The Farm. (From the New Zealand Farmer.) Tanning and Dyeing Skins.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 418, 9 November 1889, Page 4

The Farm. (From the New Zealand Farmer.) Tanning and Dyeing Skins.

We frequently get inquiries as to how to prepare sheep and other skins at home for domestic use as rugs, etc. The following paper on the subject, with accompanying illustrations, copied from an American periodical, will no doubt be found useful by many of our readers :—: — The first requisites for tanning are a fleshing-beam and knife. For the fleshingbeam, select a fine grained, hard wood slab, about five feet long, and ten to fifteen inches wide, as shown in Fig. 1. Have the round side up ; put in two legs two-and-a-half feet long, and one foot from widest end, the other end resting on the floor. Make the top surface smooth and it is ready for use. A good fleshing-knife, like that seen in Fig. 2, may be made from an old

drawing-knite, or piece of scythe, by grinding the edge down to a face about a thirtysecond of an inch : this will give two edges to work with by reversing, and of sufficient sharpness to remove all fleshy substance from a skin. Preparatory to tanning a skin, soak it well and break all hard spots on the fleshing beam. To soak a skin, take four gallons of cold, soft water, halt a pint of soft-eoap, half an ounce of borax, half a pint of salt ; mix and immerse the skins. For skins to be tanned with the hair or wool on, add three-fourths of an ounce of

sulphuric acid. Soak from two to six hours. After soaking, if it is required to remove the hair or wool, immerse the skins in a liquor composed of five gallons of cold water, four quarts of slaked lime and four qparfcs of hard wood ashes. Let it soak in this from one to six days, or until the hair or wool slips off easily. Then remove to the fleshing-beam, and scrape off all the hair and flesh, — that is, remove with the fleshing-knife all fleshy particles that may remain on the inside next to the animal. Now remove and wash thoroughly in cold water, and with the knife scrape off all the surplus water. Fig. 3 shows the tub for soaking the skin?. Prepare the tan liquor" as follows : To eight quarts of cold, soft water, add onequarter of a pound of pulverised oxalic acid, and one quart of common salt. Dissolve well, and immerse the skins. Enough tan liquor should be made to co^er the skins well. Light skins should remain in this liquor from three to four hours, and should be handled occasionally, that every part may be well wet with the liquor. Calf-skins, dog-skins, and wolf-skins should remain in the liquor at least forty-eight hours, or until tanned through, which can be told by cutting on the neck, the thickest part of the skin. On all of the finer furred skins, where extra softness is desirable, the following liquid should be applied to the skin after removing from the tan liquor. One pint of soft-soap, one pint of tanner's oil, or neat's-foot oil, one pint of alcohol. When this is thoroughly dried in, the skin should be dampened enough to finish. All skins when drying are like fullcloth when wet ; they contract or full up,

and have to be stretched in finishing. To do this, take the skin before it is thoroughly dried, and place it upon the fleshing - beam over some yielding substance, or a sheep-skin, fiosh side up, then take the fleshing-knife and carefully push the edges of the blade stoutly in all directions over the skin, until it becomes stretched, soft, and pliable. To enliven the fur upon the skins that have been tanned and finished, take equal parts of scorched bran and sharp, clean whitesand, or dry hard wood sawdust, and rub woll in the fur, then shake out.

To Colour Fur or Wool. Take equal parts of pulveiised, unslaked lime and litharge, mix to a thin paste with water, and apply with a brush. One or two coats will give a light buff colour. ■ By using several coats a beautiful light brown is obtained, every additional coat deepening the colour. By adding a small quantity of ammonia and nitrate of silver, a beautiful black is produced. To colour a bright orange on the wool of sheep-skins, for rugs, etc., wash out all grease from the wool, then take an ounce of picric acid to each skin ; dissolve the acid in soft, lukewarm water, using enough to cover the skin. Use alcohol or vinegar to set the colour. A very pretty magenta colour may be obtained by taking for each skin half an ounce ot magenta crystals dissolve in two quarts of boiling hot water, stirring until dissolved ; then add warm water enough to cover the skins. The water should not be more than lukewarm when putting the skins, and should be handled well, that the colour may be evenly distributed. When of the right colour, remove and set with a pint of vinegar, or alcohol, in water enough o cover the skins. Stretch while drying, o prevent shrinkage.

The taste of beauty and the relish of what is decent, just and amiable, perfects the character of a gentleman. True politeness, say« Pope, consists in being easy one's self and in making every body about as easy as one can. Many a steak is labelled tough Because of a blunted knife, And many a fool calls fortune rough When he looks at a wasted life.