Leather

The manufacture of Chinese leather differs widely from European methods, the gelatinous hide being cured by heat and not by tanning. The proce is described in Hosie's Sfdch'uan, p. 79. The hides of horses, mules, and a es are treated in a different manner. They are superior to those of the ox, buffalo and yak. The former are used for binding and decorating Chinese shoes, the latter for shoes, straps, scabbards, etc. Leather is coloured black and green by pine soot and foreign paint respectively. The idea of stall-fed o.xen for producing superior leather, as pi'actised in Europe, has not penetrated into China. There are now large leather factories at Canton (2); Shanghai (2); Tientsin (2); Harbin and Hong kong; while the Government controls three factories, at Yiinnan-fu, Wuchang and Chengtu, for military purposes. Nanning is another centre, but the leather is not tanned by modern methods. The "original" export of leather is about 70,000 piculs, of which 60 per cent, is from Canton. Exportation nil, as that which goes to Hong kong is returned Leather manufactures imported only constitute a small item at present: Tls. 731,000 worth of leather boots and shoes were imported in 1912 (the record year). The figures for 1916 are. Leather imported, Hk.Tls. 7,541,505; Exports, IMG:p307_2.png:Chinese characters Leather, Hk. Tls. 1,247,933; Leather ware, Hk. Tls. 266,452.