414 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



exposed to that suffocating ovdeal of brimstone smoke, which again and 

 again, oven after having been made into bonnets, it is doomed to pass 

 through. It comes from the barrel or cupboard in which it has been fumi- 

 gated far whiter than it went in, and is now ready, so far as color is con- 

 cerned, for the braiding. The above is the process used if it is wished that 

 the straw should be white; but if, on account of having been damaged in 

 the drying perhaps, it is wished to color it, a kettle of dye stuff is substi- 

 tuted lor the hot water and the bleaching is dispensed with. 



After having been dampened, slit from end to end, and flattened out by 

 being drawn over the back of the scissors, each straw is ready for what 

 is technical!}' termed "machining." The " machine" is rather a primitive 

 affair, but little deserving the dignified name which it has received. Tiie 

 essential part of it is a series of sharp steel teeth inserted at regular dis- 

 tances on a slip of wood, over which the flattened straw is' drawn. These 

 •teeth split the straw into a series of "splints," wider or narrower accord- 

 ing to the distance between the teeth. Tliere is a separate machine for 

 each "number." 



Much of the work heretofore has been done by children, and in the plant- 

 ing of the straw they continue to find scope for their industry. In this 

 pursuit they were more especially employed to advantage in the early days 

 of straw braiding, when to have a large family was rather a blessing than 

 otherwise, since, with the high prices then given for braid, the children 

 could frequently show as the results of their labor, many of th^ comforts 

 and luxuries of the farmer's house. The braid may be formed of either 

 single straws or of double ones, i. e., of two with their inner surfaces laid 

 together. In the first instance, the polished outer face of the straw will 

 alternate with the dull inner surface, forming the so-called "split straw" 

 braid, and in the second case the braid will have the uniform, glossy 

 appearance which characterizes the " Patent English Dunstable." We 

 are speaking of domestic braids. There are foreign braids, as the " Canton," 

 "Panama" and "Leghorn," which are made up of unsplit straws. From 

 the number of strands used, the braid receives the names "seven," 

 "eleven," "fifteen," etc., being the finer of course, for any definite width, 

 in proportion as the strands are more numerous, 



The braid is by no means yet ready for the sewer, but, having been 

 bought up in its rough state by the braid collectors, it is turned over to 

 those whom we ma}' call the finishers. Having been tied in bundles, the 

 braid is placed in a barrel and thoroughly washed. After having been 

 partiaHy dried, it is reeled, in order lo bring it into loose and open skeins 

 convenient for bleaching. The skeins are hung up while yet damp, in the 

 Bmoke-house, and allowed to remain there during one "smoke." On the 

 floor of the smoke-cupboard is placed a shallow vessel filled with pulverized 

 brimstone. This is set on fire, and the cupboard tightly closed. The fumes 

 of the burning sulphur (sulphurous acid) ascend to where the straw is 

 hung, and bleach it. The cupboard is kept closed for ten hours or so, the 

 fire, either from lack of fuel or air, goes out, and the straw has passed 

 through one " smoke." After having been smoked, the braid is hung in 

 the air, in order that the action of the sun may "take the yellow out" to 

 a further extent. In a few hours it arrives at the desired whiteness and 



