'Agricultureis the great art,
' .
VOL. II.
KOllTII-pAllOLIKA AHATOit.
By TIIOS.-. J.lEMAY, Editor Proprietor.
O 3" Terms. Publishcdon the first of every month
at o.sn dollar A year, invariably in advance.
H7 Advertisements, not exceeding twelve Tines
for each and every Insertion, one dollar containing
more at the same rates.
TANNING AND CURRYING.
v Taknixg is the art of manufacturing leather from
the skins of various animals, and is founded on the
i that the tannic acid contained in tho barks,, be
ir astringent, hardens the animal jelly, contain
' . tlie hides, so that they become close-grained,
compact, and insoluble in water. Tannin also pre
cipitates the green yitriol, or copperas, (sulphate ot
iron,) that accumulates between the hair and skin.
. The outer coatinrJof tho hemlock, and various
species of the bak,, re the principal materials gen
erally used in theUnited States : the former for the
great body of sole leather ; tho latter, for the various
. harness and upper leather.
The trees arc felled in the season when the sap is
nsfcending, from May 1st to. September 1st, though
usually ouly from May 15th to August; and the
bark is easily peeled off iu sheets t)f any required
length, but usually four feet long. It should be suf
fered to lie with the inner surface exposed to the sun
one or two clear days, to dry up the sap on that sur
face, when it should bo gathered into piles of a
tquaro form, in a dry place, on poles above the
ground, and bo protected by large pieces, laid care-
."57"
tshich (very Government cvgll to protect, cveri proprietor cflandt to practice, crA
every inquirer into nature to wiprove.-3 qixzqs,
HAIEIGH, JUITS, IG53.
fully on the top of the pile. The body only U peel
ed in this 'country, except the larger branches of tho
oak ; while in England the small limbs, and even
twigs, all that will peel, are saved, and thuught to
be stronger than the body bark Thirty days of
dry weather will cure the bark sufficiently for use.
But in a largo business it is drawn to a read-side,
after harvest, and piled in like manner, and h suf
fered to remain until fall or winter, when it indrawn
into the tannery, and stored in large piles in the open
air, or in cheap open shed3, and taken into the tan
nery A3 wanted. At thn Vnrth this Is nsnnllv dnnft
in winter, which makes good sleighing almost as im
portant to the tanner as bright -skies in Juno and
July. ; v ...,v.-fe
Chemical tests give to hemlock bark only 3 to 6
per cent, lanmn ; American ouk not more man nuu
as much, while English hedge-rows 13 1C per cent.
The chestnut oak, which grows very abundantly in
some parts of the South, furnishes an excellent and
plentiful bark for tanning purposes. ,Yariousjtuor,
foreign substances contain tannin. .Valonia, of Tur
key, or the acorn cup and ball, gathered in the green
state, is the favorite in England ; and it is believed
that the great burr oak of the Middle States yields
an annual crop of the same material, which, if gath
ered, would be sufficient for all the tanning of Amer
ica; and save the destruction of our noble forests now
going on so rapidly. The strongest article known i3.
kutch, imported from the East Indies, evidently an
extract boiled town to salts, which contain about
55 per cent puro tan. It is too expensive for com-
mon use in this country, but it is much used in En-
110. III.