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Ashburton Guardian, Volume I, Issue 10, 18 October 1879, Page 3

New Process For Leather Manufacture. —Leather is now manufactured by certain novel chemical processes, which permit the utilisation of ail sorts of waste leather, such as curriers’ parings, clippings from shoe manufacturers, old boots and gloves, &c., Ac. These materials being wiped, and cleaned as thoroughly as possible, are submitted to the action cf a solution of soda, or other convenient alkali, the strength of which and the duration of the process are proportionate to the thickness and the nature of the leather to be operated on. The proportions usually employed are 91bs of alkali to the hundredweight of parings, and the more alkali is used the harder will be the product obtained. As soon as the alkali has produced the desired effect, which is indicated by the softening and glutinous consistence of the raw material, the latter is withdrawn from the solution, and introduced, with water, into a rag-pulping machine, whore, in the course of a few hours, it is converted into a homogeneous pulpy fibrous mass. The pulp is then poured into perforated moulds, where the the excess of moisture is extracted by pressure, and by meansof a partial vacuum, and the sheets of leather thus formed are then removed and hung up to dry. The thickness of the leather produced by this process may vary from that of a sheet of paper to three inches or more according to the use for which it is intended.