The preceding account will give some idea of the care and labour expended on these goods in France. In England, cheaper productions are more in vogue, and almost every process is accom plished by machinery. An illustration of the Fitzhenry or Jackson scouring-machine, which is largely employed both for scouring and setting out, is given in Fig. 920: In the case of strap-butts, the currying is, of course, far less elaborate. They are well scoured out, heavily stuffed, and stretched in screw-frames, to prevent their giving afterwards when in use. In England, curried leathers are generally sold by weight, which leads to the use of glucose and other materials to add to the weight. In America, all upper leathers are sold by measure, and this is now ascertained by a very ingenious machine (Fig. 921). The skin is laid on a latticed table, and a frame, from *blob rows of bullets are suspended, is let down upon it. The total weight of the frame is indicated by a spring balance, and as the bullets which are over the skin are supported by it, the diminution of weight indicates the measurement.
Enamelled, Patent, or Japanned Leather.—These are terms used to designate those leathers, whether of the ox, the horse, the calf, or the seal, which are finished with a waterproof and bright varnished surface, similar to the lacquered wood-work of the Japanese. The term "enamelled" is generally used when the leathers are finished with a roughened or grained surface, and " patent " or " japanned " are the terms used when the finish is smooth. Though generally black, yet a small quantity of this leather is made in a variety of colours.
Leather destined to be finished in this way requires to be curried with out the use of much dubbing, and to be well softened. The English prac tice is to nail the skins thus pre pared, and quite dry, on large smooth boards, fitted to slide in and out of stoves maintained at a temperature of 71°-77° F.), coating them repeatedly with a sort of paint com posed (for black) of linseed-oil, lamp black, and Prussian blue, well ground together. Each coating is allowed to dry in the stoves, before the next is applied. The number of coatings varies with the kind of skin under treatment, and the purpose for which it is intended. The surface of every coat must be rubbed smooth with pumice ; finally, a finishing coat of oil varnish is applied, and, like the preceding coats, is dried in the stove. The exact degrees of dryness and flexibility, the composition of the paint, and the thickness and number of the coats, are nice points, difficult to describe in writing.
This branch of the leather industry, so far as it relates to calf-skins, is carried on to a larger extent, and has been brought to greater perfection in Germany and France than in England. In
the former countries, the heat of the sun is employed to dry some of the coatings. The United States have.also brought this style to a high degree of excellence, especially in ox-hides. There, use is made of the oils and spirits obtained from petroleum, and without doubt, French and German emigrant workmen have materially assisted in attaining this high standard.
Leather finished in these styles is used for slippers, parts of shoes, harness, ladies' waist-belts, hand-bags, &c., and has now maintained a place among the varieties of leather for a long period of years.
Morocco Leather.—Morocco leather is produced from goat-skins. Rough-haired or "blue back " seal-skins are also used, and produce an excellent article ; while an inferior description, called "French morocco," is produced from sheep-skins. The skins are unhaired by ]imeing in the usual way, and are then baited with a mixture of dogs' dung and water. The tanning is done chiefly with sumach, at first in paddle-tumblers, and then in handlers, lasting about a month in all. Sheep skins are usually tanned through in about 24 hours, by being sewn up into bags, grain side out wards, and nearly filled with strong sumach infusion. A little air is then blown in, to completely distend the skin, and they are floated in a sumach bath, and kept moving by means of a paddle. After the first day's immersioh, they are thrown up on a shelf, and allowed to drain ; they are then again filled with sumach liquor ; when this has a second time exuded through the skin, they are sufficiently tanned, and the sewing being ripped open, they are washed and scraped clean, and hung up to dry, making what are called " crust-roans." The dyeing is sometimes done by brushing on a table, grain lido upwards, but more usually the skins are folded closely down the back, flesh side inwards, so as to protect it as much as possible from the influence of the colour, and then passed through the dye-bath, which is now generally of aniline colours. The original oriental method of manufacture for red morocco was to dye with cochineal before tanning, and this is still customary in the East, but is quite obsolete in this country. A grain or polish is given to the leather, either by hoarding, or by working under small pendulum rollers, called "jiggers," which are engraved either with grooves or with an imitation of grain. A well-cleaned sumach-tanned skin is capable of being dyed in the finest shades of colour ; and this branch of the manufacture of leather has been brought to great perfection.