Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 May 1891 — WHAT GLOVES ARE MADE OF. [ARTICLE]

WHAT GLOVES ARE MADE OF.

How the World I« Ransacked for Snitable Material. “Many of the gloves that are sold in this country under the comprehensive title of ‘kid,’ ” said a glove manufacturer, “are really made of goatskin. There is hardly a country in the world that does not supply some sort of materials which are made into gloves, and many of which pass for kid in the retail stores. The supply of kidskins of the finest quality is naturally limited. The greater part is absorbed in the manufacture of women’s gloves. Men’s gloves, therefore, are frequently made of fine lambskin, which is better than the second-rate kid. The genuine, fine kidskins are mainly of French origin, and those obtained from the mountain slopes of Southern Franceare world-famed for their excellence. All the best conditions of climate, air, and diet appear to unite in exaotly the degree required to secure perfection in this district. Nowhere else 'are the conditions equally favorable, although kidskins of great excellence are produced throughout the mountain ranges of Southern Europe. Their production is the principal industry among the mountaineers. “Great pains must be taken to secure the softness and delicacy of texture and freedom from blemish which form the value of the kidskins. The diet is the most important factor, and mother’s milk is required to keep the kid in perfect condition. If the animal is allowed to eat grass, its value declines, as the skin immediately begins to grow harder and coarser in texture. To keep the skin in perfect condition, the young kid is kept closely penned and carefully guarded against injury from scratches, bruises, and so on. -As soon as the kids have reached the age at which their skins are in the best condition for the glover, they are killed, and the skins are sold to traveling peddlers, who bear them to the great centers of the tanning industry at Grenoble, Annonay, Millmu, and Paris. “Fine lambskins are raised in great quantities in Southern Europe and throughout Hungary, Servia, Bulgaria, and Boumania. The American glovemakers buy most of their lambskins at Vienna and Muhlburg. “London is the chief market of all the miscellaneous skins. Here may be found the Gape sheepskins, tough and durable, from the Cape of Good Hope; colt and calfskins from Buenos Ayres and other cities of South America; hogskins from Mexico and Brazil; antelope from India, Brazil, Colorado, and Africa. Of late years many of these skins have been brought directly to New York, and American buyers no longer find it necessary to go to London. While fine lambskins are the staple in men’s gloves, coltskins are rapidly coming into favor, and fine calfskins j are also extensively used. Each has a grain peculiar to itself, which, while not visible to the ordinary buyer, can be instantly perceived by the expert. “Calfskins are good-looking, soft,and pliable, but are apt to crack. This fault is not found in coltskins, which are durable and handsome, and in many respects make model gloves. The wrinkles are objectionable, but these disappear when the glove is on the hand. The ‘jacks’ of Venezuela contribute the majority of deerskins at present. The castor comes from the antelopes of the West. Heavy leather gloves are obtained from elks. Hogskins are used to a moderate extent. Patnas or Calcutta ox hides are also used. “Every invoice of heavy skins contains more oi 1 less curosities, and the kind of leather that will be evolved from a stray moose, muskox, llama, or kangaroo skin depends upon the f.kins that accompany it. Dogskins are occasionally made up into gloves, but their use is very uncommon. Everything that goes by the name of dogskin nowadays is likely to be Cape sheep. Batskin gloves are about as frequent as rat sautes in Chinese laundres.”— New York Sun.