Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1888-06-29
MAKING STRAW HATS
An Industry that has Attained
immense Proportions.
~fude Foreign Processes and
SkiIful American Methods.

a; '''''e' i'h'neuso proportions in I'll
+. country. Over in Brooklyn, in me-
- the qui streets tween the citv ha
d, district and Broadway arc rumIcr
r. straw nat m1nufact,rics some Of whic
give employment to moro tia, %
hands, besides lot OF tn, most i,ro,
. lou aud skiliuly devised machiper,
NJ st OF this machinery is of America
:, Invention. With it ten times NOR
work can be turned out by the skille
operative than by the old h md process
anu yet better wages made at les
o labor.
!, The straw hat Of civilization is pearl
acentury cd, and Its manufacture, wa
not begun il B ooklyl to anv cxtcn
unul about eleven years ago. The raw
material Il all imported, anil, in fact
reaches the mllu.acturer here in n con
SI'erab'y adv'occlstago of preparation.
1t cones from China, japan and South
ern Europe chiefly Years aoo wbor
straw gools b ought higher nrice
DFalis woven with Tuscan. straw md
mat from B)hcmta and Switzerland
were exclusively used, but they arc now
employed only for the finest GRADES
Inc cheaper qualities for the masses
such as the "Mackinaws," are almost
entirely made with the straw broid mn
ported from China. This was found TO
De less expensive than any other be.
cause 'hc cost of living anon, tho rro.
ducers amounts to almost nothing The
Leghon hat is made entirely in It,lz
ana only the finishing is done in this
country. Chip and Panama hat,
although sod und.r the general de.
Iommation cf straw,, arc m do in
i"o' from entirely different ma.
terial. The chip is SO called bocanso
made from the splints ofth. L,mbardv
poplar, cut of which the sap has bser
died By burr II il the ground for -
yenrs---a precaution taken to .. ef,ra,
from tsifr'ss;s -A-' v~
dried in tho air. Th3 Panama is
made from tho immature leaves of
palm tree iadi ycnoui to South America.
The district of China w1er5 straw
lraid il mado lies in the region of
C'nton and many millions of p,oplo are
employed il its production. Living
principally on fruits, which the soil Of
that country naturally yields, and with
no inclination to do more profitable
work, it is often the only occupation
that all the members Of the family en-
gage in. The average wages earned
are a penny day. When tho species
or grass or wheat used for making the
straw has attained its full hi ,ht, and
before it Is quite ripe, it i, cut down,
left on the ground aad allowed to
bleach in the IN. This process
being complete J. the stalks are
bound in sheavy3 about a foot il cir
cumference and then drawn out as
wanted. After scvcring them at the
joint, iato strips four or fv3 i7che, in
length, they arc put into kind of a
sieve and sorted in cqull siz 5. Those
at the top being finer hlve greater
,lue than the lower or coar3er ones
These pi cas- arc il turl separated a1d
tied into buadles OF convenient siz'.
Those of gool color are laid aside for
bleaching, while those spotted or dis
colored are dyed and used with the
bleached to make vtriegated brajds.
The solid coIors are al, dyed in America
to suit the leading IA hioa Tho blelch
ing is done by iac'osiag .he stalks in a
OK with lurniag 'lrimstoao. Tha
plating, next in order, is done mostly
Ivy women and girls, whiIo the straw is
in damp state, an after the braid5 are
pressed fl 1T they are put in rolls of go
yards, packed in bales and ready for ex-
portation. / couraecl by their gov
ernmcnt, the japanese, with their char
acterstic energy hav1 recently begun
this in lustry
When the rolls reach the manufac-
turer in this county, the LraiIs are
slightly moi,tc tcl aad thea sewn to
ccthcr, beginning at the crown and
working rcuid ultiI the whole is fin
ished On the top floor of tho straw
works are III; sulphur rooms, where
some of the hats ar1 bleachcd. It is
fouul that nature or science has pro-
vided nothing so powerful in this re-
gard as tn sun, ald all the sulphur
baths ald 9th r processes Of bleaching
are not comparable with sun bath,
Ladies' ottel feel disappointed because
their straw hats turn yellow, bit this is
the natural suit Of sulphu- bIeached
goods Such thing never happens
after su1 belchi1g. When practicable
and the WEATHER permits this latter pro-
cess is used at all the work., and on a
fine day rows Of hats may be seen on the
roof undergoing whitening by the oper-
ations Of the suns rays. After b ing
dipped in Frtlch glue they are placed
in a drying room, where the tempera-
turo IS about 115 degrees and where the
moisture i extracted b. means OF large
rapidly revolving fans, driven at hi q
speed. This leaves the hat iu a very
pliable condition.
The blocking process Is next in orde~-
Looking at a numbered tag which ha
been previously w9l inside, the work
maa rlaccs the hat OF tho proper stoam
heated sccti9aaI cSGant'Dg meta bod
aa4 praises iFlo ths ssgp'r'4 'ia an.
lRs0e. Thil yiQsaa tlao aa' h
] tseial 81 tAa stfaE T9lsi Jqu f'' ;