HAT MAKING 
are slightly bended into a circular curve, 
so that the basket may be set upright on 
one of these edges near the right hand end 
of the hurdle, where it usually stands. The 
cloths are linen and dyed of a dark olive 
brown. Besides these implements, the 
workman is also provided with brown 
paper. 
The bowing commences by shovelling 
the materials towards the right hand parti- 
tion with the basket, upon which, the work- 
man holding the bow horizontally in his 
left hand, and the bow-pin in his right, 
lightly places the bow-string, and gives it 
a pluck with the pin. The string in its 
return, strikes part of the fur, and causes 
it to rise, and fly partly across the hurdle 
in a light open form. By repeated strokes, 
the whole is thus subjected to the bow, 
and this beating is repeated till all the ori- 
ginal clots or masses of the filaments are 
perfectly opened and separated. The 
quantity thus treated at once, is called a 
batt, and never exceeds half the quantity 
required to make one hat. 
When the batt is sufficiently bowed, it 
is ready for hardening, wdiich term denotes 
the first commencement of felting. The 
prepared material being evenly disposed 
on the hurdle, is first pressed down by the 
convex side of the basket, then covered 
with a cloth, and pressed successively in 
its various parts by the hands of the work- 
man. The pressure is gentle, and the hands 
are very slightly moved backwards and 
forwards, at the same time, through a space 
of perhaps a quarter of an inch, to favour 
the hardening or entangling of the fibres. 
In a very short time, indeed, the stuff ac- 
quires sufficient firmness to bear careful 
handling. The cloth is then taken off, and 
a sheet of paper, with its corners doubled 
in, so as to give it a triangular outline, is 
laid upon the batt, which last is folded 
over the paper as it lies, and its edges, 
meeting one over the other, form a conical 
cap. 
The joining is soon made good by pres- 
sure with the hands on the cloth. Another 
batt, ready hardened, is in the next place 
laid on the hurdle, and the cap here men- 
tioned placed upon it with the joining 
downwards. This last batt being also 
folded up, will consequently have its place 
of junction diametrically opposite that of 
the inner felt, which it must therefore 
greatly tend to strengthen. The principal 
part of the liat is thus put together, and 
now requires to be worked with the hands 
a considerable time upon the hurdle, the 
cloth being also occasionally sprinkled with 
clear water. During the whole of this 
operation, which is called basoning, the 
article becomes firmer and firmer and con- 
tracts in its dimensions. It may easily 
be understood, that the chief use of the 
paper is to prevent the sides from felting 
together. 
The basoning is followed by a still more 
effectual continuation of the felting, called 
working. This is done in another shop, 
at an apparatus called a battery, consisting 
of a kettle (containing water slightly acidu- 
lated with sulphuric acid, to which, for 
beaver hats, a quantity of the grounds of 
beer is added, or else plain water for rins- 
ing out), and eight planks of wood joined 
together in the form of a frustrum of a pyra- 
mid, and meeting in the kettle at the 
middle. The outer or upper edge of each 
plank is about two feet broad, and rises 
a little more than two feet and a half above 
the ground; and the slope towards the 
kettle is considerably rapid, so that the 
whole battery is little more than six feet 
in diameter. The quantity of sulphuric 
acid added to the liquor is not sufficient 
to give a sour taste, but only renders it 
rough to the tongue. In this liquor, heated 
rather higher than unpractised hands could 
bear, the article is dipped from time to 
time, and then worked on the planks with 
a roller, and also by folding or rolling it 
up, and opening it again ; in all which, a 
certain degree of care is at first necessary 
to prevent the sides from felting together ; 
of which, in the more advanced stages of 
the operation, there is no danger. The im- 
perfections of the work now present them- 
selves to the eye of the workman, who 
picks out the knots, and other hard sub- 
stances with a bodkin, and adds more felt 
upon all such parts as require strengthen- 
ing. 
This added felt is patted down with a 
wet brush, and soon incorporates with 
the rest. The beaver is laid on towards 
the conclusion of this kind of working. 
Some workmen say that the beer grounds 
used with beaver hats, by rendering the 
liquor more tenacious, the hat is ena- 
bled to hold a greater quantity of it, for 
a longer time ; but others say that the 
mere acid and water would not adhere to 
the beaver facing, but would roll off im- 
mediately when the article was laid on the 
plank. It is probable that the manufac- 
turers who now follow the established prac- 
Ff 2 
