consists of a piece of hard wood, flat on the upper side and rounded on the lower, capable of being affixed to the hand by a leather strap. The lower surface of this instrument is covered with a number

of transverse parallel grooves. After being thus rubbed, the leather is once more scraped with a broad knife, to equalize its thickness, and is then "dubbed" with oil, tallow, a composition of lamp-black and unctuous matters, or some other greasy material, according to the quality of the leather, and the purposes for which it is required. It is, lastly, polished by means of hard wooden rubbers.

Such is a general view of the principal operations of which the process of currying consists; but they are considerably varied in their details, according to the kind of leather operated on, and the uses to which it is to be applied. Shoe leather is blackened on the flesh side, but for some purposes leather is blackened on the outer or grain side; in which case it is moistened with a solution of copperas in water, which gives rise to the formation, on exposure to the air, of the black tannate of the peroxide of iron.

§ IV. PREPARATION OF LIGHT AND FANCY LEATHERS.

The different varieties of fancy or light leather may be arranged into three classes, distinguished from each other by peculiarities in the mode of manufacture. These are, leather tanned by means of sumach, tawed leather, and oiled leather. The most important of the varieties of leather tanned by means of sumach only is Morocco leather, of which a great

quantity is used for chair-covers, coach-linings, bookbinding, case-making, ladies' shoes, &c. Roan and skiver are two other varieties of sumach leather; the first of which is used for book-binding, and for making shoes and slippers, and the other for pocket-books, hat-linings, work-boxes, &c. Tawed leather is chiefly used for making ladies' shoes and common gloves; and oiled leather for making riding gloves, and as wash-leather.

Morocco leather.*_The finer kinds of Morocco leather ("true Morocco") are always prepared from goat-skins; but the inferior, or "imitation Morocco," is made from sheep-skins. The routine of operations to which goat-skins are subjected preparatory to the actual tanning differs little from the common processes of cleansing and unhairing hides and skins, as described in a previous section. After being soaked in water for several days, and scraped on the flesh side, they are generally soaked in lime-water for about a month; during which time they are frequently taken out of the liquid, allowed to drain in a heap, and again immersed, in order to equalize the action of the lime. When the hair can be easily pulled off with the fingers, the skins are unhaired upon the beam in the usual manner (page 194); after which they are again soaked in lime-water for a day or two, and then fleshed. Before being exposed to the tanning infusion, the skins are freed from the

* An interesting and sufficiently detailed account of the modes of preparing Morocco and other kinds of fancy leather followed at the Neckinger Mills, Bermondsey, is contained in "A Day at a Leather Factory," forming No. 8 of the first series of "Days at the Factories," and No. 652 of the Penny Magazine.

greater part of the lime contained in their pores by being digested in a lixivium of hen-dung or some such impure alkaline solution; after which they are well scraped and again immersed in the liquid. Each skin is then sewn up into the form of a bag, with the grain side outwards, only a small hole being left, sufficient for the introduction of the nose of a funnel; and each bag is nearly filled with a strong decoction of sumach. The bag having been completely distended by blowing into it, in order to free it from wrinkles and enable it to float on water, is thrown with several others into a large shallow vessel filled with a weak infusion of sumach, in which it is kept for about three or four hours, being occasionally moved about by manual labour. Once during this process the bags are taken out, compressed by being piled in a heap, and again subjected. to the tanning liquor. When the tanning is completed, the skins are unstitched, rinsed, rubbed out as smooth as possible on a sloping board, and lastly, hung up to dry. When quite dry, they are ready for the process of dyeing, the principles of which are precisely the same as those of cotton, silk, and wool-dyeing operations. The mordant, which is usually a preparation of either tin or alum, is first applied (if any is required); and afterwards the colouring infusion, as decoction of cochineal to produce a crimson and scarlet, or decoction of logwood to produce a puce colour. A blue colour is imparted by a solution of sulphate of indigo or by the common blue-vat; violet, by cochineal-red and a

* At some leather-factories the dyeing is sometimes performed before the tanning.

light indigo-blue applied consecutively; and black, by a solution of dyer's iron-liquor (acetate of iron) applied to the grain side only. As this leather is in general required to be dyed only on one side, it is usual to place two skins in close contact before dyeing, the sides coloured being outermost. After being thus dyed, rinsed, sometimes slightly oiled on the grain side, and thinned upon the flesh side, the skins are subjected to a kind of currying process, by which their original softness and pliability are restored. This consists either in passing them in a humid state two or three times in different directions between two cylinders revolving nearly in contact; or in rubbing them by the hand with instruments of different degrees of hardness, one of which is a small wooden ball or roller having on its surface a number of fine parallel grooves, which impart to the Morocco the peculiar grain which distinguishes that kind of leather. A surface of cork is sometimes used as the last rubber for Morocco leather.

The routine of operations followed in the preparation of "imitation Morocco" from sheep-skin is much the same as that described above. But whether these kinds of skins are tanned by means of sumach for making Morocco, or by means of oakbark for making common leather, they are almost always passed through a powerful press (after having been stripped of their wool by the fellmonger) that the greater part of the unctuous matters with which they abound may be expelled. If allowed to remain, these matters would materially impede the action of the tan-liquor.

Skiver and Roan.-The kind of leather called skiver is prepared from sheep-skins split by machine when in the state of pelt, and tanned by means of sumach. Being more easily penetrated by the tanning infusion than whole goat-skins, these split skins are not commonly sewn up into bags like the former, but are immersed in the liquor in the open state. Roan is generally prepared from sheep-skins by means of sumach, in just the same manner as Morocco; but this kind of leather does not present the grained appearance of Morocco leather, imparted by the grooved ball or roller.

The "enamelled leather" used for ladies' shoes, belts, &c., is also prepared by means of sumach, the skin being either that of the calf or the seal. The gloss is communicated by a peculiar varnish.

Leather prepared by means of alum (kidleather). The process of preparing alumed leather is technically known by the name of "tawing." The skins which are made the subjects of this process are those of the kid, the sheep, and the lamb; and the resulting leather, which is particularly soft, is mostly used for gloves, and shoe-linings. The principal operations in this art, as practised on kidskins, are, 1o, soaking the skins in water for a few days, for the purpose of softening them; 2°, "breaking," or scraping with a blunt knife on the flesh side, the skins being laid upon the beam; 3°, liming for about a fortnight, and unhairing and fleshing in the usual manner; 4°, soaking in a fermenting mixture of bran and water, and "striking" on the beam with an iron instrument, for the purpose, principally, of