25 >1 ' H j 
vent the glue from coming through to the face, and alfo 
to give the requifite firninefs at a lefs expence than; could 
be produced by glue alone. Were the glue to pafs. 
through the hat in different places, it would be more 
difficult to produce an even glofs upon the lace in the 
fubfequent finiffiing. The glue-ftiftening is therefore 
applied after the beer-grounds are dried, av.d then only 
upon the lower face of the brim, and the infide ot the 
crown. For this purpofe, the hat is put into another 
hat, called a ftiffening-hat, the crown of which is notch¬ 
ed, or flit open in various directions. Thefe are then 
placed in a hole in a deal board, which fupportsthe brim, 
and the glue is applied with a bruffi. In France, how¬ 
ever, they ufe wine-lees in lieu ot beer-grounds, and 
gum-water inftead of glue. 
The dry hat, after this operation, is always rigid, and 
its figure irregular. The lafl dreffing is given by the 
application of moifture anti heat, and the ufe ot the 
bfuffi, and a hot iron, as before mentioned, fomewhat in 
the ffiape of that ufed by tailors, but ffiorter and broader 
on the face. The hat being ’ foftened by expofure to 
lleam, is drawn upon a block, to which it is fecurely 
applied by the former method of forcing a firing down 
from the crown to the commencement of the brim. 
The judgment of the workmen is employed in moiften- 
ing, brufhing, and ironing, the hat, in order to give and 
preserve the proper figure. When the brim of the hat 
is not intended to be of an equal width throughout, as 
is oftentimes the cafe for military hats, it is cut by means 
of a wooden or metallic pattern. The contrivance tor 
cutting them round, is very-ingenious and Ample, • A 
number of notches'are made in one edge of a flat piece 
of wood for the purpofe of inferring the point of a knife, 
and from one fide or edge of this piece of wood there pro¬ 
ceeds a ftraight handle, which lies parallel to the notch¬ 
ed fide, forming an angle fomewhat like that ot a car¬ 
penter’s fquare. When the legs of this angle are ap¬ 
plied to the outfide of the crown, and the board lies flat 
on the brim of the hat, the notched edge will lie nearly 
in the direction of the radius, or line pointing to the 
centre of the hat. A knife being therefore inferted in 
one of the notches, it is eafy to draiv it round by lean- 
ing*the tool againft the crown, and it will cut the brim 
very regular and true. This cut is made before the hat 
is quite finifhed, and is not carried entirely through; 
fo that one of the laft operation's confifis in tearing oft 
the redundant part, which by that means leaves an edg¬ 
ing of beaver round the external face of the brim. 
When the hat is completely finilhed, the crotvn is tied 
up in gau’ze paper, which is neatly ironed down. It is 
then ready for the fubfequent operations of lining, &c. 
-for fale. 
Mr. John Clennell, of Newcaftle-upon-Tyne, haspub- 
lirtied fome valuable obfervations, in Nicholfon’s Philo- 
fophical Journal, as well as in his Hiftory of Hat-mak¬ 
ing, on the probable gain or lofs of employing machi¬ 
nery in the manufacture. Thefe obfervations are wor¬ 
thy of the ferious attention of every judicious hat-maker, 
who carries on his bufinefs on a large fcale; for he.will 
find them not the reveries of a rafli fpeculatift, but the 
cool reflections of a philofopher, who is at the fame 
lime no ftranger to the arts of life. They fuggeft the 
following fubjeftsof enquiry: Whether carding, which 
is rapidly and mechanically done, be inferior to bowing, 
which does not promife much facility for mechanical 
operation ? Whether a fucceffion of batts or cardings 
might be thrown round a fluted cone, which rapidly re¬ 
volving in contact with three or more cylinders, might 
perform the hardening, and even the working, with 
much more precifion and fpeed than they are now done 
. by hand ? Whether blocking or ffiaping be not a procefs 
extremely'well calculated for the operation of one or 
more machines ? Whether loofe weaving and fubfequent 
fcltingmight not produce a lighter,cheaper, and ftronger, 
\ T. 
article ? And how far the mechanical felting, which is 
not confined merely to the. hairs of animals, might be 
applied to this art ? 
