The hat took control of the moment, the woods. All the creatures there knew a wise thing when they saw it and fell silent. Seeing an old sodden hat accomplish this with no power of attorney or of gods changes a kid, and how they think the world works. None of whom are well portrayed, not in full majesty anyway, until they put a hat on. As explains cowboys.
Farmers dont wear fedoras anymore.
Farmers wear this faithless and dimwitted implement because its free. And since free remains an intrinsic ingredient to every farmer, they continue to wear that dumb hat. Free, of course, is better than cheap. Every chemical company and machinery dealer between the Straits of Magellan and Prince Ruperts land knows this. Coincidentally this explains why village folks distrust agriculture as a general practice, because farmers look of marginal intellect and spasmatic in those silly duck caps.