dry-salting
A method of preserving hides and skins for storage
and/or transportation before tanning, so as to
prevent PUTREFACTIVE
DAMAGE , by curing them in a very strong
solution of brine—i.e., about 30 pounds of
salt for every 10 gallons of cold water, followed
by drying, or by WET-SALTING ,
followed by drying. In both methods, the hides are
subject to a thorough and uniform salt penetration
and are then hung up to dry. Dry-salting
substantially reduces the weight of the hides and
therefore the cost of transportation that is
incurred in wet-salting; it also reduces or
eliminates many of the dangers involved in simple
DRYING (1) . Large
numbers of hides, however, require great
quantities of salt. In dry-salting, care must be
taken that: 1) drying is carried out gradually and
evenly; otherwise the hides may become too hot and
partially gelatinize, which not only prevents
drying of the inner layer and causes the hides to
become hard and brittle, but also results in the
gelatinized parts leaving holes when the stock is
later returned to its normal wet condition; and 2)
when the hides are to be tanned, they must be
soaked in water until they have taken up as much
water as they had before curing; dry-salted hides
require more time and more careful soaking than
does wet-salted stock.
Sodium chloride (NaCl) is the most commonly used
salt for this process, but a salt "earth" known as
KHARI, is actually
to be preferred because it contains about 60%
sodium sulfate (Na 2 SO 4 ),
20% magnesium sulfate (Mg SO 4 ) and 5%
sodium chloride, and is less hygroscopic than
common salt. It is more suitable for the hot,
humid areas during the rainy seasons, from which
most dry-salted hides are prepared. (248 , 291 , 363 )
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