When felt hats are to be dyed of any other colour 
than black, the procefs is as follows : The nap of the 
hat is to be raifed by means of a card, on the fide in¬ 
tended to he dyed; as for in fiance, green, either at top 
or bottom; it is then to be boiled in alumargol. A thin 
pafte of flour, or clay, is fpread over every part that is not 
to receive the dye, and then clofed ; or the hat may be . 
previoufly parted, and infiead of being boiled, it might 
only be fimmered in the fame liquor. As foon as the 
pafte is fpread, plates of copper or other metal, ffiaped 
like a common funnel, are fixed over the pafte, to pre¬ 
vent the dye from penetrating through. In this (late 
the hat is immerfed in the dye, till the colour be fuffi- 
ciently fixed; when it is taken out, opened, and cleanfed 
from the pafte: but, if any colouring particles have pe¬ 
netrated through the felt, they may be removed by rub¬ 
bing them with a fmall quantity of fpirit of fait, aqua¬ 
fortis, &c. The compounds employed in this dye, are 
fuftic, turmeric, ebony, faffron, alum, indigo, and vi¬ 
triol, with urine or pearl-afli, at the option of the dyer; 
and which are to be ufed according to the colour required. 
Among the more recent improvements in the manu- 
fadlure of hats, we have to notice an invention of Mr. 
George Dunnage, who, in 1794, obtained a patent for 
making water-proof hats, in imitation of beaver. The ar¬ 
ticles he employs are fimilar to thofe ufed for the mak¬ 
ing of common hats, with which he mixes Bergam, 
Piedmont, or Organzine, [ilk. Thefe are drelled and 
worked in a peculiar manner; and finally coated with a 
ftrong varnifh impenetrable by water. The reader will 
find the patentee’s fpecification inferted in the fourth 
volume ot the Repertory of Arts. The fame manufac¬ 
turer procured another patent in November 1798, for a 
method of ventilating the crowns of hats. This inven¬ 
tion confifts in feparating the top from the fides of the 
crown, fo that the tip, or top-crown, may be either 
raifed or let down at pleafure, in order to admit the ex¬ 
ternal air, or to exclude it from circulating in the crown 
of the hat. The whole contrivance is effected by means 
of fprings, Aiders, grooves, and loops, which are con¬ 
nected with the top and fide crown : thus the admiffion 
or exclufion of the air, in front, behind, or on either fide, 
may be regulated accordingly. This invention is alfo 
delcribed in the tenth volume of the work above quoted. 
The following is the fpecification of a patent granted 
to Mefl'rs. Walker and Alphey, for making and manu. 
fafturing caps and hats, and rendering them perfectly 
water-proof; as alfo all kinds of leather, filks, linen, cot¬ 
ton, fluffs, and other fubftances intended for women’s 
hats, bonnets, ffioes, &c. fo as to be ufed on all occafions, 
where the repelling of wet or moifture may be deiirable. 
It is dated November 3, 1801, and the patentees de- 
feribe their procefs to be as follows r 
“ For the manufacturing of our new-invented caps, 
which are principally intended for the ufe of the mili¬ 
tary, we take fuitable pieces of pafteboard, and cover 
both fides thereof with linen cloth, or any other texture 
wrought in a loom, which we cement thereto by glue 
or pafte, out of which the cap is then cut and ihaped on 
a block, or otherwife, according to the falhion the fame 
is ordered to be made, and as circumftances may require. 
The feams or joinings of the pafteboard are united by 
fewing, and by glue or pafte ; and alfo by flips of lea¬ 
ther, linen, or other wove texture, glued or parted over 
the fame, both infide and outfide, where found necef- 
fary. It is then painted, both infide and outfide, with 
any kind of oil-paint, or oil and lamp-black (which lat¬ 
ter is greatly to be preferred), with one or more coats, 
as circumftances may require : when this is dry, it is to 
be covered with one or more coats of japan or varnifh, 
mixed with lamp-black or ivory-black. The peak of 
