they were all 0° Bkr. In such cases, handling the goods from pit to pit is somewhat futile, and handling forward from set to set still more so. Hence it is possible to find dressing leather tanned by putting it slowly through one round of handlers, adding a few buckets of gambier where it apparently is necessary. It is, from one point of view, surprising to see what serviceable and excellent-looking upper leather can be manufactured by such happy-go-lucky processes. It is, however, also possible to see how this may occur. Gambier is a stable tan, and no souring and little decomposition take place in gambier liquors. It is also extremely mild and non-astringent, and is always used in weak liquors. The hides, moreover, are completely delimed, and there is little danger of bad or uneven colour. Tanning under these conditions is at its easiest; it is almost more difficult to spoil the goods than make them right. Under such conditions tanning deteriorated rather than improved in method. When neglecting it made little difference to the finished leather, it was neglected. This state of affairs, however, was embarrassing whenever a tanner wished to try any other tanning material. The expense of gambier and oak bark made valonia and mimosa bark into obviously desirable alternatives and substitutes. Methods which would tan with gambier, however, would not work with Natal bark or valonia, and many a tanner has had to revise his method of tanning from end to end. The use of myrabs also raised the problem of souring, and it has become evident that "working the liquors down the yard" is as desirable a method for dressing leather as after all other tannages. It will be clear from the above that types of upper-leather tannages are less typical than for other leathers, but nevertheless the more progressive manufacturers have for some years now been working on sounder lines, economically and scientifically. In such cases it is now usual to pass the goods through at least two sets of handlers, and through liquors of gradually increasing strength. Occasionally dusters or layers are given, especially for the heavier goods. The tannage is nearly always commenced now by paddling the goods in the oldest liquor. This paddling may be anything from half an hour up to twenty-four hours. It is sometimes desired to work up a "grain," and the old liquor is then often sharpened by the addition of fresh gambier or leach liquor. The same tendency to save labour in handling is to be observed in upper leather tannages as in sole and other dressing leather factories. There is also a tendency to obtain rather more weight in tanning by using stronger liquors, and in the heavier goods to shorten somewhat the time taken. The following methods may be taken to illustrate modern processes, in order of evolution. They all last about seven weeks.