The basoning is followed by a still more effectual continuation of the felting, called working. This is done in another shop, at an apparatus called a battery, consisting of a kettle (containing water slightly acidulated with sulphuric acid, to which, for beaver hats, a quantity of the grounds of beer is added, or else plain water for rinsing out,) and eight planks of wood joined together in the form of a frustrum of a pyramid, and meeting in the kettle at the middle. The outer or upper edge of each plank it about two feet broad, and rises a little more than two feet and a half above the ground ; and the slope towards the ket tle is considerably rapid, so that the whole battery is little more than six feet in diameter. The quantity of sulphuric acid added to the liquor is not sufficient to give a sour taste, but only renders it rough the tongue. In this liquor, heated rather higher than unpractised hands could bear, the article is dipped from time to time, and then worked on the planks with a roller, and also by fold ing or rolling it up, and opening it again ; in all which, a certain degree of care is at first necessary to prevent the sides from felting together ; of which, in the more advanced stages of the operation, there is no danger. The imperfections of the work now present themselves to the eye of the workman, who picks out the knots, and other hard substances, with a bodkin, and adds more felt upon all such parts as require strengthening.
This added felt is patted down with a wet brush, and soon incorporates with the rest. The beaver is laid on towards the conclusion of this kind of working. Some workmen say that the beer grounds used with beaver hats, by rendering the • liquor more tenacious, the hat is ena bled to hold a greater quantity of it, for a longer time ; but others say that the mere acid and water would not adhere to the beaver facing, but would roll off immediately when the article was laid on the plank. It is probable that the manu facturers, who now hold the establiShed practice, may not have tried what are the inconveniences this addition is calculated to remove.
The acid, no doubt, gives a roughness to the surface of the hair, which facilitates the mechanical action of felting. Nitrous acid is used in a process called carrot ting ; in this operation the material is put into a mixture of the nitrous and sulphu ric acids in water, and kept in the digest ing heat of a stove all night. The hair acquires a ruddy or yellow colour, and loses part of its strength. It must be remembered, that our hat still possesses the form of a cone, and that the whole of the several actions it has undergone have only converted it into a soft flexible felt, capable of being extended, though with some difficulty, in every direction. The next thing to be done is to give it the form required by the wearer. For this purpose, the workman turns up the edge or rim to the depth of about an inch and a half, and then returns the point back again through the centre or axis of the cap, so far as not to take out this fold, but to produce another inner fold of the same depth. The point being returned back again in the same manner produces a third fold ; and thus the workman pro ceeds, until the whole has acquired the appearance of a flat circular piece, con sisting of a number of concentric undula tions or folds, with the point in the cen tre. This is laid upon the plank, where the workman, keeping the piece wet with the liquor, pulls out the point with his fingers, and presses it down with his hand, at the same time turning it round on its centre in contact with the plank, till he has, by this means, rubbed out a flat portion equal to the intended crown of the hat. In the next place lie takes a block, to the crown of which he applies the flat central portion of the felt, and by forcing a string down the sides of the block, he causes the next to assume the figure of the crown, which he conti nues to wet and work, until it has pro perly disposed itself round the block.
The rim now appears like a flounced or puckered appendage round the edge of the crown, but the block being set up right on the plank, the requisite figure is soon given by working, rubbing, and ex tending this part. Water only is used in this operation of fashioning or blocking, at the conclusion of which it is pressed out by the blunt edge of a copper imple ment for that purpose.
Previous to the dying, the nap of the hat is raised or loosened out with a wire brush or carding instrument ; the fibres being too rotten after the dying to bear this operation. The dying materials are logwood, and a mixture of the sulphates of iron and copper, known in the market by the names of green copperas and blue vitriol.
The dyed hats are, in the next place, taken to the stiffening-shop. One work man, assisted by a boy, does this part of the business. Ile has two vessels, or boil ers, the one containing the grounds of strong beer, which costs seven shillings per barrel, and is used in this and other stages of the manufactory as the cheapest mucilage which can be ,procured; and the other vessel containing melted glue, a little thinner than is used by carpenters. The beer grounds are applied in the in side of the crown,to prevent the glue from coming through to the face, and also to give the requisite firmness, at a less ex pense than could be produced by glue alone. If the glue were to pass through the hat in different places, it might be more difficult to produce an even gloss upon the face in the subsequent finishing. The glue stiffening is applied after the beer-grounds are dried, and then only up on the lower face of the flap, and the in side of the crown. For this purpose the hat is put into another hat, called a stiff ening hat, the crown of which is notched, or slit open, in various directiq,ns. These are then placed in a bole in a deal board, which supports the flap, and the glue is applied with a brush.
The dry hat, after this operation, is very rigid, and its figure irregular. The last dressing is given by the application of moisture and heat, and the use of the brush and a hot iron, somewhat in the shape of that used by tailOrs, but shorter and broader on the face. The hat being softened by exposure to steam, is drawn upon a block, to which it is securely ap plied by the former method of forcing a string down from the crown to the com mencement of the rim. The jfidgment of the workman is employed in mois tening, brushing, and ironing the hat, in order to give and preserve the proper figure.
When the rim of the hat is not intended to be of an equal width throughout, it is cut by means of a wooden or metallic pat tern. The contrivance is very simple and ingenious. A number of notches are made in one edge of a flat piece of wood, for the purpose of inserting the point of a knife, and from one side or edge of this piece. of wood there proceeds a straight handle, which lies parallel to the notched side, forming an angle somewhat like a carpenter's square. When the legs of this angle are applied to the outside of the crown, and the board. lies flat on the rim of the hat, the notched edge will lie nearly in the direction of the radius or line pointing to the centre of the hat. A knife being, therefore, inserted in one of the notches, it is easy to draw it round by leaning the tool against the crown, and it will cut the border very regular and true. This cut is made before the hat is quite finished, and is not carried entirely through, so that one of the last Opera tions consists in tearing off the redundant part, which by that means leaves an edg ing of beaver round the external face of the flap. When the hat is completely fi nished, the crown is tied up in gauze pa per, which is neatly ironed down. It is then read} for the subsequent operations of lining, &c.