144 SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 



Panama Hats. — The famous Jipajipa, or Panama hats, are principally 

 manufactured in Panama, from the leaves of the Carludovica palmata, 

 a Pandaneous plant. Not all, however, known in commerce by that 

 name are plaited in the isthmus ; by far the greater portion is made in 

 Manta, Monti Chxisti, and other parts of the Ecuador. The hats are 

 worn almost in the whole of the American continent and the West 

 Indies, and would, probably, be equally used in Europe, did not their 

 high price — amounting often to 150 dollars for a single one — prevent 

 their importation. They are distinguished from all others by consisting 

 of only a single piece, and by their lightness and flexibility. They 

 may be rolled up and put in the pocket without injury. In the rainy 

 season, thay are apt to get black, but by washing them with soap and 

 water, besmearing them with lime juice, or any other acid, and 

 exposing them to the sun, their whiteness is easily restored. So little 

 is known about these hats, that it may not be deemed out of place to 

 insert here a notice of their manufacture. The straw (paja) previous to 

 plaiting has to go through several processes. The leaves are gathered 

 before they unfold, all their ribs and coarse veins removed, and the rest, 

 without being separated from the base of the leaf, is reduced to shreds. 

 After having been put in the sun for a day, and tied into a knot, the 

 straw is immersed in boiling water until it becomes white. It is then 

 hung up in a shady place, and subsequently bleached for two or three 

 days. The straw is now ready for use, and in this state is sent to 

 different places, especially to Peru, where the Indians manufacture 

 from it, besides hats, those beautiful cigar cases, which fetch sometimes 

 more than 61. a-piece. The plaiting of the hats is done on a block, 

 which is placed upon the knees ; it commences at the crown and 

 finishes at the brim. According to the quality of the hats, more or less 

 time is occupied in their completion ; the coarse ones may be finished 

 in two or three days, the finest take as many months. The best times 

 for plaiting are the morning hours and the rainy season, when the air 

 is moist. In the middle of the day and in dry clear weather, the straw 

 is apt to break, — which, when the hats are finished, is betrayed by 

 knots, and much diminishes their value. — Seemann's ' Botany of the 

 Voyage of the Herald.' 



Australian Lerp. — Laap or Lerp is a whitish saccharine matter, a 

 singular insect production found on the leaves of the Eucalypti in some 

 parts of Australia. The name was given by the aborigines of the north 

 west part of Australia Felix. We have samples of it in our private 

 collection. The insects producing it are closely allied to the aptides, 

 or green flies of rose bushes, geraniums, &c. Its chemical composition 

 appears to be from an animal secretion, perfectly anomalous, so far as 

 known, being composed of pure starch, which tastes sweet on the tongue, 

 it is supposed by a rapid change into sugar by the action of the saliva. 

 It has been suggested that from its large quantities in some parts of 

 Victoria, and the ease with which it might be obtained, it may form a 

 substitute for sugar or malt in distillation. 



