HATS, STRAW. The manufacture of straw hats and bonnets has only existed for about a century in Great Britain; yet it has attained great perfection, and has become an important branch of industry. In no other part of the
Hats. world, except North America, is the custom of wearing bonnets so universal as among the women of this country. A constant demand is thus created for the article; and to this may partly be attributed the progress of the home manufacture. Large importations were formerly made of the beautiful straw hats of Leghorn and Tuscany, which were celebrated two centuries ago; but this commerce, being disturbed by political troubles, gradually declined, while our own manufacture from indigenous grasses received encouragement. Still the fine rich colour of the Tuscan straw, its smoothness, and beauty, caused it to be much valued, and imported hither to be worked up by our own people after the Italian method. By this method a broad flat plait is produced in the following manner:—A certain number of straws, frequently thirteen, equal in colour and fineness, are tied together at one end. They are then divided into two bundles, six turned to the left and seven to the right. The seventh, or outer straw, on the right, is then turned down, and brought under two straws, over two, and under two. There are now seven straws to the left, where the outer straw is again taken and turned down under two, over two, and under two. Thus, backwards and forwards, the plaiting proceeds, until a straw is used up. Another straw is then put in under the short end in the middle of the plait, and is fastened by the crossing of the other straws over and under it. This kind of plait is formed in pieces of great length, which are adjusted, according to the Italian method, in large coils, so as to form flats, as they are called, the edges being cleverly knitted together by a thread, which is run strait along in the interior, and entirely concealed. The demand for this kind of plait is now very limited, the fashion having been superseded by fancy straw-plaids like those of Switzerland, which are now produced in such great variety in this country. The chief seats of manufacture of British straw-plait are the counties of Bedford, Hertford, and Buckingham, and in these and some other counties a population of about 70,000 persons is said to be employed in this trade, producing a yearly return which has been reckoned at from £800,000 to £900,000. In the end of the last century, straw-plaiting was successfully introduced into the Orkneys and other parts of the N. of Scotland. In the case of British-grown straw, the process is as follows:—The best and whitest straws are selected, cut into equal lengths, bleached by exposure to fumes of burning sulphur, and split lengthways into several segments. The splitting is performed by means of a wire, having four, six, or eight sharp, cutting edges, which is passed up the middle of the straw. The slips of straw are then softened in water, and are in a convenient state for plaiting. As the plait is formed it is passed between wooden rollers to make it flat and hard. The hat or bonnet is formed by winding this plait on a wooden shape in a spiral direction, leaving a little overlap, which is sewed to the part beneath, and then pressed with a hot iron. At the present time, however, the taste for fancy bonnets has lessened the demand for simple straw bonnets of this kind. Various new materials—Brazilian grass, whalebone, shavings, &c.—are introduced into the manufacture; and mixtures of straws, British and foreign, are invented to gratify the love of novelty. This manufacture is healthy and domestic, and is of great value as an employment for women and children.
The description of straw used, which is cultivated solely for the purposes of the manufacture, and not for the grain, is the Triticum turgidum, a variety of bearded wheat, which seems to differ in no respect from the spring wheat grown in the vale of Evesham and other parts of England. (Trans. of Soc. of Arts.) After undergoing a certain preparatory process, the upper parts of the stems (being first sorted as to colour and thickness) are formed into a plait of generally thirteen straws, which is afterwards knitted together at the edges into a circular shape called a "flat," or hat. The fineness of the flats is determined by the number of rows of plait which compose them, counting from the bottom of the crown to the edge
of the brim, and their relative fineness ranges from about No. 20 to 60, being the rows contained in the breadth of the brim, which is generally eight inches. They are afterwards assorted into first, second, and third qualities, which are determined by the colour and texture; the most faultless being denominated the first, whilst the most defective is described as the third quality. These qualities are much influenced by the season of the year in which the straw is plaited. Spring is the most favourable, not only for plaiting, but for bleaching and finishing. The dust and perspiration in summer, and the benumbed fingers of the workwomen in winter, when they are compelled to keep within their smoky hats, plaiting the cold and wet straw, are equally injurious to the colour of the hats, which no bleaching can improve. The flats are afterwards made up in cases of ten or twenty dozen, assorted in progressive numbers or qualities, and the price of the middle or average number governs the whole. The Brazi make bears the highest repute, and the Signo is considered secondary; which names are given to the flats, from the districts where they are plaited. Florence is the principal market, and the demand is chiefly from England, France, Germany, and America; but the kinds mostly required are the lower numbers; the very finest hats, particularly of late, being considered too expensive by the buyers. (C. T.)