PROCEEDINGS OF THE POLYTECHNIC ASSOCIATION. 401 



sf)liiti()n of line white g'lne, and thcMi dried, Fonnorly tlic white of eggs 

 WHS employed as a stifTening, but it was too expensive and too easily acted 

 upon by heat and moisture, so tliat hats so6n became yeUow and mouldy, 

 even when kept with great care. The gelatine obtained from ivory dust 

 or bone dust, by boiling in water, was long in vogue as a stiffening, but it 

 was also found too expensive and to have no quality superior to those of 

 good glue, which accordingly has become the general stiffening for straw 

 hats. 



The next process is that of shaping. To effect this the hat is moistened 

 with water to make it pliant. It is then applied to a block of the pattern 

 to which it was made, and by pulling and straining it is brought to its 

 proper position, and is pinned there until it dries. 



Tlie hat is next presspd. This process is precisely analogous to the 

 ironing of under-clothes. A wet cloth is laid upon the hat and b}' pressing 

 with a hot iron the finished surface is given. Hats made of bird-eye or 

 pearl- braid are not pressed nor are those braids milled, as either opera- 

 tion would destroy the embossed appearance which these braids are intended 

 to give. 



There are several forms of pressing tables and of pressing irons employed 

 together with many ingenious devices for enhancing the power of the pres- 

 sor and for altering the position of the hat while being pressed, but it 

 would be useless to attempt to describe them. They must be seen to be 

 understood. 



To preserve the shape of ladies' hats they are wired at the rim and crown. 

 Bonnet wire is covered with cotton thread to protect it from rust and take 

 away the appearance of iron. 



The wiring is done by girls who also trim the crowns of ladies hats with 

 tissue paper to prevent their sticking together when packed for exporta- 

 tion. The girls do not wire men's hats, but on the other hand they trim 

 them wi h a simple band, or with band and edge binding as they are to be 

 worn ; so that men's hats leave their hands fit for wear. 



In this hasty view of an in'teresting manufacture, I have purposely 

 avoided any extended remarks upon the bleaching and drying of straw 

 goods, as there are experienced chemists in our Association whose remarks 

 on these branches must necessarily be more valuable than anything I could 

 say. The manufacture of Leghorn and Panama hats too, though a branch 

 of the subject, has been purposely omitted to give gentlemen who have 

 seen the process of manufacture an opportunity of describing it ; for their 

 information will be more correct and far more interesting than that which 

 is got from reading or from hearsay. 



Mr. Jireh Bnll said : Doubtless there are those present who well remem- 

 ber that the women of this country were dependent upon foreign nations 

 for their " straw bonnets." Italy and Switzerland furnished the raw mate- 

 rial as well as the manufactured article. From the 3'ear 1820 and during 

 a period of ten years tliereafter, the port of Leghorn furnished the greater 

 ]iart of the bonnets made of straw worn in this country. 



Ji)hn Tappan, a high-minded merchant of Boston, now living, embarked 

 largely in that trade, and the public for a time was almost entirely supplied 

 [Am Inst.J Z 



