The finer grades of kid and goatskins which are tanned in large quantities in New England, come from the Far East.
In China there are two great ports from which skins are shipped, Tientsin and Shanghai. Back in the interior, starting from a point about twelve hundred miles from the sea, collectors make their rounds twice a year.
The breeder of goats kills his flock just before the collector is due, skins the animals on the hillside, preserves the meat for food, and with the kidskins, which have been partly dried, wrapped in a bundle carried upon the back, or upon a pack animal, the breeder makes his way to the station. It may be that there are a half hundred breeders awaiting the coming of the collector and he pays them the market price for the skins.
Whenever the collector has a sufficient supply to make it profitable to ship, he bales the skins and then sends them over the thousand mile journey along the river to the seaport. From Tientsin or Shanghai they are taken by tramp steamers, which reach Eastern ports by way of the Suez Canal, and on the trip the steamers make several ports, so that it is from six to ten weeks before the skins reach America.
Another method of importing is to have the raw material shipped across the Pacific and then transferred to a railroad, but the difference in cost to the manufacturer is so great that it is unprofitable.
The China goatskins are rated as among the finest in the world and when tanned they make the highest-grade shoe.
Then there are mocha skins, which come from Tripoli, Arabia, and Northern Africa. In those places the method of collection is practically the same as in China.
The two best-known grades are the Hodieda and the Benghazi. They derive their designations from the exporting cities. Hodieda is located in the southwestern part of Arabia on the Red Sea, while Benghazi is in Barca, one of the provinces of Tripoli.
Other goatskins are produced in India and Russia, and millions of skins are exported annually from Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta. These skins are not brought direct to America, but are transshipped at Marseilles or London.
The jobbers in Europe or India occupy rather a unique position, for according to their practice it is almost impossible for them to suffer financial losses in dealing with an American tanner. The latter, when he wishes to arrange for his year’s supply of raw material, negotiates with an agent in Boston, with whom he signs a contract for so many skins. Then it is necessary for the tanner to either purchase with money equal to the face value or secure by loans letters of credit from Boston banking houses which have European connections.