124 
MAGAZINE OF SCIENCE AND ART. 
©no of the annuals. By diligence they therefore can 
be more easily destroyed. And, to prove this possi¬ 
bility, the station of Sandilands, on the Clarence, once 
*o fall of the pernicious burr, is now thoroughly clean 
from this abomination, by the persevering industry of 
the licensees, Messrs. Robertson. 
R. MBSTON. 
In illustration of tlie mode of application 
of the Italian wheat straw, seeds of which 
were forwarded by Mr. King of Irrawang, 
Mr. F. Creswick read the following paper. 
Some years since, several efforts were made to 
introduce the manufacture of straw hats into Eng¬ 
land, so as to resemble those made at, or in tlie 
neighbourhood of, Leghorn 5 the proper variety of 
of wheat was introduced and cultivated, but, I be¬ 
lieve, was not attended with success, as the straw of 
Rye was found preferable. 
Leghorn hats are made from the straw of a bearded 
variety of summer wheat, known in Tuscany, where 
it is largely cultivated for that purpose — as the 
grano, marzuolo, or marzulano. It is much culti¬ 
vated in the neighbourhood of the Arno, between 
Leghorn and Florence. "When required for the 
manufacture of hats, the seed is sown very thick, 
upon poor sandy soils, and is pulled when the ear 
is fully shot, but before the grain is formed. 
Tin’s variety is of very humble growth, as a good 
crop does not exceed eighteen inches in height. It 
is considered an excellent wheat for vermicelli or 
inaccaroni; also for making bread. 
After being pulled, it is then bleached, by being 
spread out and watered, much the same as flax, j 
After bleaching, it is tied up in bundles, and carried 
to tlie barn, or other appropriate place, where the 
part lor making hats are selected, which is the straw 
between the ear and first joint, no other part being 
■erviceable for that purpose. 
On selecting the part on which the spike grows, 
they are classed or stapled, like wool; the course 
and fine straw separately. The coarse or thick are 
given out to children, or inferior hands, while tlie 
line or best straw are worked by good hands only. 
One peculiarity in the manufacture of the so- 
called Leghorn hat is, that the straws are not split, 
as is the case with tlie kind known as the Dunstable 
hat or bonnet, manufactured at Dunstable, in 
England, and in the Orkney Islands. Tlie plait is 
always worked with thirteen straws, which, by the 
peculiar manner of plaiting, are notfewn together 
at the edges,nor overlapped. The straws are worked 
when very wet, for which purpose each person is 
furnished with a jar, which, is filled with cold water, 
in which the bundles of straw's are put in, as re¬ 
quired ; it softens the straw, and assists the worker 
to plait fine, and makes it appear as if drawn toge¬ 
ther, without which quality it is not considered 
good. To obtain the whiteness, so much required, 
it is smoked with sulphur, previous to being worked, 
also after being .worked; and, lastly, after being 
formed into the hat or bonnet,—it is done by placing 
a chafing dish, filled with sulphur, and set fire to, 
in a large box, or small close room ; sometimes the 
bleaching requires repeating two or three times. 
The mode of plaiting is as follows :—the straws 
being picked, and put into separate bundles, accord¬ 
ing to their quality; let thirteen of them be taken 
and tied firmly together by the seed ends ; attach 
them to anything, such as the back of a chair, to 
"keep them steady ; then take hold of the loose end 
of the bundle, putting six straws into the one hand, 
and seven into the other. Take the outermost, and 
with it cross over two, then, carry it behind the next 
two, and lastly before the remaining two; after 
which, lay the straws into the other parcel of six. 
The first parcel of six, being now made seven, take 
the outermost straw of it, and carry it across the 
bundle by two, as in the former case, laying at last 
this seventh straw into the outer parcel, as before. 
It will he understood, that the outermost straw of 
each parcel is always made the .acting straw; and 
that, in the progress of the operation, each of the 
straws of both parcels are thus employed in its turn. 
I do not pretend to give a full detail of all the 
operations required in the manufacture of straw 
hats or bonnets, neither am I sure if, with our 
limited supply of the kind of labour required, we 
shall be able to compete with other older and more 
thickly populated countries. But, as Mr. King 
has been so kind as to introduce the proper variety 
of wheat, I hope to see those very useful, and cer¬ 
tainly, in. this warm climate, comfortable articles, 
straw hats and bonnets, manufactured in every 
homestead. 
FREDERICK CRESWICK. 
PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 
In pursuance of our intention to publish 
the early papers read before this Society, 
we herewith present our Teaders with Pro¬ 
fessor Pell’s paper, read July 11, 1856, 
ON THE APPLICATION OF CERTAIN* PRINCIPLES 
OF POLITICAL ECONOMY TO THE QUESTION 
OF RAILWAYS. 
I have endeavoured in tlie following paper to deter¬ 
mine some general principles from which to ascertain 
under what circumstances railways are really condu¬ 
cive to the material prosperity of a community* 
The moral and religious advantages which have been 
so much insisted upon as resulting from these means of 
communication, I leave out of consideration. What¬ 
ever thepagnitude or importance of these advantages, 
it is obvious that, in the natural course of the enquiry, 
they occupy a secondary place. The first question is, 
will an increase of material prosperity result from the 
proposed undertakings ? If this be answered in tho 
affirmative, then, no doubt can remain respecting the 
proper course to be pursued. If, however, on the con¬ 
trary, it should appear highly probable that a certain 
material loss to the community would be the conse¬ 
quence of carrying out the proposed works, then a 
question wholly distinct from the first might arise. 
Will the proposed works confer upon the community 
such important moral benefits as to justify the material 
loss? There is no room for the consideration of this 
second ary question until the first is finally settled and 
put aside. So long as the two questions are jumbled 
together, as they usually are, there is no possibility of 
of reasoning clearly on the subject, and very little 
chance of arriving at right conclusions. 
As a country advances in population and prosperity, 
improvements in the means of conmnmication become 
successively expedient. In the early life of most com¬ 
munities there is a time when nothing more can be done 
t)ian what is necessary to render the inhabited districts 
accessible. Tracks are cleared, and rivers spanned by 
tbe rudest bridges. There is a time when it would te 
a loss to the community to perform anything pore than 
these necessary preliminary operations. This may be 
understood more clearly if wesuppose, in tho first place, 
that the track is used by one man only, and that any 
improvement must be made, if at all, at his own e * 
pense, or by the labour of his own hands,. Let us sup- 
