A power-loom has been devised for weaving floor matting, and efforts are being made, with only partial success thus far, for securing in this coun try a satisfactory supply of rushes.
Hat fibers.
Hats are made from round or flat plaited or woven fibrous material, chiefly straw or shredded leaves of palms or palm-like plants. Panama hats are made from finely_divided strips of the palm-like leaves of the " jipi-japa" plant, Carludovica pal mata. This plant belongs to the Cyelanthaeem, not to the Palm family. It is a native in Central America and tropical South America. The fan-like leaves, two to six feet in diameter, borne on stalks six to fourteen feet high, are cut while young, slit into shreds and immersed in boiling water, then dried and bleached in the sun. In drying, the slender strips roll up into cylinders, like fine straws. These are woven by hand into bowl-shaped bags, and afterward pressed into the form of hats. The weaving is done chiefly in the morning and evening, as the dry air of mid-day makes the straw too brittle to work well. The finest panama hats are made in Ecuador and Colombia. Cheaper grades are made from other species of carludovica.
Porto Rican hats are made from the leaves of the " yaray" or hat palm, Inodes casearia, a rather small palm scattered across the southern part of Porto Rico and most abundant near the shore a few miles south of Mayaguez. The palm leaves are
treated very much like those of the jipi-japa. The weaving is done by women and girls in their own homes. The center of the industry is at Cabo Rojo, where the open plaza in the center of the town is devoted to drying and bleaching the leaves.
Straw braids for hats are made from different kinds of straw. Wheat and allied species are used extensively in southern Europe and also in China. In Europe the straw is grown chiefly in the prov inces of Tuscany, Modena and Vienza, in northern Italy. The seed is sown thickly, and the straw is pulled up by the roots before maturity. After dry ing, the upper joints, the only part used for fine braids, are removed by hand, sorted and tied in bundles. This straw is used for the Tuscan, Leg horn, Venetian and Swiss braids, extensively used for hats for both men and women. Rye is also grown in Italy, where it is treated much like wheat for the production of a plaiting straw. Bar ley and rice are cultivated in Japan for the pro duction of Japanese straw braid, which is exported in large quantities to the United States.