HAT MANUFACTURE. The mate rials used for making hats are, besides silk, the fur of hares and rabbits chosen from the long hair ; together with wool and beaver and nutria. The two latter are reserved for the finer hats. The body of a beaver hat is made of fine wool and coarse fur mixed and felted together, then stiffened and shaped ; the covering consists of a coat of beaver-fur felted upon the body. Cheap hats have their bodies made of coarse wool, and their co verings of coarse fur or fine wool. The body or foundation of a good beaver hat, is at present made of 8 parts of rabbit's fur, 8 parts of Saxony wool, and 1 part of lama, vicunia, or red wool. About two ounces and a half of the above mixture are sufficient for one hat, and these are placed in the hands of the bower ; his tool is a bow or bent ashen staff, from 5 to 7 feet long, having a strong catgut string stretched over a bridge at each end, and suspended at its middle by a cord to the ceiling, so as to hang nearly level with the work bench, and a small space above it. The wool and coarser fur are laid in their somewhat matted state upon this bench, when the bower, grasping the bent rod with his left hand, and by means of a small wooden catch plucking the string with his right, makes it vibrate smartly against the fibrous substances, so as to disentan gle them, toss them up in the air, and curiously arrange themselves in a pretty uniform layer or fleece. A skilful bower is a valuable workman. The bowed ma terials of one hat are spread out and di vided into two portions, each of which is compressed, first with a light wicker frame, and next under a piece of oil cloth or leather, called a hardening skin, till by pressing the hands backward and for ward all over the skin, the filaments are linked together by their serrations into a somewhat coherent fleece of a triangular shape. The two halves or " bats " are then formed into a cap ; one of them is covered in its middle with a 8-cornered piece of paper, smaller than itself, so that its edges may be folded over the paper, and by overlapping each other a little, form a complete envelope to the paper ; the junctions are then partially felted to gether by rubbing them hard, care being taken to keep the base of the triangle open by means of the paper ; the second bat being made to enclose the first by a similar process of folding and friction.
This double cap, with its enclosed sheet of paper, is next rolled up in a damp cloth and kneaded with the hands in every direction, during which it is un folded and creased up again in different forms, whereby the two layers get tho roughly incorporated into one body ; thus, on withdrawing the paper, a hollow cone is obtained. This cap is next taken and dipped occasionally into a weak acid solution made of vitriol and water and is also wrought by hands or with the roller on the sloping planks. This constitutes fulling or thickening and is continued 4 or 5 hours ; knots are picked out and fresh felt added by a wet brush. The beaver is applied at the end of this ope ration on beaver hats. The foundation of men's bats, upon the outside of which the beaver, down, or other fine fur is laid, to produce a nap, is usually made of wool felted togetherby hand and form ed first, into conical caps, which are af terwards stretched and moulded to the desired shape. Hemp and felt are also used as foundations.
Slapping, or thickening the thin spots, seen by looking through the body, is per formed by daubing on additional stuff with successive applications of the hot acidulous liquor from a brush dipped into the kettle, until the body be sufficiently shrunk and made uniform. After dry ing, it is stiffened with varnish composi tion rubbed in with a brush ; the inside surface being more copiously imbued with it than the outer • while the brim is peculiarly charged with the stiffening.
When once more dried, the body is ready to be covered, which is done at the battery. The first cover of beaver or nap ping, which has been previously bowed, is strewed equally over the body, and patted on with a brush moistened with the hot liquor, until it gets incorporated; the cut ends towards the root, being the points which spontaneously intrude. The body is now put into a coarse hair cloth, then dipped and rolled in the hot liquor, until the root ends of the beaver are thoroughly worked in. This is tech nically called rolling off, or roughing. A strip for the brim, round the edge of the inside, is treated in the same way ; where by every thing is ready for the second cover (of beaver), which is incorporated in like manner ; the rolling, &c., being continued, till a uniform, close, and well felted hood is formed.