im
pression. And to make a good impres
sion you must be civil.
We repeat the wor?i over and nvf?
again because of Its {Treat ImjK.r:,tu-.>.
You have only to look about ymj lo
understand how Important it Is.
Who is the man given tsr<t '-ii.-far*
at new work in any office'- Tin*
who, by his activity, has attr;;. r.- j ;|,e
interest of the man higher" up.
Whom would you prefer to ) Ve
around you, in ease you were u
the man who is civil or the m v. 0
seemed always sullen an<! ?!
ed?
Civility, the cheapest of as;
itles, is also the most vmIujiM. . j-.^
of course, not the only reipiN
cess. To succeed you nni-t
brains, then industry and ajv'.
But it is civility that a<k, >t
qualities, pains them a .(n.;
keeps them constantly
minds of the men who an- ti. ir
cliasers.
Cultivate it, if you lack ir It
prove worth more than yoij v;;< ,.?.r
believe until you get a li: ill- v.s
experience.
(f? by John B!.ik
<? 1 SCHOOL DA1]S
&
1W?-' 1-0*6 ^
| Somethinq to Think About |
= Bi) F. A. WALKER |
RIGHT BEGINNING
WHAT you have done a dozen or
so times without getting the re
sult you sought signifies that your ef
forts were faulty.
You repeat and repeat, still cling to
the wrong way, continue your blunder
ing and finally end in dismal failure.
Vou may be a very adroit person,
capable of steering your * course
through ordinary difficulties with a
commendable degree of confidence and
even succeed in astonishing your em
ployer, but when the real test of your
ability comes, the one upon which your
promotion depends, your unfavorable
star glares malevolently, and away you
go hither and thither like a leaf in a
gale, knowing not where you may be
swept.
After the wind has subsided and the
keen edge of your disappointment lias
been blunted, you seek consolation in
the thought that of the millions who
occupy the face of this planet, great
numbers of them have passed through
similar experiences and survived.
That this Is true, and in all likeli
hood will remain true until the end of
time, does not in the least benefit you
materially or contribute in the small
est degree to your intelligence, unless
you may have learned in your defeat
that one cannot do things properly un
til one has first found the way to the
right beginnings.
It Is good to smile and bear the
burden of the cross complacently, but
the better thing to do Is to ascertain
your faults and so improve yourself
that another failure of the same na
ture shall be impossible.
Has Anyone Laughed
iAtYou r&rn:
* n ethbl r. ?
: Because ? ;
t You Hav? Your Breakfast in J
J Bed?
t Cheer up. You know the think- \
J ing you have done before getting *
i up to go to your job? alone ? un- t
J accompanied at breakfast. You *
* know, too, the calm it has given #
J to your nerves ? to be alone until J
* yon go Into the street. You know, *
0 too, how bodily relaxed you ure *
* and how much better the day ?
t goes because of your added rest. J
* You know it Isn't laziness. Yon t
t know its conservation of energy. J
* You have done some good read- *
t ing waiting for your tray. The J
* tray means rest, thought, relax- *
t ation, strength, storage and calm. !
0 so ;
* Your get-away her* is: *
\ You can't afford to give up J
* such be-tray-al, and advocate it #
f for others. *
* '? by McClure Newspaper Syndicate. ) g
E^HBLR.
PEYSER
Breakfast in
Tlie root of the matter is that every
man who is at the top of the ladder be
gan his ascent in youth from the
ground. He mastered the rudiments
step by step, sensibly surveyed every
thing around him as he climbed above
the heads of others and eventually be
came their master.
He made the right beginning. He
built his ladder as lie climbed, and be
fore building it he made sure that it
rested on a solid foundation which
neither fire nor flood could sweep
away. ,
Railroad presidents, industrial
heads, writers, painters, musicians, in
ventors and those quiet searchers
among celestial bodies of whom the
world hears but little unfil a new star
has been discovered and measured, all
began their careers in the right way,
by starting at the very hast' ;?n?l u"rl
Ing undismayed through h?it ar.<i ro|
to the crowning summit.
(?, 1923, by McCluri Newspaper Syff 'lirtate
Mothers Cook Book
We climbed the height- by the zigzag
path.
And wondered why ? until
We understood It was made zigzag
To break the "force of the hill."
A road straight up would prove too
steep
For the traveler's feet to tread;
The thought was kind In its wise de
sign
Of a zigzag path instead.
It is often 60 in our daily life;
We fail to understand
T" .-' the twisting way our feet must
tread
By Love alone was planned.
Then murmur not at the winding way,
It Is our Father's will
To lead us home by the zigzag path.
To break the "force of the hill."
? The Christian.
SEASONABLE FOODS
I ? ? ?
A NICE dish which may be prepared
from fresh vegetables and one
which campers will enjoy Is green
peas, new potatoes, small onions and
carrots all cooked together with a few
slices of diced bacon which has been
left from breakfast. Cook in as little
water as possible so that there will be
none to drain; add with seasonings a
pint or more of milk and when hot
serve in small vegetable dishes.
Cucumbers dressed with sour cream,
seasoned with salt and pepper are
well liked. Some cooks wilt the cu
cumbers before dressing them. Let
them He In salt water for a while to
soften, then drain, add cold water and
let stand for a while before serving.
To most palates the crlspneas of the
cucumber is Its great charm ; if that is
destroyed they are not as attractive.
Hiuiuiuiiuuiumiiniu.inKtMfiiM<T,]HiiH.i>u.<.NI
Lemon Pie.
Cook together fi>r live mi/1 .|T?? K'
cupful pac/i of sufsu r and wiilcr.
'lie rind from a lemon, ;s<I?I t,V* j
to It. Mix two tabiespoonfu!
cornstarch with a little water mi-'. ??
to the hot sirup; cook until (lie
starch is well rooked, Hkji '
lemon juice and rind and two, ?*
beaten egg yolks mixed nifli n
of tlie iiot sirup, rook Ion/ en
to cook fiie egg. add a la' ?U-r'j '<>"'?
of butter and a pindj of U '
read}' a baked shell, pour in r !<'*
when partly cool an<l cover
meringue made by using the fv/? *.1|
whites and two tnhlespoot/uV
sugar. Brown In a moderate "v(J-a
<?. 1923, Western N*w?p?j?-r '.'n.or. )
O
Nation's ShortsightednM*.
The nation's lumber. sbipnien- 'I
1920 was about 2.070, 1 '/*> curie**- j:jl
the average haul for each car'oiW ,v I
nalle6. According to the be
of the forest service, l'<?
Department of Agriculture. -j* fr^'|
blU on lumber for that year ?**- **' I
000,000. A fraction of ti/ls ^Ja>
the forest serrlce, wisely Id vested ?*
year In forest protection and
tation would grow Limber wiw<? '^1
needed, reduce the nation '* 're!
cheapen lumber and reiear?
nmounts of railroad equipnieJit e3'
rjlfi
A*
nmouiiife ui iuiuvuvi rt <
bor for unavoidable traDb^''
and Iron cannot be grw?.
can be.