If these skins are wanted for upholstery they are shaved after dyeing, and nailed on boards to samm. They are also dried out in a cooler shed or "stove," to ensure softness. REFERENCE. Bennett, "Manufacture of Leather," pp. 39, 55, 89, 111, 204, 344, 396. SECTION III.--SEALSKINS A special class of morocco leather is manufactured from the skins of seals. This should not be confused with the "sealskin" of popular parlance, which is manufactured from the skin of a different animal. All the fin-footed mammals (_Pinnipedia_), except the walrus, are termed seals, but they are divided into two families. The _Otariidæ_ are known by their possession of small but distinct external ears: into this class fall the fur-seals whose skin is dressed with the fur on, for women's jackets, muffs and caps. The _Phocidæ_ are that family without external ears: the skins of many species (_Phoce Greenlandica_, _Phoco barbata_, etc.) of this family are unhaired and given a vegetable tannage, thus forming the raw material of sealskin morocco leather. It is with the latter that this section will deal. As the seal is a marine animal and is partial to the colder seas, its skin is very oily. The skins are imported in a salted condition from both the Arctic and Antarctic regions. North Europe, North America and Newfoundland supply many skins, and the southern material is supplied chiefly through the Cape. Sealskin shares with goatskin the properties of compact texture, strength of fibre, and great durability, all of which fit it for the manufacture of moroccos for upholstery, bookbinding, etc. It is, however, readily distinguishable from goatskin by its characteristic grain pattern. In soaking sealskins the object is not only to soften thoroughly, but also to effect the recovery of as much seal oil as possible before the liming commences. This is desired because the oil is in itself a valuable bye-product, and because its removal is essential to a satisfactory liming and tannage. The removal of the oil is materially assisted by raising its temperature, so that the soaking of sealskins is often done with warm water (85°-88° F.), after which treatment they are laid over the beam and scraped with a blunt knife on both flesh and grain. The oil flows away into a special receptacle. This treatment is repeated until the bulk of loose oil is removed. The process is known as "blubbering" or "brushing over." After some soaking the skins are drummed to ensure softness. The skins are then fleshed. More oil may be obtained from the fleshings.