CASTOROI.OGIA. 129 



laying on the feeding apron, the necessary quantity, this was gradu- 

 ally supplied to rollers, revolving at, say four thousand per minute, 

 and the fibres were thus separated and thrown towards the outlet of 

 this machine, opposite to which was a slowly revolving copper-cone. 

 This cone was about three feet high, and was finely perforated, while 

 within it an exhaust fan caused a current of air to pass from the out- 

 side through the perforations. By this means the fibres were drawn 

 on to the cone and held in place till a delicate covering of fur over- 

 lapped the whole form, when a fine spray of boiling water turned on 

 to this fur and cone caused the fur to ' ' set ' ' or commence felting, 

 holding together sufficiently to allow the delicate form to be handled 

 and removed from the cone, furnishing the hood, or beaver hat, in 

 its first form, and the remaining stages were merely to shape and to 

 dress the surface. By repeated applications of warmth, moisture 

 and pressure, the felting was continued till the texture became firm 

 and tough, and was ready to draw over a block or mould, on which 

 the material was worked until it had taken the desired shape. This 

 process required considerable skill as the hat should be completely 

 shaped before the hood lost the warmth and moisture necessary to 

 keep it pliable ; it stiffened when cold as a nature of the felt, but to 

 produce a harder body, shellac was forced into the hood from the 

 inner side. Then taking some of the finest fur and spreading it 

 over the surface of the "body," by the application of warm water 

 and careful manipulation, the staple was worked in so as to give the 

 effect of fur growing all over the roughly-formed hat, and in this 

 shape it passed into the dye-room. 



It need scarcely be stated that the machinery introduced in this 

 description was comparatively of recent date, and that every advance 

 in mechanical appliance thrust into disuse the earlier manual tools. 

 Thus the blowing machine supplanted the old ' ' bow ' ' ; and prior 

 to the introduction of the hat-forming machine, the hatters' leather 

 and the palm of the hands accomplished in a tedious way similar 

 results. The process of felting by hand had the result of hardening 

 the cuticle till the hatter's hand was quite corneous. 



The dyeing is not peculiar to the texture, but is the same as ap- 



K 



