New-York tribune., 1903-01-18

,-ear The shons were all small and machinery
had little to do with it. The first machihe
blower for separating the fur from the haif was
USED in 1872. IT wire drun' turned y!
hard. and compared with the machlnes useo
to-day for the same purpose it was chlIo $ 10Y
They had an odd way of packing hats for
shipment in these early days The hnished ha's
were rolled together in pairs and done up In
naper Then they were put n linen bag
From six to eight dozen Of these bags were
s;uned into leather bag. which the stage car
ried to New-York.
For ten wears from 1910 to 1850. the making
of silk hats predominated in Danbury The silk
hat irvented by a Chinese hatmaker. who tried
to make beaver hat without having the neces-
sary fur and used silk as substitute, was intro
duced in Danbury by hatmaker VINO learheo
II from two Englishmen in New-York. The hats
were in great demand. and for number OF
years the Danbury shops turned out little else.
Until 1850 the trade system was in force mere
Practically no money was in circulation among
the working people The manufacturers paid
them for their work in orders upon the various
sto. es in the town The storekeepers even ex-
changed hats for the goods which they bought
in New-York So firm a hold had the system
that when the merchants and manufacturers
decided to put the business on a cash basis the
workmen did not know what TO make OF IT.
when we get paid cash." mourned one Of the
hstrnakers. how in the world win ever get my
coloring Iiquid?" He had been trading hats tor
ii SO long that he did not realize that he coulo
ray cash
The hat shops of to-day are much aiike'
though they differ in size All are well hleo
with modern machinery which smplides the
work of manufacture. Much of the work, espe-
cially the finishing must be done by hand. even
I'm this day of invention Every sort of hat is
made here but the majority Of the shops run
IN stiff and soft or felt, hats Of medium grade
A typical shop except that ii is independent.
is that of D. E. Loewe & Co. which is now run
ming exclusively on soft hats. which are sent 70
every part Of the country
tour of hat factory rightly begins in the
storeroom where the fur from which the hats
are made is stored 1t comes in bundles and
the varieties are many, ranging from the coon
of the Southern States to the hare from the wilds
of Russia It might have been hare from The
wilds of Indiana If experiment tried several
wears ago had been successful The climatic
conditions of the Hoosier State were not suit
,,1e The skin is closely shaven and only the
fur goes to the hatmaker
Joinine the storeroon is the blowing depart
n,ent. where the hair is separated from The nne
inner fur. When several varieties have been
mixed together in a machine called the oeVi
the hair and fur are put into blowing 1is chine
This is in seven sections, and air currents carry
the material from one to the other. In the proc
ess the hair drops down, while the eur blows
along in fluffy clouds, to emerge finally from
the end of the machine practically free from hair
and ready for use. The blowing machine looks
like q covered wagon with too many wheels,
and it is one of the greatest machine improve
ments in hatnakirg.
1he fine fur is taken 20 the forming depart
ment, where 1t is weighed by girls and placed in
a tray divided into dozen compartm ents On
each compartment there is enough fur to make