Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 2, 1802).djvu/130

110&#93; no] CUR folly ripe ; break them itlto a tub, or vat ; then pmss and meastire the juice, to which add two-thirds ->i' water; and to each gallon of tl at rmxture put ylbs. of soft sugar ; agitate the whole properly till the sugar is dissolved, when it may be barrelled 1. The juice should not be left to stand during the night, as the fermentation ought not to take place, till all the ingredients are compounded. Black Currants have a peculiar flavour, which many persons dis- like : they are* however, reputed to be very wholesome, and their juice is frequently boi ed down in- to an extract or syrup, with the addition of a small quantity of su- gar ; in which state it is called rob, and much esteemed in sore- throats and quinsies. Some persons put black currants into brandy, for die same purpose as others do cher- ries ; composit.oris that are less adapted to the benefit of health, thai] to stimulate the corrupted pa- late of dram-drinkers. An infu- sion of the young roots of the former, is tfaid to be useful in e*up- , live fevers of the human species ; and in those clyscnter c distempers with which Cattle ore sometimes ted. CUimVJXG, the art of dress- ing cow-hides, calves-skins, &c. The principal object in this process, is to soften and supple cow and calfskins, which are usually em- ployed in making upper-leathers [uarters of shoes, the <-<> eis of saddles, coaches, &c. As soon lis these skins are brought from the tanner's yard, the currier first soaks them for some. nirwe in com water, when he" takes them out, stretches them en asmooth WOoden horse, scrapes off with a ptih blifb all the su^Ci'diMu.-. flesh,, and CUR immerses them again. They a«S next put on a wet hurdle, and trampled with the heels, till they become soft and pliant, when tb are steeped in train-oil, and after- wards spread out on large tables, and their ends tightly secured. There, by means of a pummel (an instrument consisting of a thick piece of wood, the lower side of which is full of furrow's, or teeth, crossing each other), the currier folds, squares, and moves the skins in various directions, to render them supple. This operation is properly called currying and, with a few immaterial exceptions, is that now generally followed. After ti:e skins are thus dressed, they are coloured, black, white, red, green, &c. which process is performed either on the ftesk or grain side ; that on the former, bv skinners, and that on the grain or hair side, by curriers : these, when a skin is 'to be made white, rub it with chalk, or white-lead, and af- terwards with pumice-stone. Bur, when a black colour is wanted, the skin must be first oiled and dried, then passed over a pud, dipped in water impregnated with iron, when it is immCrsed in another water prepared with soot, vinegar, and. gum-arabic. Thus it gradually ac- quires a deep dye, and the opera- tions are repeated till it becomes of a shining black. The grain and Wrinkles, which contribute to the pli mcy of ca'ves and cow.-, leather, a,.-', made by the reiterated folds given to the skin in every di tion, and by the great care taken m mi.. i. tcence and hard place ; ain, or co- lour-side. — Se.cCoMFitEYandTAN- 'NiNU. Cu'RftyiNG, a manual operation performed on horses, with an in- strument