Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1911-02-03
HOW FELT HATS ARE MADE.
The Hair of Rabbits and Other Small
Animals Is Used,
From the Electrical Record.

From the Electrical Record.
Hats we're first manufactured In
England about 1910 and superseded
caps or soft headgear in the reign OF
Queen Elizabeth. Wool was the ma
terial first employed In forming felt
hats, but in time, as European trade
with America developed. the fur OF the
beaver, being inner and softer, came
into use. hence the term beaver was
long synonymous with hat.
For about three centuries fine beaver
hats dyed black and prepared with
much skill formed the head covering Of
the higher classes in Great Britain.
This ~headgear distinguished them from
the middle and humber classes, which
continued for some time to wear tAa
less expensive caps and bonnets. e,
Political and religious differences
have often been marked by the form of
hats. The Puritan Of the reign OF
Charles 1. adopted the steeple hat, high
and narrow, with a broad brim and
devoid of ornament. The cavalier dur
ing the same era wore a lower and
broader crown, with a feather stuck
on one side. The Quaker hat, low I'M
the rown, with a broad brim and
plain, dates from the origin Of tha
sect at the middle of the 18th century.
The history of hat manufacture in
this country dates back to the very
early colonial days. In 1862 the as
sembly of Virginia enacted a law Of
fering 10 pounds of tobacco for every
good WOO or fur hat made In the
colony. Delaware In 1863 offered a
prize of 40 shillings for the neatest
and best mat manufactured in the lower
counties. Carolina by 1887 had de-
yeloped a l~ourishing hat industry, with
a large export trade to the Spanish
islands. Soon after the close of the
revolution the manufacture of hats a
become of great Importance In Penn
sylvania, and from that time the in
dustry has continued to flourish.
Felt hats are made in a wide range
Of qualities. The finest and more ex-
pensive qualities are formed entirely Of
fur; the m qualities use a mix
ture OF fur and Saxony wool. For the
lowest kinds wool alone Is employed.
The processes n apparatus necessary
for making hats OF fur differ also from
those required in the case of wooden
bodies, n in large manufactures,
especially in America, machinery Is
generally employed fc- operations
which formerly were entirely manual.
Hatter's fur consists principally of
the hair of rabbits Technically called
coneys) and hares, with some proper
ton OF nutria, musquash and beavers
hair, though the latter has been for
many years extremely scarce, and gem
"a AA &AJ RoA AA6o Va SullALA6S 1IOIl
furTiers are also used. Fifty years ago
the halter beat his fur with a bow INTO
a triangular piece OF felt. which, when
laid together by two straight edges,
assumed the shape of a cone. The felt
was next shrunk between cloths, which
were kept hot and wet by frequent
dipping into kettle OF boiling size, care
being taken to preserve the triangular
shape Of the felt.
Having been shrunk to about one
third its original size or TO proner Ill
:scHSsoTs Tor a NAT, the conical bag
was drawn over a block and tied
tightly al the point where the crown
spreads out INTO a brim. The brim por-
ton was next pulled and stretched into
shape with a special instrument. While
still on the block. the hat was dyed and
again washed, stiffened and dried. II
a long nap was desired the surface OF
the felt was carded. while 10 obtain a
smooth finish it was rubbed with pun
Ice stone. 1t was then ready to be
"trimmed"--that is, to have the band.
binding. lining and sweat band put on.
Beginning with the cutting ae the saT.
these processes are now performed by
electrically operated automatic ma
chinery.