Chamois

or Shamoy leather .—The skins are first washed, limed, fleeced, and branned as above described. They are next eff lowered , that is, deprived of their epidermis by a concave knife, blunt in its middle part, upon the convex horse-beam. The cutting part serves to remove all excrescences, and to equalize the thickne , while the blunt part softens and smooths. The skins of goats, does, and chamois are always treated in this way. They are next subjected to the fermenting bran steep for one or two days, in ordinary weather; but in hot weather for a much shorter time, sometimes only moving them in the sour bran liquor for a few minutes. They are lastly wrung at the peg, and subjected to the fulling mill. When the skins have been sufficiently swelled and suppled by the branning, they may receive the first oil as follows: a dozen skins being stretched upon the table, the fingers are dipped in the oil, and shaken over the skins in different places, so as to impart enough of it to imbue the whole surface slightly, by friction with the palms of the hands. It is to the outside or grain that the oil is applied. The skins are folded four together, so as to form balls of the size of a hog’s bladder, and thrown into the trough of the fulling mill, to the number of twelve dozen at once. Here they remain exposed to the beater for two, three, or four hours, according to their nature and the state of the weather. They are taken out, aired, oiled, and again fulled. The airing and fulling are repeated several times, with more or le frequent oilings. Any cheap animal oil is employed. After these operations, the skins require to be subjected to a fermenting proce , to dilate their pores, and to facilitate their combination with the oil. This is performed in a chamber only 6 feet high, and 10 or 12 feet square. Poles are suspended horizontally a few inches from the ceiling, with hooks fixed in them to which the skins are attached. A somewhat elevated temperature is maintained, and by a stove if need be. This operation requires great skill and experience. The remainder of the epidermis is next removed by a blunt concave knife and the horse; whereby the surface is not cut, but rather forcibly scraped. The skins are now scoured to carry off the redundant oil; which is effected by a potash lye, at two degrees Baumé, heated no hotter than the hand can bear. In this they are stirred briskly, steeped for an hour, and lastly wrung at the peg. The soapy liquor thus expelled is used for inferior purposes. The clean skins after being dried, are finished first on the stretcher-iron , and then on the herse or stretching frame.