THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



155 



bardy and Tuscany that this manufacture long centred, 

 it will be interesting to see what was the system pur- 

 sued there as compared with our English mode of 

 culture and preparation. 



The seed from which the straw for phiitingis grown is 

 a small round grain of wheat, called "grauo narzolano," 

 the Triticum turgidum, a variety of bearded wheat, 

 which seems to differ iu no respect from the spring 

 wheat grown inthoA'ale of Evesham and other parts of 

 England. It is an error to suppose that hats are made 

 there from ryo, or any other than wheat straw. The 

 upper joint of the straw is that chiefly used for plait- 

 ing. This straw is grown cliiefly in the vicinity of 

 Florence and on the hills on both sides of the valley of 

 the Arno. The straw is pulled while the ear is in a 

 soft milky state, the corn having been sown very close, 

 and consequently produced in a thin, short, and dwin- 

 dling condition. It is then dried by spreading it thinly 

 upon the ground in fine hot weather, and afterwards 

 tied up in bundles and stacked, for the purpose of en- 

 abling the heat of the mow to drive off any remaining 

 moisture. After remaining in the mow for about a 

 month, it is spread out in a meadow, and exposed to 

 the action of dew, sun, and air, in order to bleach it. 

 The straw is frequently turned during this operation ; 

 and after it is completed, the lower joint of the straw 

 is pulled off, leaving the upper joint, with the ears at- 

 tached to it, for use. This part is then subjected to the 

 action of steam, and to fumigation with sulphur, in 

 order to complete the bleaching; after which it is 

 ready for use, and is tied up in bundles. The Italians 

 do not obtain both the gi-ain and straw as we do. 



Plaiting of straws, grasses, and chips into hats and 

 different articles of wear, is far from being confined to 

 Europe or to civilized countries. The art is indeed 

 found to obtain, indifferent degrees of extent and excel- 

 lence, in nearly every part of the world. In the southern 

 provinces of China, where in summer the population 

 use no other head covering, and where the mandarins 

 wear those umbrella hats with tremendously wide 

 brims, the quantity of straw plaited is prodigious. In 

 Japan, in proportion to the population, the consump- 

 tion is almost equally great. " When on a journey,', 

 says Thunberg, " all the Japanese wear a conical hat, 

 made of a species of grass plaited and tied with a 

 string." He also observed that all the fishermen wear 

 hats of the same material and shape. But in addition 

 to this extensive use, the Japanese hardly ever wear 

 any shoes or slippers but such as are made of plaited 

 straw. " This," remarks the same excellent traveller, 

 " is the most shabby and indifferent part of their dress, 

 and yet in equal use with the high and the low, the 

 rich and the poor. They are made of rice-straw plaited, 

 and by no means strong. They cost, however, a mere 

 trifle; they are found exposed for sale in every town 

 and in every village, and the pedestrian supplies him- 

 self with new shoes as he goes along, while the more 

 provident man always carries two or three pair with 



him for use, throwing them away as they wear out. 

 Old worn-out shoes of this description are found lying 

 everywhere by the sides of the roads, especially near 

 rivulets, where travellers, on changing their shoes, have 

 an opportunity at the same time of washing their feet. 

 In very wet weather they use wooden clogs, which are 

 attached to their straw-plaited shoes by ties also made 

 of straw-plait. People of very high rank sometimes 

 wear slippers made of fine slips of rattan neatly 

 plaited." 



From the leaves of the cocoa and palm, on the 

 Seychilles, hafs are manufactured of a superior quality, 

 which are worn in the islands by all classes of inhabi- 

 tants. The dwarf fen Yi^\m{Cham(Brops humilis) is 

 largely used for making hats, for the seats of chairs, 

 thatch, and is converted into paper and paste-board. 

 The leaves of another short palm (Thrinax argcntea) 

 furnish the chip which is woven into hats and made 

 into baskets and wicker-work. The Panama hats, so 

 much appreciated, and generally worn in Central 

 America, the Southern States, and the West Indies, are 

 plaited from the leaves stripped from off the Carlu- 

 dorica palmata, in the Isthmus States and in New 

 Granada. They are distinguished from all others by 

 consisting of only a single piece, and by their lightness 

 and flexil.ility. They may be rolled and put in the 

 pocket without injury, and may bo washed and 

 bleached repeatedly. According to the quality of the 

 hats, more or less time is occupied iu their completion; 

 the coarser ones may be finished in two or three days, 

 the finest take as many months to plait. During the 

 year 1852, 10,000 dozen of Panama hats, valued at 

 £60,000, were imported from Catacaos, Peru. In 1856, 

 261,324 of these hats were exported from Panama, of 

 tire average value of 6s. eac"', but some have been sold 

 as high as £20 or ^30 each. Palm leaf fibre is sold in 

 Brazil in bundles of sixty leaies at about 16s. the 

 bundle. Palm leaves, in bundles of about 1 cwt. each, 

 are imported into Liverpool from Cuba, to the extent of 

 more than 600 tons per annum, and are used by hat 

 manufacturers at St. Albans. The price ranges from 

 £10 to £30 per ton. 



The leaves of the cabbage palm are used in Australia 

 for making the cabbage-tree hats; but the palm is 

 likely to be worn out with the cedar of the country, 

 and timely measures should be taken for its cultivation. 

 The young tree is still to be found in many of the 

 gullies to the southward of Sidney. 



The aloe, abaca, manila, and other fibres, have ob- 

 tained by a peculiar mode of preparation all the soft- 

 ness of silk, and are now much used for bonnets on 

 the continent, allowing, as they do, of all imaginable 

 patterns of open-work embroidery. The stitches form 

 a tissue, flexible, strong, and very light, and they have 

 the appearance of lace. The bonnets may be cleaned 

 any number of times : they admit of all the trans- 

 formations required by the changes of fashion, and 

 will dye any colour. 



