CURING SKINS FOR MATS

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 3 August 1916, Page 2

CURING SKINS FOR MATS

FIRST trim all ragged edges, and remove as much flesh, fat, etc., as possible without damaging the pelt; then place the akin on the floor or other flat surface and proceed to wash the wool with warm ■water and soap, and then with clear water; remove all surplus water from the wool by scraping or squeezing with a smooth board. Take up the skin and shake it well, and then place it fleece down on a clean surface, and take a good handful of alum, to which a little salt may be added, and proceed to rub it well into the pelt with a rotary motion over all the surface equally ; fold np the skin, fleece outward, and let it stand for three days. Open, and hang the skin for a while, and then start to scrape the skin with a furrier's knife, always scraping in the same direction ;, three scrapings are needed to properly finish the pelt. With different skins discretion must be used in trreating strong or weak-fibred peltß.