Felt is a fabric which is not woven, but made of fibres, usually wool or wool and cotton, which when subjected to beating and vibration grip one another in the form of layers. The materials to be felted are carded and placed in a machine, where they are kept wet and intimately mixed together by a process of beating. Pressure then unites the whole into a compact mass. The use of felt as a material for hats, tents, cloaks, etc, is very ancient. For hat-making the fur of rabbits, beavers, raccoons, and the wool of sheep was generally used. Felt being a good non-conductor of heat it was much used for roofing, sheathing boilers, hot-water reservoirs, etc. The felt for such purposes was made from the coarsest woollen refuse from paper-mills.
The Hats and Caps were names given to two political parties in Sweden during 1737 to 1772. The Hats under Tessin came into power in 1738, and remained supreme for twenty-seven years. The Caps succeeded them in 1766, were overthrown in 1769, but recovered power in 1771. Both parties were abolished by Gustavus III. Research Hats and Caps
Tarpaulin is a heavy weather-proof cloth manufactured chiefly in Scotland and used for protecting goods and seaman's hats and similar defences against the weather. Tarpaulin is made from hemp, flax, cotton or jute treated with tar or similar substances. Research Tarpaulin
The birch (Betula) is a genus of trees of the order Betulaceae, which comprises only the birches and alders, which inhabit Europe, Northern Asia, and North America. The common birch is indigenous throughout the north, and on high situations in the south of Europe. It is extremely hardy, and only one or two other species of trees approach so near to the north pole.
There are two varieties natives of Britain, Betula alba, and Betula alba pendula, or weeping-birch, the latter a very beautiful tree. The wood of the birch, which is light in colour, and firm and tough in texture, is used for chairs, tables, bedsteads, and the woodwork of furniture generally, also for fish-casks and hoops, and for smoking hams and herrings, as well as for many small articles. In France wooden shoes are made of it.
The bark is whitish in colour, smooth and shining, separable in thin sheets or layers. Fishing-nets and sails were formerly steeped with it to preserve them. In some countries it was made into hats, shoes, boxes, etc. In Russia the oil extracted from it was used in the preparation of Russian leather, and imparted the well-known scent to it. In Laplandbread has been made from it. The sap, from the amount of sugar it contains, affords a kind of agreeable wine, which is produced by the tree being tapped during warm weather in the end of spring or beginning of summer, when the sap runs most copiously.
The dwarf birch, Betula nana, a low shrub, two or three feet high at most, is a native of all the most northerly regions. Betula lenta, the cherry-birch of America, and the black birch
(Betula nigra) of the same country, produce valuable timber, as do other American species. The largest of these is the yellow birch (Betula lutea or excelsa) which attains the height of 80 feet. It is named from its bark being of a rich yellow colour. The paper birch of America (Betula. papyracea) has a bark that may be readily divided into thin sheets almost like paper. From it the Indian bark canoes are made. Research Birch
The gebang palm (Corypha gebanga) is a fan-leaved palm of south east Asia. Sago is extracted from its pith and its leaves are used for thatch, hats, baskets and bags. The root is used in medicine and the fibres of the leaf stalks are used for making ropes, nets and cloth. Research Gebang Palm
The raccoon (also spelled racoon) (Procyon) is a genus of American plantigradecarnivorous mammals. The common raccoon (Procyon lotor) has greyish-brown fur with two well-marked black patches on the face. The fur is long, thick and soft, and is used for making hats. Research Raccoon
South Sea Arrowroot (Tacca pinnatifida) is a perennialherb of the natural order Taccaceae native to the East Indies and Society Islands. It has a tuberous root stock, which like that of the potato and rice is rich in starch. The leaves are large and cut into oval segments, the flowers are purplish in colour, funnel-shaped and clustered in a dense umbel and succeeded by large, pear-shaped, ribbed fruits. Strips of the leaves are plaited into hats, but mainly the plant is grown for the starch which is obtained by rasping the tubers and macerating the material in water, the resulting deposit being a fine form of arrowroot. Research South Sea Arrowroot
The Hat tax was a tax levied upon men's hats by the British government in 1784, and repealed in 1811. The tax levied varied upon the retail price of the hat. retailers of hats were obliged to purchase a license to sell hats, and hats sold had a duty-stamp pasted inside them to show the tax had been paid. Research Hat Tax
HATS is an abbreviation for HelicopterAttack System
HATS is an abbreviation for Huntsville Association of Technical Societies
HATS is an abbreviation for Hybrid Automatic Test Research HATS
Billycock is the name given to several round-crowned brimmed hats made of felt. They are named after William Coke who had them made for him during the 19th century. Research Billycock
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Hats and Caps
