HAT AND FUR FELTING FIBRES. 221 



and then, perhaps, a resteamirig prior to being placed in the dye 

 kettle. Other necessary processes it may be put through are blocking, or 

 shaping, stoving, drying, and pressing with hydraulic pressure ; a further 

 shaping if they are hard hats, and they are stiffened with a varnish 

 of shellac, which assists the permanent stiffening of the hat crown. 

 When the conical body is softened in boiling water it is forcibly drawn 

 over a hat-shaped wooden block. A string is passed round where the 

 band is to be, and the brim is then flattened out from the string. It 

 must next be dyed in a bath of tinctorial solution, according to the 

 colour that is desired. The colour imparted must be uniform. In dealing 

 with the finer qualities of hats, each one may be separately dyed while on 

 the block; but with commoner qualities it is the practice to dye the 

 material before the blocking is done. 



The finishing process includes shaping on a block, over which 

 crown and brim receive accurately their ultimate and permanent form, 

 then pouncing, pumicing, or smoothing the whole surface with emery 

 or glass-paper while the hat is still stretched upon the block. 



The trimmer finally binds the outer brim with ribbon and inserts 

 the silk lining, after which the brim may get more or less of a curl 

 or turn-over, according to the prevailing fashion. The hat is then 

 ready for the wearer. 



The hat-maker requires to alter his styles frequently. In gentle- 

 men's hats the height and the inclination of the crown of the hat 

 call at times for very careful study, many questions arising as to the 

 reception of a proposed new shape in society. The thickness and curling 

 of the hat brim may influence the demand, while the weight of the hat 

 may prove an obstacle to its success. The glossiness, smoothness, 

 and uniform dye of the hat are matters of extreme delicacy. 



In ladies' hats of fur or felt material, the whim of fashion necessitates 

 a good deal of taste as to the shape of the hat, and particularly the 

 broad or ladies' brim. These are heavily handicapped by the straw 

 hat-maker, who is ever ready to formulate attractive or grotesque 

 shapes according to the whim of fashion and of society. The changes 

 of the styles or shapes often prove to be expensive items, particularly 

 if a new style has only a very short run on the public taste ; but 

 these are matters common to many other industries, Denton and 

 Stockport may be cited as the chief centres for the hatting industry. 



Stockport has a divided industry, viz., cotton spinning and hat-making. 

 Silk hats are also made in Stockport. Denton is probably the largest 

 hatting centre in the world. Hurst, a suburb of Ashton-under-Lyne, 

 is not now, as it was once, a flourishing district for hatting. Fails- 

 worth, near Manchester, has for some years been steadily growing as 



