Hat-making is a mechanical process, which is detailed in the Encyclopedia from the best information that could then be obtained. We have lately learned, however, that our detail is sometimes defective, and sometimes erroneous; and it is our duty to supply those defects, and to correct those errors. But, strangers as we are to the business of hat-making, we should not perhaps have suspected, that we had been misled by the persons whom we consulted, had we not been informed by a very intelligent writer in Nicholson's Philosophical Journal, that the account of the manufacturing of hats, which is given in the Encyclopedia is far from the truth. This information induced us to look through the Journal itself for a more accurate account of the process; well convinced, that the liberal-minded author of that work would not have pointed out our mistakes without making us welcome to avail ourselves of his aid to correct them. Our readers will therefore be indebted only to Mr Nicholson and his correspondent for whatever instruction they may derive from this article; and as we wish not to deck ourselves in borrowed plumes, we shall communicate that instruction in the words of its author.

Having visited the manufactory of Messrs Collinsons, hatters in Gravel-lane, Southwark, Mr Nicholson gives the following account of their procedure:

"The materials for making hats are rabbits' fur cut off from the skin, after the hairs have been plucked out, together with wool and beaver. The two former are mixed in various proportions, and of different qualities, according to the value of the article intended to be made; and the latter our author believes to be universally used for facing the finer articles, and never for the body or main stuff. Experience has shown, that these materials cannot be evenly, and well felted together, unless all the fibres be first separated, or put into the same state with regard to each other. This is the object of the first process, called boxing. The material, without any previous preparation (A), is laid upon a platform of wood, or

(A) Some writers mention a partial wetting of the fur while on the skin, by lightly smearing it with a solution of nitrate of mercury to give it a curl. Messrs Collinsons do not use it, nor any other preparation. or of wire, somewhat more than four feet square, called a hurdle, which is fixed against the wall of the work-shop, and is enlightened by a small window, and separated by two side partitions from other hurdles, which occupy the rest of the space along the wall. The hurdle, if of wood, is made of deal planks, not quite three inches wide, disposed parallel to the wall, and at the distance of one-fortieth or one-fiftieth of an inch from each other, for the purpose of suffering the dust, and other impurities of the stuff, to pass through; a purpose still more effectually answered by the hurdle of wire.

"The workman is provided with a bow, a bow-pin, a basket, and several cloths. The bow is a pole of yellow deal wood, between seven and eight feet long, to which are fixed two bridges, somewhat like that which receives the hair in the bow of the violin (b). Over these is stretched a catgut, about one-twelfth part of an inch in thickness. The bow-pin is a stick with a knob, and is used for plucking the bow-string. The basket is a square piece of ozier work, consisting of open strait bars with no croiling or interweaving. Its length across the bars may be about two feet, and its breadth eighteen inches. The sides into which the bars are fixed 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. Besides these implements, the workman is also provided with brown paper.

"The bowing commences by shovelling the material towards the right hand partition with the basket, upon which, the workman 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 original clots or masses of the filaments are perfectly opened and obliterated. 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; which 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 workman. The pressure is gentle, and the hands are very slightly moved back 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 (See Felting in this Supplement). In a very short time, indeed, the stuff acquires 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 pressure with the hands on the cloth. Another batt, ready hardened, is in the next place laid on the hurdle, and the cap here mentioned placed upon it, with the joining downwards. This last batt being also folded up, will consequently have its place of junction diametrically opposite to that of the inner felt, which it must therefore greatly tend to strengthen. The principal part of the hat 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 bafoning (c), the article becomes firmer and fitter, and contracts in its dimensions. It may easily be understood, that the chief use of the paper is to prevent the sides from felting together.

"The bafoning is followed by a still more effectual continuation of the felting, called working (d). This is done in another shop, at an apparatus called a battery, consisting of a kettle containing water slightly acidulated with sulphuric acid, to which, for beaver hats, a quantity of the grounds of beer is added, or else plain water for rinsing out), and eight planks of wood joined together in the form of a frustum of a pyramid, and meeting in the kettle at the middle. The outer or upper edge of each plank is about two feet broad, and

(b) Mr Nicholson's correspondent, who is himself a hatter, says that the bow is best made of ash; that it is composed of the flange or handle; that the bridge at the smaller end, or that which is nearest the window in the act of bowing, is called the cock; and that the other bridge, which is nearer to the workman's hand, is called the breech.

