Books › An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925 › scan 168
Scan 168
An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925
24 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 142. See the scan on archive.org.
1they would risk receiving them in a state of alteration which would make them unfit for their purpose.
3Removing the Intestines
5The removing of the intestines is the first operation which they undergo. In order to remove them, the string maker's helpers go to the slaughterhouse, disembowel the sheep which have just been killed, and detach the intestines; then, at once placing them on an inclined plane or board, they scrape them with a knife blade, in order to cleanse them of any fecal matter and blood, as well as of bile and grease. This cleansing process must be carried out very quickly and while the intestines are still quite warm. If it were deferred until they had cooled, the fecal matter and other substances would not have failed to color indelibly any portion of the membranes with which they might have come in contact, and would also give rise to chemical changes which would either diminish or entirely destroy the tenacity of the membranous fibers.
7Once emptied, the intestines are tied up in bundles, and are placed in vessels in order to be brought to the factory.
9The First Steeping
11As soon as they have been brought to the factory, the intestines are divided into bundles of ten, and are placed for tempering purposes in cold water, where they are left for twelve to fifteen hours.
13This soaking should take place, when possible, in a running stream, or in a vat filled with spring or well water; only, care should be taken in the latter case, since such water is apt to be somewhat hard, to correct its hardness by the addition of about two grams of carbonate of soda to a quart of water.
15After they have been removed from the water, the intestines are again immersed for some four or five hours in tepid running water, maintained at a temperature of approximately 25 degrees, after which the operation of scraping the intestines may be proceeded with.
17Scraping the Intestines
19The action of the water in the soakings which have just been described, will have given rise to a slight fermentation, which helps separate the membranes from each other.
21The scraping of the membranes, with the object of separating the external mucous and peritoneal membranes from the fibrous membrane, is usually done by workmen divided into two groups.
23The workmen in the first group stretch out the intestines on a wooden slab or board, slightly inclined; then, grasping them in their left hands, they scrape them from one end to the other, along the side of the external membranes
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