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Handicrafts 123 IHH8 I MM 1 (a) How to Tan a Skin IIDD2 , . III L1 (a) By Jutta M. BuTTREE The untreated dry skins of animals are inflexible, and soon rot. Primitive man early learned how to prevent this decay by treating hides in various ways—with smoke, oils, and the | brains of the animals themselves. This process is called tanning. The word tan is the old word meaning oak or fir, the tan- ning tree; hence also the word tannin, the principal substance used in the process. Tannin is a vegetable compound ob- tained from the bark of the oak, hemlock, and some other trees; also found in the brains of most animals. Raw hides, soaked in tannin solutions, undergo a complete transforma- tion, the solution bringing about certain chemical changes in the skins, that render them soft and pliable. A fresh skin must, first of all, have the hair removed. This may be done either by soaking it in water, or burying it in warm mud until the hair begins to slip. In summer weather, from three to six days is sufficient ; but I have had a skin in water for six weeks without success, when the weather was so cold that it froze every night. When the hair is ready to slip, the skin is much thicker than it had been, densely white, and soft as silk. If it is ready, the hair is easily removed with a dull knife. Now, stretch the skin on a smooth board, or stake. it out on the ground; and, with a blunt knife, scrape it clean of all flesh, fat, and grease. This leaves the flesh side bluish-white, and clammy but not greasy to the touch. Next, boil the liver of a calf for an hour, and then mash it up with the raw brains. If it is not easy to obtain the liver, the brains alone will do. They may be prepared by soaking in cold water with a little salt for twelve hours. One set of brains will do two hides. This mash is now rubbed thoroughly into the flesh side of the hide; which is then doubled, rolled up, and put in a cool place for one or two days. It is now opened out, washed clean, and hung till nearly dry. Then, over the sharp angle of a hardwood stake, it is worked till it is soft and leathery. A horse or other extra thick hide needs longer soaking in the “tan dope.” Instead of the brains and liver, a dope may