94 WOOL AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE. 



Among the Romans the felted cap was regarded as an emblem of 

 liberty and freedom — they were on tbat account worn at the Saturnalia- 

 At the death of Nero, the common people to express their joy went 

 about the city in felt caps. Not to multiply instances, when a Roman 

 slave obtained his freedom he had his hair shaved, and wore instead of 

 his hair the pileus or cap of undyed felt. Felt was used by the Romans 

 as a lining for helmets, and both Greeks and Romans anticipated St. 

 Clement in the nse of felt for socks. Just as the Aztecs used thickly 

 quilted cotton garments through which arrows could not penetrate, so 

 the ancients employed garments of felt — for instance when the soldiers 

 under Jidius Caesar were annoyed by Pompey's archers they made 

 shirts and other coverings of felt, and put them on for their defence. 



Felt was used for covering the wooden towers and military engines 

 employed in warlike operations, to prevent their being destroyed by 

 fire — and lastly, the Greeks and Romans covered their molles oves with 

 felt. The Circassians still use large mantles of felt which they sleep 

 under by night, and wear when required over their other dress by day. 

 The postillions in Phrygia wear a cloak of white Camel's hair felt half an 

 inch thick 



Mr. Naish, of Wilton, has lately turned his attention to the pro- 

 duction of felt with considerable success — he has recently patented in 

 this country and in France, a most ingenious combination of partly 

 woven and partly felted wool, to replace the ordinary felted saddle pads 

 used by cavalry — this invention is receiving the warm support of our 

 government. Mr. Naish also makes the wedge-shaped sheets of felted 

 cloth used by piano-forte manufacturers — this material is exquisitely 

 compact and fine. 



The manufacture of felt is exceedingly simple — the wool is first 

 carded — the loose sheet of wool from the carding engine is then placed 

 in the felting machine, where it is subjected to gentle friction, a current 

 of steam passing through it during the operation — under this friction 

 the loose fibres felt together and form a compact cloth. This cloth is 

 next taken to a bench sloping towards a boiler, where it is worked, I 

 may almost call it kneaded, by hand, and from time to time the hot fluid 

 in the boiler is poured over it ; after this the mere finishing operations 

 such as pressing and cutting take place. 



A pneumatic method of making felt exists. A quantity of flocculent 

 wool is put into an air-tight chamber, these particles are kept floating 

 equally, by a kind of winnowing wheel ; on one side of the chamber is 

 a net-work of metal, communicating with another chamber, from which 

 the air can be exhausted by means of an air-pump. When the com- 

 munication between the two chambers are opened, the air rushes with 

 great force to supply the partial vacuum in the exhausted chamber, 

 carrying the floating wool against the network of metal, and so inter- 

 lacing the fibres, that a felted cloth is at once produced. 



The great objection to felt for many purposes is its want of elasticity, 



