Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/526

 512 HAT HATRAS and size of the hat to be made. This was formerly done by hand, but is now effected by a patented machine called the Eickemeyer hat- blocking machine, invented by Rudolf Eicke- meyer of Yonkers, N. Y., for the use of which a royalty of from 2 to 8 cts. per dozen is paid by all manufacturers. The next operation is pouncing, by which the rough surface of the hat is smoothed and all inequalities are re- moved. This also was formerly done by hand by two workmen, one shaving down the ine- qualities with a sharp knife, and the other smoothing the surface with sand-paper and pumice stone ; but it is now performed by a patented machine in which the hat while re- volving is brought into contact with a cylinder covered with emery paper. A royalty of 6 cts. per dozen for fur hats and 3 cts. per dozen for wool hats is paid by each manufacturer for the use of this machine, which was invented by Sidney S. Wheeler and Daniel D. Manley of Danbury, Conn. After pouncing the hat is again stretched on a block and pressed into shape with a hot iron. This is technically called finishing. If the hat is to be stiff, the next operation is curling, which consists in pressing the brim into shape with a hot iron. The trimming is done by girls, who put in the lining, the round top piece, technically called the tip, and the leather, and sew on the band and the binding. The binding is usually done with the sewing machine, but in some hats it has to be put on by hand. The last operation, called ironing off, is merely the running of a hot iron over the hat to press it into perfect shape, after which it is ready for the packing box. A cheaper quality of hat is made from felted wool, the manufacture of which is conducted in nearly the same manner. Wool hats, how- ever, are sized or felted in a fulling mill. They are made entirely of wool in the United States, but in England a little fur is sometimes mixed with the wool. Silk hats were formerly made of felt shells formed by the Wells machine, but the felt bodies are now almost entirely su- perseded by those made of muslin. The mus- lin is prepared by being stretched on frames and saturated with a solution of shell-lac in am- monia and water. For the brims of hats from two to six thicknesses are required ; for the tops one or two thicknesses. After the several sheets are thoroughly rubbed together so that they adhere to each other, they are dried by the fire, after which another coat of shell-lac varnish is put on. When this is dry the muslin is removed from the frames and cut into the proper shapes for sides, tops, and brims. The several pieces are then fitted together over a block. The side is put on first, and then the top, the projecting edges of the latter being ironed down until they adhere firmly to the side. A strip of thin muslin, technically called robbin, is then saturated with shell-lac and ironed down around the edge to strengthen it and to keep the parts together. Lastly, the brim is -put over the block and fastened in a similar way, the inner edge being turned up and ironed against the side and finally strength- ened with a piece of robbin. After the brim has been trimmed the body is again varnished with a solution of shell-lue and alcohol, and when this is dry the hat is ready for the cover of silk plush. The brim is covered by one piece on the under side, which is put on first, and one on the upper. These are secured by ironing with a hot iron, which softens the var- nish and causes it to stick the plush to the body. The cover for the side, to which the circular piece for the top has been sewed with a scarcely discernible seam, is next slipped on and ironed until it adheres thoroughly, the seams being carefully concealed. Fashionable hats require the finest quality of French plush ; that made by Martin at Lyons and Metz is held in the highest estimation on account of the ex- cellence of the black dye with which it is col- ored. The hat is now lined and trimmed, and afterward shaped and smoothed with the iron. Great care is given to finishing the brim, which is curled by hand, the workman judging by his eye of the perfection of the outline. The lining of the best quality of hats is of silk, that of the cheaper kinds usually of paper. In what are called French gossamer bodies, the body is composed of but one thickness of muslin, and the silk lining is ironed on to this so as to stick fast to it, after which another thickness of muslin is ironed on to the outside. In those called English bodies, the body is generally of two thicknesses, and has another thick- ness of muslin ironed on to it after the hat is formed. This is the common style of hat, and weighs about four ounces. Hat bodies are sometimes made also of cork, willow, and felt. Cork bodies are cut very thin, and are of course very light. Willow bodies are of thin slips of willow, woven by a process pat- ented by a firm in Philadelphia. White hats for summer wear, called cassimere hats, are made of felt. The superiority of American silk hats is owing to the scrupulous care in the selection as well as in the manipulation of the materials. The best are not surpassed in Eu- rope. The French make hats of similar quali- ty; but in England the humidity of the cli- mate will not admit the use of hats so light as those worn in America. According to the census of 1870, the total value of the hat and cap manufactures of the United States in that year was $24,848,167; of which New York produced $8,708,723, New Jersey $5,007,270, Connecticut $3,740,871, Massachusetts $3,41 6,- 191, and Pennsylvania $2,813,766. For straw hats, see STEAW. HATRAS, a town and fort of India, in the province and 90 m. S. E. of the city of Delhi ; pop. about 25,000. It is the chief mart for the cotton produced in the neighborhood, which is forwarded to Furruckabad, on the Ganges, and conveyed by that river to the lower provinces. The present fort is a square of about 500 yards, and is surrounded by a mud wall and a deep