(c) Mr Nicholson's correspondent says, that after bowing, and previous to the bafoning, a hardening skin, that is, a large piece of skin, about four feet long and three feet broad, of leather alummed or tanned, is pressed upon the bat, to bring it by an easier gradation to a compact appearance; after which it is bafoned, being still kept upon the hurdle. This operation, the bafoning, derives its name from the process or mode of working, being the same as that practised upon a wool hat after bowing; the last being done upon a piece of cast metal, four feet across, of a circular shape, called a bafon; the joining of each batt is made good here by shuffling the hand, that is, by rubbing the edges of each batt folded over the other to excite the progressive motion of each of the filaments in felting, and to join the two together. Many journeymen, to hurry this work, use a quantity of vitriol (sulphuric acid), and then, to make the nap rise and flow, they kill the vitriol, and open the body again by throwing in a handful or two of oatmeal; by this means they get a great many made, though, at the same time, they leave them quite grainy from the want of labour. This, in handling the dry grey hat when made may be in part discovered; but in part only.

(d) The intelligent writer, who has been so often quoted, says, that before this operation is begun, the hat is dipped into the boiling kettle, and allowed to lie upon the plank until cold again; this is called soaking, that is, being perfectly saturated with the hot liquor; if they are put in too hastily in this state, for they are then only bowed and bafoned, they would burst from the edges, each batt not being sufficiently felted into the other. 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 feeling together; of which, in the more advanced stages of the operation, there is no danger. The imperfections of the work now present themselves to the eye of the workman, who picks out knots and other hard substances with a bodkin, and adds more felt upon all such parts as require strengthening. 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. Mr Nicholson could not distinctly learn why the beer grounds were used with beaver-hats. Some workmen said, that by rendering the liquor more tenacious, the hat was enabled to hold a greater quantity of it for a longer time; but others said, that the mere acid and water would not adhere to the beaver facing, but would roll off immediately when the article was laid on the plank. It is probable, as he observes, that the manufacturers who now follow the established practice, may not have tried what are the inconveniences this addition is calculated to remove.

Our author's correspondent, however, assigns several reasons for the addition of those dregs, which, he says, ought to be thick, and the finest that can be got. 1. Vitriol (sulphuric acid) would harden the hat too much, which is kept mellow by the dregs. 2. The dregs are said by the workmen to hold or fill the body, whilst a little vitriol cleanses it of the dirt, &c. that may be on the rabbit or other woods. 3. Another advantage attending the use of dregs, whether of beer, porter, or wine, is, that as the boiling of the dyeing does not draw out much of the mucilage from each hat when it comes to be stiffened, the dregs form a body within the hat, sufficiently strong or retentive to keep the glue from coming through amongst the nap. 4. Vitriol (sulphuric acid) alone purges or weakens the goods too much; consequently half of the quantity does better with the addition of dregs, as it allows the body to be made closer by more work.

Of these four reasons for the use of dregs, the last alone appears to us pernicious or at all unsatisfactory. But be this as it may, acid of some kind gives a roughness to the surface of the hair, which facilitates the mechanical action of felting; and Mr Collinson informed Mr Nicholson, that in a process, called caroting, they make use of nitrous acid. In this operation, the material is put into a mixture of the nitrous and sulphuric acids in water, and kept in the digesting heat of a stove all night; by which means the hair acquires a ruddy or yellow colour, and loses part of its strength.

"It must be remembered, that our hat still possesses the form of a cone, and that the whole of the several actions it has undergone have only converted it into a soft flexible felt, capable of being extended, though with some difficulty, in every direction. The next thing to be done is to give it the form required by the wearer. For this purpose, the workman turns up the edge or rim to the depth of about an inch and a half, and then returns the point back again through the centre or axis of the cap, so far as not to take out this fold, but to produce another inner fold of the same depth. The point being returned back again in the same manner, produces a third fold; and thus the workman proceeds, until the whole has acquired the appearance of a flat circular piece, consisting of a number of concentric undulations or folds, with the point in the centre. This is laid upon the plank, where the workman, keeping the piece wet with the liquor, pulls out the point with his fingers, and presses it down with his hand, at the same time turning it round on its centre in contact with the plank, till he has, by this means, rubbed out a flat portion equal to the intended crown of the hat. In the next place, he takes a block, to the crown of which he applies the flat central portion of the felt, and by forcing a string down the sides of the block, he causes the next part to assume the figure of the crown, which he continues to wet and work, until it has properly disposed itself round the block. The rim now appears like a flounced or puckered appendage round the edge of the crown; but the block being let upright on the plank, the requisite figure is soon given by working, rubbing, and extending this part. Water only is used in this operation of fathing or blocking; at the conclusion of which it is pressed out by the blunt edge of a copper implement for that purpose.

