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Lesson 77 "There's Nothing Like Leather!"
第77課 “百貨不如皮貨”
Every child who reads this book knows that leather is made from the skins of animals. We cannot, of course, call any piece of skin "leather;" it must be carefully prepared before we can give it that name.
小朋友們都知道, 皮革由動物的毛皮制成。當然, 不是每一塊毛皮都能夠稱之為“皮革”。它必須經過仔細的加工才可以獲得這樣的稱號。
When the skin is stripped off the dead animal, it is still covered with hair on the outside, while on the inside there are many bits of fat and flesh. If nothing is done to preservethe skin, it soon begins to rot, and in a week or two it becomes quite decayed. If the skin is salted and dried, it will keep quite well, but it will become as hard and stiff as a board.
當人們從死亡的動物身上剝下毛皮時, 它的外面還是覆蓋了一層毛發, 而里面則夾雜著很多脂肪和血肉的碎片。如果不采取任何保存措施, 那么皮毛很快就會變質。一到兩周, 它就會徹底腐爛。在毛皮上涂上鹽并曬干, 就可以很好地進行保存。不過, 它會變得像板子一樣僵硬。
What the man has to do who turns the skins into leather is to preserve them from rotting, to keep them soft and flexible, and to make them look as nice as he can. This work is called tanning, and the place where it is done is called a tan-yard.
將毛皮制成皮革的工匠們需要防止它們變質、保存其柔軟且極富彈性的質地, 盡量展現出美麗的光澤與外觀。這個工作就稱作制革, 而他們的工作場所就是制革廠。
The skins are first soaked in pits filled with lime-water—that is, water with which some quick-lime has been mixed. This loosens both the hair and the fat. The skins are then taken out and scraped on both sides with long two-handled knives.
首先, 人們將毛皮放入（由生石灰與水混合而成的）石灰水中浸泡。這樣就可以去除毛發與脂肪。然后, 工匠們再把毛皮取出來, 用雙柄長刀的兩端在它的兩面進行刮削。
After this has been done, the skins are so soft that they look almost like sheets of jelly. These jelly-like skins are well rinsed in fresh water, and are then put to soak in large pits filled with water and the bark of the oak-tree. The water draws out of this bark a substance known as tannin; and the tannin changes the soft, jelly-like skins into tough, strong leather. This takes a long time, and the skins have to remain in the tan-pits for about a year.
經過了這樣的加工流程之后, 毛皮就會變得非常柔軟, 就好似一片凝膠那樣。接下來, 用清水把它徹底沖洗干凈, 再放入裝滿了橡樹皮和水的大窖之中。在水的作用下, 樹皮能夠分泌一種名叫鞣酸的物質, 而它就可以把凝膠一般柔軟的毛皮變成結實、牢固的皮革。這個過程需要很長的時間, 毛皮需要在大窖中浸泡一年左右。
