The Tanning Industry in Victoria.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 184, 25 December 1886, Page 4

The Tanning Industry in Victoria.

The present condition of the Victorian tanning trade would seem to prove that the artificial support of a protective duty doe not always succeed in firmly establishing an industry. The Melbourne Age says that "for many months the tanning industry in iotovJn. has been crradually declining from a variety of caa.-bs-, which if not speedily checked, "will cause Id to coma to a standstill. The principal giievance that has been felt in connection with the trade is that the demand for droned leather has lict'M inor by hca\y imnoitations that can l>u | l.tceJ upon the mai Let. at a very cheaD ia(c. owin^ to tlm li.i'_ r ).int manner in wine'; tlio taiiii luh un il lcccntly been ( \;n!cd.'' 'I'll.- i- the old -i.oiy in piotect,luiiM countiio-. \\he'io\or, ironi what-c-\ei ciiiM 1 , biii-inc^ begum to ihig in a piot.Tt.od man eh of tiatlo, therein ?imctluiif; -\, 1(111,1 about the tin iff; ie i« either e*.u!cd, 01 lb is not heavy enough Beaton bv oui-idcis, in spite of the protection of heavy import duties, those dependent upon tho bolstered -up industry ny out, to a paternal government bko frightened children to be saved horn thu power of the foreign pioduccr at the fxnouse of the home consumer. Thus aio sapped the foundations of telf-ieliance and enterprise in tiade mattcis. In&tead of meeting keen competition by dy<ising improved methods of manufacture anil producing a better ai tide, the tendency is to howl tor fut her protection. A protective t, > i ifi would appear to h.i\o a mo^t. demoralising efluct upon a comuuiuiLy. Onue havjd^ tin own thuni*elvc.s into its eeductivo aims they cling to it w iTh the devotion of a lover towards his niiotic-s, blind to all evidence of it" enfeebling eilecth upon the body politic. If commercial uilatrs are in an unhealthy state, if foreign trade ip falling off, if agi iculture is uniemunerative, it is only because the protective policy is not thorough enough they will tell you that it is a false political god that cannot keep them at a pinch, — a, very Dagon that we can only hope will, like its Scriptural prototype, fall down and sinafh itself some day,— its deluded worshippers will fiercely deny, until they die blessing, though perhaps ruined by it. But to return to the subject of the tanning industry in Victoria the Age goes on to say : — "Another reason assigned for the dulness of the industry ha 3 been the long continued depression in the boot trade, and lastly, the increasing exportation of hides during the last ten or twelve years. The Tanner's Union give? the following reasons for the depression :— 1. The scarcity of the law material, such as the wattle bark, occasioned by the action of the Government in not making adequate provision for future requirements. 2 The adherence to the oruel practice of branding on the part of the pa^tbrali&t that depreciates the value of the hide when dres-ed. 3. The small modicum of piorection afforded the tanning trade as coinpaied with other trades. 4. The iniquitous application of the Health Act of 1883, that designates the tanning traJe ' noxious,' and hampers the trade by preventing an extension of the trade." Weaning Lambs.— The well being of both the cue and the lamb lequires that the latter bo wennecl at a certain time, isays an e.\ohm<>e. Weaning before this time will htuntthe lamb, If delayed too lomr the ewe is uunecePMirily injured, and thiTiamb is coaxed to de£>end upon the dam for pyit of its sustenance when it should *üb.-,i\t entirely upon other food, and would be moi c thiitty if it did. Lambs need not run with the ewes longer than four months, if they r.ve as thrifty as they should be. If lh. re is water in the field they are usually disposed to help themselves; though it should be seen to that they get sufficient drink. The same is true «f shade. If they persist in wandering aimlessly around in the hot mid-day gun, pen them up in the shade. They should have a pasture of short, tender and nutritious grass. In addition to this, give them wheat bran enriched by the addition ot a little shorts or oil cake meal