“In ‘taking up,’ two men strip the hides from the pack. As they were put down from the rear to the front, they are taken up in the reverse direction. No matter how much loose salt is lying on the top, the man knows exactly where to place his hand on a shank; as the hides are moved forward, the loose salt is thrown off toward the front. One man takes away the salt as it accumulates and trucks it to the salt bins, where it is mixed with new, to be used again. A ‘horse’ made of a network of scantling about 3¹⁄₂ feet wide by 6 feet long, and standing 2¹⁄₂ feet from the floor, is placed in front of the pack, on this the hides, flesh side down, are shaken to remove the salt that is clinging to them. This process requires four men, one at each corner. The hide is brought down heavily on the horse twice, and then spread on the floor flesh side up for examination by the inspectors, of which there are two, one representing the house and the other the buyer of the hides. They sweep off any salt that may be left, and examine for cuts, sores, brands, manure and grubs. They also see that the hide is properly weighed and classified. If the contract calls for a special trim it is now done. Two men then roll the hide, beginning by lapping over the shanks, head and neck. Then the sides are folded over and lapped again, leaving the roll 15 to 18 inches wide. The ends are thrown inward, slightly overlapping each other; a final fold is then given, and the hide is ready to be tied. Rope the size of clothesline is used for tying, and is cut into lengths of about seven feet. It takes three men to tie for a gang such as we have described. After tying, the neat bundles are weighed and loaded on the cars for shipment. A small tare is allowed the buyer. Ordinary workmen in hide cellars get 17¹⁄₂ cents an hour, and inspectors 25 cents an hour.” About 25 per cent. of salt on the green weight of the hide is required for thorough curing. Rock salt merely crushed is frequently employed, but this is very liable to contain iron in the form of oxide and chloride, which causes the peculiar marbled markings known as “salt-stains.” It is therefore much better to use a white crystallised salt, though it is possible even in this case that stains may arise from the iron present in the blood. Some salt-stains appear also to be due to the action of pigment-bacteria, and not to contain iron. A reddening of the flesh side is often noticed in hides which have been kept in salt long or under unsatisfactory conditions, and is very frequent in wet-salted South American hides. Such hides are said never to produce so firm a leather as those which are sound. Hides are not unfrequently cured by steeping in salt brine, instead of strewing with dry salt. This method is principally resorted to in order to give fictitious weight. Brined hides do not plump well in tanning, the leather is not so good in quality as from those salted with dry salt, and the cure is much less efficient.