Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 June 1897 — How Furs Are Cured. [ARTICLE]

How Furs Are Cured.

Usually they are brought to the manufacturer merely stretched and dried; or perhaps a solution of alum has been applied to the flesh side. If the manufacturer does not wish to make use of them immediately, he sprinkles them thickly wltli eamplwr, puts them In a perfectly dry place and every few weeks has them carefully beaten. When they are to be prepared for making up Into muffs, caps, and so forth, they are put Into large tubs with a quantity of rancid butter and trampled under the bare feet of men until the pelt becomes soft and partially tanned. Then they are taken out and scraped on the flesh side with a strip of iron In order to remove such parts of the flesh or cellular tissue as may have adhered to the slrin. The grease Is then removed from them by again trampling them thoroughly with fine sawdust of mahogany or some other hard wood. Finally, they are subjected to a thorough beating, the fur or wool Is carefully combed out, and they are ready to be made up into the various articles for which they are used.