The Holbrook news., 1912-02-02

to produce a drink that suits the taste of the public catered to. Dutch cocoa is sold largely in England, English meets with favor in the United States, while American and French chocolates sell all over the world. The ever-in- creasing consumption of chocolate-cov- cred candies and its use as flavoring extract guarantees a progressive mar ket for the cacao bean. a market that will be made more accessible to the owners of the large cacao estates that cover Ecuador with the opening of the Panama canal.
 The Panama Hat.
 The Panama hat is made in Panama. This statement would not have been true several years ago, for although this special style of straw hat was universally designated Panama" 1t was manufactured in the province of Manabi. Ecuador, where 1t passed un- der the native name of "jipijapa." But president of the Panama repub- lie, realizing the inconsistency of not producing an article that paraded so extensively under his country's name, set about encouraging the cultivation of Carludovica palmato, the shrub which furnishes the toquilla straw for the hats, imported weaving teachers from Ecuador, established a school, and so encouraged the infant indus try" that today Panama has every right to stand godfather to the jipi- japa hat
 It is mistake to suppose that the high price of Panama hats Is the re- suit of the cost of the special straw from which they are made. In fact. high import duties and commissions account for the prohibitive prices of the ordinarily good article when pur- chased in the United States; but it is true that rich planters along the Equadorian coast and in Panama are willing to pay $S0 or $1OO for the fin est hats made, and these are seldom seen in northern countries A hat of the very best quality is so pliant and flexible that it can be folded and .car- ried in the pocket without the slight est injury. One sent to the former Prince of Wales could be folded into a package no larger than a watch.
 The raw material, or toquiIla straw, out of which the Panama hats are made, and which supplies those uuan- ties which make for compactness, lightness. durability, elasticity, and the waterproof properties of the fin ished article, grows chiefly in Ecua- dor, although it is also found in Co., lombia and in the forests of the upper Amazon. The shrub is from sir to ten feet high and thrives best in hot and humid regions. It is fan shaped, resembling the saw palmetto, the quaI- ity of the straw varying much in diff ferent localities, and in this variation is based the difference in cost of the woven Panama hat. The price of the raw material depends upon the place of production, color. length, thickness and number of threads to the strand or skein of the freshly gathered straw.
 It was formerly stated that Panama hats. were woven under water, which is not strictly true, although the straw must be kept thoroughly moistened while in the hands of the weaver. A skilled manipulator of toquilla will complete one hat in five or six months, working always in the late twilight or early dawn, the only time available for making the best grades of Pana- mas.
 Most of the. hats are bought up by native travelling buyers who go from village to village. picking up the out put, which is eventually exported to Europe and the United States, aI- though there is always a steady de- mand for Panamas in all Latin Amer lea. These hats have proved to be the ideal head covering for warm weather or for use in tropical coun- tries. They are comfortable, light, of- fer protection from the suns rays, are impervious to water. and last indefi- nitely. A good Panama may be cleaned and cleaned again year after year without deteriorati