23 



finished, the straw is carefully pared with a penknife, then with a 

 small hand-mise battered all over. Aft^r this, it must be well washed 

 with common yellow soap and lime juice, and left to dry out of the 

 sunlight 



The climate influences greatly the manufacture of these hats. A 

 good hatter cannot make a good hat during the dry summer weather 

 or during the rainy season. Probably for this reason hats in certain 

 villages of the Suaza district are very superior to those made only a 

 few miles away. 



To become a good hatter requires a very long training ; for this rea- 

 son the female children are set to work at very early age — usually 

 about ten years old —and require constant practice. Hatters work 

 every day steadily through all day taking hurried meals and often 

 continue work by candle light so as to have the hat ready by market 

 day. An hour, or two, wasted means to them the loss of the 

 market day and consequently the loss of ready money for their house- 

 hold purposes. They are thus obliged to work without losing, or 

 wasting any time. While at work, the women sing, or chat freely 

 with any visitor, but continue their work without interruption. 



The process of boiling the culls appears to be an art in itself as only 

 few people are able to turn out good straw The boilers of straw sell 

 it at so much the pound according to the quality of the straw and the 

 ruling price of hats. 



The paper dollar is svorth about one-half-penny. 



H. B M. Consul, Guayaquil to Director Public Gardens and Planta- 

 tions, Jamaica. 



British Consulate, Gruayaquil, 



November 18th, 1902. 

 Dear Sir, 

 I have your letter of 15th ult. but have been delayed in answer- 

 ing it before, by domestic affliction. 



Having now learned the Ecuadorian plan of preparing the toquilla 

 hat straw, I beg to describe it as follows : — 



The young leaves are cut off, about two or three inches of stem be- 

 low the bottom of the leaf, whilst the green leaf is still folded up in 

 pleats, though almost or just ready to open. 



Then three or more of the outer pleats of which the leaf is composed 

 afe torn off from the outer sides, (both sides) as these are at once too 

 tough to form proper stra v, and too green to whiten. In the same 

 manner, two or three of the pleats in the centre are taken away, as 

 are too fragile or tender to form good straw. 



Then the two edges of the remaining pleats are removed six or 

 eight at a time, by slitting them with a needle, or better 

 still a bradawl, on either side irom about 6 or 8 inches from 

 the top, upwards : — the centre part of the pleat is then caught 

 hold of, and torn downwards to the stem, but never separating 

 it from such stem. When this has been done with all the 

 pleats. The outside edges or fringes so separated, are cut off 

 and the remaining pleats, with the stem, are wound up as in a ring, so 

 as to fit into a pot of boiling water. Thay are plunged into this, — and 



