HASTINGS 



2712 



HAT 



sleep. American hemp possesses similar but 

 less pronounced properties. The effect of the 

 drug depends largely upon the individual. 

 Hashish is used as a sedative in place of opium, 

 and has been successfully employed for the 

 relief of neuralgia and headache. 



HASTINGS, hays'tingz, BATTLE OF, regarded 

 as one of the fifteen decisive conflicts of his- 

 tory, took place on August 14, 1066, at Senlac, 

 near Hastings, between the English under King 

 Harold and the Norman invaders under Wil- 

 liam of Normandy. Harold had been crowned 

 king, but William laid claim to the throne, 

 and declared that Harold had promised to 

 support his ambition. In this battle, which 

 was the only one fought in the establishment 

 of Norman rule in England, Harold was slain 

 and the English were completely defeated. 

 Thereafter the victor was popularly known as 

 William the Conqueror, and by historians as 

 William I. See FIFTEEN DECISIVE BATTLES; 

 WILLIAM I; HAROLD II. 



HASTINGS, NEB., the county seat of Adams 

 County, in the southern part of the state, 

 ninety-seven miles west by south of Lincoln, 

 the state capital. Hastings is a railroad center, 

 and is on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; 

 the Missouri Pacific; the Hastings & North 

 Western, and the Saint Joseph & Grand Island 

 lines. The population in 1910 was 9,338; in 

 1916 it was 11,021, by Federal estimate. 



The city contains Hastings College (Presby- 

 terian) and the state asylum for the chronic 

 insane, and has a city hall, Mary Lanning Hos- 

 pital and several parks. It is surrounded by a 

 fertile agricultural and stock-raising section, 

 and carries on an extensive trade in wheat, 

 corn and live stock. The principal industrial 

 establishments are manufactories of wagons, 

 agricultural implements and flour. Hastings 

 was settled by homesteaders from the East and 

 was first incorporated in 1874. 



HASTINGS, WARREN (1732-1818), a British 

 soldier and statesman, and first Governor- 

 General of India, At the age of eighteen he 

 received an appointment in the East India 

 Company's service and went to Bengal. In 

 1757 he joined Clive and served as a volunteer 

 with distinction in his campaign. In 1761 he 

 became a member of the Bengal council and 

 removed to Calcutta, but returned to England 

 in 1764. Five years later he was sent back to 

 India on government affairs, became a member 

 of the council at Madras, and three years later 

 was made president of the supreme council of 

 Bengal. He was made Governor-General of 



India in 1774, which position he held for eleven 

 years. He then resigned and returned to Eng- 

 land. He was charged with maladministration 

 and the receiving of bribes from the East India 

 Company, and was impeached as a result of 

 Burke's efforts. His trial, one of the most 

 famous in history, began in 1788 and lasted 

 seven years. The most eloquent English advo- 

 cates, Burke, Fox and Sheridan, were arrayed 

 against him, but the verdict freed him. The 

 following year, 1796, the East India Company 

 settled on him a large annuity. 



HAT, a covering for the head, worn for pro- 

 tection and for ornament, and differing from a 

 cap in having a brim. Although it has been 

 customary from the earliest days for men and 

 women to wear head coverings of some kind, 

 the art of hat making is comparatively new. 

 Until about the beginning of the fifteenth cen- 

 tury soft caps formed the usual headwear in 

 Europe, except when helmets or military head- 

 dresses were worn. 



The art of jelling was introduced into Ger- 

 many probably from the East, and flourished 

 there for nearly a century before it reached 

 England. As soon as the art was established, 

 about 1510, caps became the headdress of the 

 poorer classes only, while hats were regarded 

 as the exclusive property of the aristocracy. 

 Wool was the first material employed in mak- 

 ing felt hats; the fine, soft fur of the beaver 

 came into use when the great fur country of 

 North America was entered. So extensively 

 was beaver fur used that hats were commonly 

 called beavers. 



Felt -Hat Making. Beaver fur is now so 

 scarce that it is used very little in hat making. 

 Its place has been taken by rabbit, hare and 

 muskrat fur and waste cuttings. All the proc- 

 esses which were formerly performed by hand 

 are now more quickly and economically accom- 

 plished by machinery. Fur to be used in 

 felting is first soaked in a solution of nitrate 

 of mercury, after which it is shaved from the 

 skin. The pulpy mass of fur is then pressed 

 into sheets or pieces of the required thick- 

 ness, which are then molded into hats. The 

 most common form of felt hat is what is called 

 a Derby in America and a Bowler in England. 

 The Derby was introduced as a fashionable 

 novelty in America in 1874. To make this 

 type of hat, a piece of the pressed felt, which 

 has been previously shrunk by heat, is placed 

 over a mold the shape and size of the hat. 

 Sufficient margin of material is allowed for the 

 brim, which is turned and shaped by a mold 



