Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/278



LEAN the skins of all particles of fat and flesh, and sprinkle with alum and salt in equal parts, folding them loosely for three or four days; then wash with clean water and afterwards with soap and water. While drying, pull the skins continually. The handle of a door key is a good thing to use for pulling them through.

Tack the skin on to a board, fur side down, and wash over with strong brine. Then with a solution of alum and milk, sponge it all over three or four times for a week. Let it dry, and then take off the board, and rolling first one way, then the other, pull and pass through the ring till quite soft and pliable.

Spread out the skins with the hair side down. Pound together two parts of common salt, and two parts of saltpetre and alum combined. Sprinkle this evenly and thickly over the skin, and roll it up for a few days until the powder has become dissolved. Then stretch the skin firmly across a board and scrape it until quite free from flesh or membrane. Then, still stretched, put it out in the sun for a couple of days well rubbed with neat's-foot oil.

Heat some whiting in the oven (very hot), and having scraped off the oil, dust this on, and rub in with a flannel. Then when dried again and well brushed, the skins if done in this way are fit for making up into anything.

Gather some wattle or mangrove bark, and bruise each piece with a hammer before putting into a tub or cask of water. Leave it for several days, when it should be a good dark colour.