"Previous to the dyeing, the nap of the hat is raised or loosened out with a wire brush, or carding instrument. The fibres are too rotten after the dyeing to bear this operation. The dyeing materials are logwood, and a mixture of the sulphates of iron and of copper, known in the market by the names of green copperas and blue vitriol. As the time of Mr Collinson was limited, and my attention, says Mr Nicholson, was more particularly directed to the mechanical processes, I did not go into the dye-house; but I have no doubt that the hats are boiled with the logwood, and afterwards immersed in the saline solution. I particularly asked whether galls were used, and was answered in the negative.

"The dyed hats are, in the next place, taken to the stiffening shop. One workman, assisted by a boy, does this part of the business. He has two vessels, or boilers, the one containing the grounds of strong beer, which costs seven shillings per barrel, and the other vessel containing melted glue, a little thinner than it is used by carpenters. Our author particularly asked, whether this last solution contained any other ingredient besides glue, and was assured that it did not. The beer grounds are applied in the inside of the crown to prevent the glue from coming through to the face, and also, as he supposes, to give the requisite firmness at a less expense than could be produced by glue alone. If the glue were to pass through the hat in different places, it might, he imagines, be more difficult to produce an even glost upon the face in the subsequent finishing. The glue stiffening is applied after the beer grounds are dried, and then only upon the lower face of the flap, and the inside of the crown. For this purpose, the hat is put into another hat, called a stiffening hat, the crown of which is notched, or slit open in various directions. These are then placed in a hole in a deal board, board, which supports the flap, and the glue is applied with a brush.

"The dry hat, after this operation, is very rigid, and its figure irregular. The last dressing is given by the application of moisture and heat, and the use of the brush, and a hot iron, somewhat in the shape of that used by tailors, but shorter and broader on the face. The hat being softened by exposure to steam, is drawn upon a block, to which it is securely applied by the former method of forcing a string down from the crown to the commencement of the rim. The judgment of the workman is employed in moistening, brushing, and ironing the hat, in order to give and preserve the proper figure. When the rim of the hat is not intended to be of an equal width throughout, it is cut by means of a wooden, or perhaps metallic pattern; but as no such hats are now in fashion, Mr Nicholson saw only the tool for cutting them round. The contrivance is very ingenious and simple. A number of notches are made in one edge of a flat piece of wood for the purpose of inserting the point of a knife, and from one side or edge of this piece of wood there proceeds a stout handle, which lies parallel to the notched side, forming an angle somewhat like that of a carpenter's square. When the legs of this angle are applied to the outside of the crown, and the board lies flat on the rim 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 inserted in one of the notches, it is easy to draw it round by leaning the tool against the crown, and it will cut the border very regular and true. This cut is made before the hat is quite finished, and is not carried entirely through; so that one of the last operations consists in tearing off the redundant part, which by that means leaves an edging of beaver round the external face of the flap. When the hat is completely finished, the crown is tied up in gauze paper, which is neatly ironed down. It is then ready for the subsequent operations of lining," &c.

Our author concludes his valuable memoir on the fabrication of hats, with some observations on the probable gain or loss of employing machinery in the manufacture. These observations, as they are stated in the original paper, we recommend to the serious attention of every judicious hat-maker, who carries on his business on a large scale; for he will find them not the reveries of a rash speculatist, but the cool reflections of a real philosopher, who is at the same time no stranger to the arts of life. They suggest the following subjects of enquiry: Whether carding, which is rapidly and mechanically done, be inferior to bowing, which does not promise much facility for mechanical operation? Whether a succession of batts or cardings might be thrown round a fluted cone, which rapidly revolving, in contact with three or more cylinders, might perform the hardening, and even the working, with much more precision and speed than they are now done by hand? Whether blocking or shaping be not an operation extremely well calculated for the operation of one or more machines? Whether loose weaving and subsequent felting might not produce a lighter, cheaper, and stronger article? And how far the mechanical felting, which is not confined merely to the hairs of animals, might be applied to this art?

