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Show ipATHER IS MADE Lb in Whicl1 tb InSenuity of Ma t Inventors Havo Made no Per-I Per-I ceptible Changes. LsATI'S ENORMOUS OUTPUT. Iprocess of Converting Hides Into Lier Minutely Desoribed-A 1 Establishment. Lni ingenuity has changed the rr 0f ghnost every business in 17m yrithin the last fifty years, but I ITobs which still retains its primo-CimDlicity. primo-CimDlicity. That is the manufact-li manufact-li 'leather. The one thing needed to L iroodleather is time, and as modern ftnestend to eliminate that element n of no use here. The ancient honorable occupation of the tanner lis proof against innovations. Iha-ithstandiDg that faci there 18 an Lse amount of leather made, and linnati'fl output for a year reaches Cons quantity of 483,000 hides. CT4,680,000. Of this fully half lade at one tannery, which is the Lin the world. was to this tannery that a reporter Lk himself yesterday to see how the Lhioned business was conducted. I obliging superintendent took him in I and for one hour and a half tho Larched steadily onward, upstairs, n elevators and through villainous I FOKESTS OF BAKJC. L first room entered was tho bark t room, where there was an immense f of 40,000 cords of chestnut oak bark, lis obtained from Kentucky, Ten-te Ten-te and Alabama, and enough is kopt led for a year's use, At ono end of I mom is a machine, into which two 1 are kept busy feeding tho bark to Lnnd up. The tan bark was left awhile and the hide room was visit-I visit-I This is below the level of tho rail-l rail-l track, and a trap door opens in tho lag, through which the hides are kiped from the cars. Most of tho hcome from Chicago, but for pat- leather those brought from Paris, ce, are the best, as they are larger I thicker. Rough hides range in value L $3 to $10, according to grade. They here sorted, weighed and put into bis of 134 hides each, and one hide of h pack is numbered. The whole pack farted at once, and comes out finished he same time. By means of a rope (died to the numbered hide the loca-j loca-j of any pack can be ascertained at rtime. feit comes the 'beam house. Here hides are soaked in clear water for re days, receiving four changes of ter in that time. Thus thoroughly ked they are plunged into lime water 1 left for five days. One more day in; I h water and they are run through a : bine at the rate of 512 daily and have i Ihe hair removed. Next they go to beams, which are boards about five I long, inclined to an angle of f orty-l orty-l degrees and having a longitudinal ! Ivexity upward and being covered 111 zinc. Upon these the hides are lown flesh side up, and the flesh side lipedoff with broad bladed knives. . I' bits of meat go to the glue factories 1 the hair is used by plasterers. An- ; ler soaking in fresh water and they I taken by the strokers, who work Im three times on beams to remove I" short hairs or lime that may remain. Im here they are put into fresh water tin, then suspended on sticks in very : lak tan liquor for two weeks. They 1 I perfectly white when introduced into Is liquor, but come out slightly tanned , Ibrovm. I IN THE TAN LIQUOR. Fbeyare then taken into a large room, I floor of which is simply planks laid I r large vats. Into these vats a hide thrown, fresh bark is scattered over it, another hide is placed on top, etc., Itil the vat is filled. The whole is snb-rged snb-rged in the strongest tan liquor. JVhile these are soaking let us see how I liquor is made. In a large room : Ire are thirty-two leeching vats, each Ifeet in diameter and 10 feet deep. In pew tannery these must be filled with I water and ground bark, but in an fabMshed tannery liquor is used. The I A bark is flooded with strong liquor, I'l when this is drawn off weaker liquor IN on the same bark, the vat being I weii to stand eight days each time, Id then weaker liquor is placed on the I'k, till at the thirty-second time it is 1- water; or, in other words, fresh fto is put on worn out bark, then fnsferred to fresher and fresher, until ' ln put on new bark it is strong tuor. The exhausted bark is burned in Isted ovens and generates an immense fiount of steam. I Tbe hides taken from the vats were l-'ked with bark and suspended oa I'mea jn tan liquor for two weeks. Itreasin the leeching process an old lanery has an advantage. The fresh per is put on the hides that have been Ingest tanning, and as the strength is lKn out by the hides the liquor is run l fresher hides until at last it is run f perfectly fresh hides and into the ler. Thus the longer a hide has been laning the stronger liquor it is subject-1 subject-1 to. I From the vats the hides are taken to f poured by a brush and stone in a lachrne. They are then dried. When I rfectly dry they are tempered by be-f be-f 3 darnpsr,e(l with fresh water. They I5 then polished with copper wheels i r'rkedby machinery in the manner of I ige fiatiron. Tins is the last touch : pen to sole leather. Belting leather is j t'f ln the rough without this last pol- j ing. Belting is, however, made here, ; ouly the best stock is selected for 1 3l Purpose. The hides are first cut into l:ort strips of the proper width, soaked P scoured, dried and stuffed. Stuffing fjnsists in applying a coat of oil and P16 to the damp leather. It is then l-ied and the oil is absorbed by the piher, after which the grease is scraped tl1 strip dampened and put into a Fe, where it is subjected to a great pauj in oj-j,, tliat it may loge all elas. j f Clt.v- It is then removed to the belt f 'Partment, where it is glued or riveted f' Wts.-Cincinnati Times-Star. |