UMBRELLA, a shade carried over the head as a shelter from the rays of the sun, or from rain and snow. Although the name is appli cable in either case, and perhaps most strictly in the former, the term umbrella is usually applied in this country only to such of these articles as are used as a protection against rain; while the name parasol is given to the light kind of umbrella carried by ladies as a defence from the heat of the sun. The French have a better dis tinction between the two kinds of umbrella; using the name parasol for those used to ward off the rays of the sun, and parapluie (from pluic, rain) for those used as a defence against inclement weather. Umbrellas were introduced into Europe, in comparatively recent times, from the East, where they have been used for shelter against the sun from time immemorial. Although pretty well known in London more than a century since, they did not come into general use for many years later. Jonas Hanway is said to have been one of the first men who commonly used an umbrella in England. At first they were kept in the halls of genteel houses, for holding over persons as they stepped to their carriages ; and even long after they began to ho used by pedestrians, they were considered signs of effeminacy if carried by males. Increased attention to comfort, and the reduced price of umbrellas, owing to improvement in their manufacture, have now rendered them almost as essential as articles of dress, even to the hInnblest classes.
The construction of common umbrellas, and the contrivances by which they are made to expand or collapse at pleasure, are too familiarly known to need description ; and it is unnecessary to do more than mention some of the ingenious improvements which have been devised. In umbrellas of the ordinary construction the ends of the ribs are connected with the fixed ring upon the end of the stick, and the ends of the metallic rods called stretchers are attached to the sliding-tube, by rings of wire; so that the axes upon which they turn when the umbrella is opened and closed form arcs of a circle, instead of straight lines, by which excessive friction and destructive wear are occasioned. The outer ends of the stretchers, also, are connected with
the ribs by means of axes or pins passed through the latter, by which they are so weakened that they frequently break. These defects are remedied in some modern umbrellas, by the adoption of ingenious though eimple joints. Another new kind has a joint for connecting the stretehers with the ribs, allowing the framework to collapse into less space than usual, and preventing the fretting or wear of the cover at the ends of the stretchers. Very light and compact umbrellas are made with ribs of steel instead of whalebone or cane, which latter material, stained to resemble whalebone, is used in those of the com moner sort ; and some of the best umbrellas and parasols are made with hollow or tubular metallic sticks, which combine lightness with strength.
In some of the umbrellas of recent invention, the ribs, sticks, strips and fillets are made of vulcanised india-rubber, a very tough yet elastic material. In Fox's patent umbrellas the ribs and stretchers are made of thin steel bent into the form of a hollow trough, by passing strips of metal between suitably shaped rollers, and annealing them frequently ; the ribs and stretchers are thus made very strong although light, and their ends are properly shaped between steel dies. By, Holland's patent, the ribs are made of elliptical hollow tubes. Mr. Fitton makes telescopic handles, and steel ribs with a folding hinge or joint. Many firms at Birmingham carry on the manufacture of umbrella furniture on a large scale, employing machines for every part of the work even the little hinges which allow the handles of parasols to be folded are made to the extent of severals tons yearly.