Before we dismiss this subject, it may be worth while to state Mr Dunnage's method of making water-proof hats, in imitation of beaver, for which, in November 1793, he obtained a patent. It is as follows: Let a flag be woven, of such count in the reed, and cut over such fixed wire, as will give the hats to be manufactured from it that degree of richness, or appearance of fur, which may be thought necessary. The materials of which this flag may be composed are various, and should be accommodated to different kinds of hats, according to the degree of beauty and durability to be given them, and the price at which they are designed to be sold; that is to say, silk, mohair, or any other hair that is capable of being spun into an end fine enough for the purpose, cotton, inkle, wool, or a mixture of any, or all the above materials, as may suit the different purposes of the manufacturer. Those awl-beats, (says our author), which are made with two poles, either of Bergam, Piedmont, or Organzine silk, rising alternately, in a reed of about nine hundred count to eighteen inches wide, with three shoots over each wire. This method of weaving distributes the silk (as it may be put single into the harness), and prevents any ribby appearance which it might have if the silk were passed double, and the whole of the pole cut over each wire. This may be made either on a two or four thread ground of hard silk, shot with fine cotton, which he thinks preferable for hatter, to silk, inkle, or any other material, as it forms both a close and fine texture. An inferior kind of hats may be made from any of the before mentioned materials, and with cheaper silk. This flag should be stretched on a frame, such as dyers use to rack cloth; then (having previously set the pile upright with a comb, to prevent its being injured or stuck together), go over the ground with thin size, laid on with a soft brush. For black, or dark colours, common size will do; with white, or any light colour, use sizingflats, or a size made from white kid leather. These, or gum, or any other mucilaginous matter, which, without altering the colour, will prevent oil from getting through the ground so as to injure the pile, will answer the purpose. Take care not to apply more of any material, as a preparation, than may be fully saturated with oil or varnish, so that water will not discharge it from the ground. The size, or other glutinous matter, being dry, the pile must be teased, or carded with a fine card, till the silk is completely taken out of the twist or throwing, when it will lose its coarse shaggy look, and assume the appearance of a very fine fur. It must now be once more set upright with a comb, and you may proceed to lay on your water-proof material; this too may be varied according to circumstances. For black, or any dark colour, linseed oil well boiled with the usual driers, and thickened with a small quantity of any good drying colour, will do; for white, or very fine colours, poppy or nut oil, or copal or other varnishes, may be used. In this particular the manufacturer must judge what will best answer his purpose, taking care never to use anything that will dry hard, or be subject to crack. Mr Dunnage has found good drying linseed oil preferable to any other thing which he has used, and, with the precaution of laying on very little the first time, it will not injure the finest colours. When the first coat of oil is dry, go over it a second and a third time, if necessary, till you are convinced the pores. pores of the ground are fully closed up, and the stuff rendered impervious to water. It should now stand several days, till the smell is sufficiently gone off; and before it is taken from the frame, should be gone over with some ox gall or lime-water, to take off the greasiness, which would otherwise prevent the stiffening from adhering to the oil. The material being now ready to be formed into hats, should be cut into proper shapes for that purpose. The crown should be made up over a block, with needle and silk, the oiled side outwards. The seams should then be rubbed with a piece of hard wood, bone, or ivory, to make them lie flat, and the edges of the stuff pared off very near the stitches, that no joint may appear on the right side. The seams should then be carefully gone over with the prepared oil, till every crevice or hole made by the needle is completely filled up, and the crown rendered perfectly waterproof. The crown may then be turned and stiffened, by sticking linen, leather, paper, or any other material that may be found to answer the purpose, to the inner or painted side, till it acquires about the same degree of stiffness, or resistance to the touch, as a good beaver. The mucilaginous matter which he used to attach the stiffening to the crown, and the upper and under parts of the brim to each other, was composed of one pound of gum-arabic or senega, one pound of starch, and a half a pound of glue, boiled up with as much water as reduced the whole to the consistence of a thick paste. A greater or less proportion of any of these ingredients may be used, and other glutinous and adhesive substances may answer the same purposes; or drying-oils may be made use of, instead of this or other mucilage; or any of the resinous gums dissolved in oil or spirits; only it should be observed, in this case, the hats will require more time in the preparation, as the oily matter, unless exposed to the air, will not readily dry; but he found by experience that the above mentioned composition does not dry hard or brittle, but retains that pleasant flexibility which is agreeable to the touch, while it communicates to the other materials a sufficient degree of elasticity. Before the brim is perfectly dry, care should be taken to form a neck or ring round the hole where it is to be attached to the crown, by nothing it round with a pair of scissors, and then forcing it over a block something larger than you have made the hole, so that the uncut stuff may turn up, under the lower edge of the crown, about a quarter of an inch. Before you join the crown and brim together, go over the outside of the neck of the brim, and the inside of the crown, as high as the neck will come (which should be about half an inch), with the prepared oil; and when they are nearly dry, so as to adhere to the finger on touching them, put the crown over the neck of the brim, and let them be sewed strongly together, taking care to sew down as little of the pile as possible, and using the same precaution of oiling, where the needle has been through, as was observed in making up the crown. The hat is now ready for dressing; which operation may be performed over a block, with a hot iron, brush, &c. in the same manner as those commonly called felts. When putting in the lining, be very careful to let the needle only take hold of the under surface of the brim; for should it perforate the upper one, the water will find its way through, and the hat be of no value. Though we have already declared how little we are acquainted with the operation of hat-making, we cannot help suggesting the enquiry, whether these waterproof hats might not be improved both in strength and beauty, by a slight stiffening before the application of the size by the brush. Such of them as are composed of wool or hair, or contain a mixture of these materials, are unquestionably susceptible of felting.