The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1911-01-26
HOW FELT HATS ARE MADE.
rhe Hair of Rabbits and Other Small
Animals Is Used.

animals is OSed. g
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England about 1910 and superseded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
with America developed. the fur Of the
beaver, being iner and softer, came
into use. hence the term beaver was
long synonymous with hat.
Flo 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 tAe
less expensive caps and bonnets. :,
Political and religious differences
have often been marked by the form Of
hats. The Puritan of the reign Of
Charles /. adopted the steeple hat, high
and narrow, with q broad brim and
devoid OF ornament. The cavalier dur
ing the same era wore a lower and
broader crown, with a feather stuck
the crown, with a broad brim and
plain, dates from the origin OF the
sect at the middle of the 18th century
The history of hat manufacture in
this country dates back to the very
early olonial days. In 1862 the as
selIiDiy u tlIBluld eHdCleQ d law o.
fering 10 pounds Of tobacco for every
good wool or fur hat made in the
colony. Delaware in 1853 offered a
prize of 40 shillings for the neatest
and best hat manufactured in the lower
counties. Carolina by 1857 had de-
veloped a fourishing hat industry, with
a large export trade to the Spanish
islands. soon after the close of the
revolution the manufacture of hats had
become of great Importance in Penn
sylvania, and from that time the in
dustry has continued to flourish.
Felt hats are mad in q wide range
Of qualities. The finest and more ex-
pensive qualities r formed entirely OF
fur; h commoner qualities use a mix
ture of fur and Saxony wool. For the
| lowest kinds wool aioTlo is employed.
The processes and apparatus necessary
those required in the case of wooden
bodies. and in large manufactures,
especially in America, machinery is
generally employed for operations
which formerly were entirely manual
Hatter's fur consists principally Of
coneys} and hares, with some proper
ton of nutria, m%usquash and beavers
hair, though the latter has been for
many years extremely scarce, and gen.
orally any parfngs Or cuttings from
furrters are also used. Fifty years ago
lli0 LdILeT Dedl Ills LuE WITH a DOW 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 n 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 proper d.
mansions for a hat, the conical bag
was drawn over a block and tied
tightly at the point where the crown
spreads out into q 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 to obtain a
smooth finish 1t was rubbed with pun
Ice stone. 1t was then ready to be
"trimmed"--that is, to have the band,
binding lining and s#seat band put 81.
Beginning with the cutting Of the fur,
these processes are now performed by
electrically operated automatic ma
chinery.