922 



STRAW-HAT MANUFACTURE 



asserted that most persons will tolerate inconvenience and submit to expense, provided 

 they see the cheerful blaze of the open fire, which they are at liberty to approach 

 at will. 



One of the large pyro-pneumatic stove-grates, when in full operation, is found to 

 be capable of heating an apartment containing 50,000 cubic feet of air. In a very 

 large church, containing upwards of 1 75,000 cubic feet of air, and capable of accom- 

 modating a congregation of 1,500 persons, four of these stoves of moderate size, 

 arranged in convenient positions towards the angles of the building, so that every 

 individual of the congregation may see the fire, are found to be sufficient in the coldest 

 weather, and do not even require to be sustained in full action, except during a few 

 hours in the morning. One of these stove-grates placed in the hall or lower part of a 

 staircase, warms and tempers the internal climate of a large house, and gives the 

 whole building a plentiful supply of pure fresh air. One of the smaller grates is 

 capable of warming a large room. And whether in dwelling-houses, schools, churches, 

 or apartments, the arrangements can readily be brought into operation at a moderate 

 cost, and without any (beyond the most trifling) interference with existing structural 

 arrangements. 



STRAHXiXUES. The German name for radiated pyrites. 



STRARIiSTEXXV. The fibrous varieties of hornblende (actinoiite) are known 

 to German mineralogists under this name. See HORNBLENDE. 



STRASBURG TURPENTINE. See ABIES. 



STRASS. See PASTES. 



STRATA. Sedimentary rocks are generally spread out in layers called strata, 

 whence they are known as stratified rocks. These strata exhibit a definite sequence ; 

 and the following table will show the order in which the several ' formations,' or 

 groups of fossiliferous strata succeed each other in the British Isles, commencing with 

 the uppermost, or most recent : 



1. Tertiary or Cainozoic. 



Pliocene. 

 Miocene. 

 Eocene. 



Secondary or Mesozoic. 



Chalk. 



Upper Greensand. 



Gault. 



Neocomian. 



Wealden. 

 fPurbeck. 



Portland. 



Kimmeridge Clay. 



Coral Bag. 



Oxford Clay. 



Cornbrash. 



Great Oolite. 



Inferior Oolite 

 IJLias. 



Bhaetic Beds. 



Trias. 



3. Primary or Paleozoic. 



^ Permian. 

 _? g f Coal-Measures. 

 ~ > s Millstone Grit. 



a I Yorcuale Bocks. 



Devonian. 

 Jj 2 f Ludlow. 

 g;j3 < Wenlock. 



t> ^ [.Upper Llandovery. 



I Lower Llandoverv. 

 g 3 ] Bala Beds. 



o % S Llandeilo. 

 ^ [Along. 



4. = - f Tremadoc Slates. 

 J .g ^ Lingula Flags. 

 O 5 t Menevinn. 



L:iurentian. 



STRAWBERRY. The fruits of various species of Fragaria, such as F. vesca, 

 F. elatior, &c. They belong to the natural order RosaceeE. 



STRAW-HAT MANUFACTURE. The mode of preparing the Tuscany or 

 Italian straw is by pulling the bearded wheat while the ear is in a soft milky state, 

 the corn having been sown very close, and of consequence produced in a thin, short, 

 and dwindled condition. The straw, with its ears and roots, is spread out thinly upon 

 the ground in fine hot weather, for 3 or 4 days or more, in order to dry the sap ; it 

 is then tied up in bundles and stacked, for the purpose of enabling the heat of the 

 mow to drive off any remaining moisture. It is important to keep the ends of the 

 straw air-tight, in order to retain the pith, and prevent its gummy particles from 

 passing off by evaporation. 



After the straw has been about a month in the mow, it is removed to a meadow and 

 spread out, that the dew may act upon it, together with the sun and air. and promote 

 the bleaching, it being necessary frequently to turn the straw while this process is 

 going on. The first process of bleaching being complete, the lower joint and root is 

 pulled from the root, leaving the upper part fit for use, which is tlu-u sorted accord- 

 ing to qualities; and after being submitted to the action of steam, for the purpose of 

 extracting its colour, and then to a fumigation of sulphur, to complete the bleaching, 

 the straws are in a condition to be platted or v/oyen into hats and bonnets, and ;:re in 

 that state imported into England in bundles, the dried ears of the -wheat being still on 

 the straw. 



