A pasteboard disk, well spread with dissolved shellac, is now inserted into the tip, and the block reset. The workman with his hot iron, wet and dry brushes, &c., lays down the nap in its proper direction, and the hat by continuous labor becomes solidified and more elastic, the tip is rendered stout by the adhesion of the prepared inside disk; and by the repeated wettings, and careful ironings and brushings, all the ripply appearance of the fur is destroyed, and the whole surface becomes smooth and shining. The crown being finished is then papered up, and the same operations that were bestowed upon the crown are now to be repeated on the brim, both on the upper and under side, which having been accomplished, a gauge is applied and the brim cut to the required width ready for the trimming. There is a beautiful invention for preserving the form of all hats having flat or soft supple brims by means of a flattened wire, upon which two small twists are made, and when joined as a hoop, the proper concave is produced. This hoop is attached to the outer edge of the brim, and covered with the binding, and thus the unsightly slouch that often deformed, particularly the soft brimmed hat, is permanently prevented, and the graceful curve completely secured. Silk Hatting. The art of silk hatting is comparatively of modern invention, consisting simply of a cover of silk plush over a body of some other material. As much sleight of hand is required in this department, it naturally follows that a good workman is a valuable and appreciated artisan. The bodies used for this kind of hat have been so various, that a full, or even succinct, description of them would be quite superfluous. Wool and fur bodies, straw and leghorn, cork, whalebone and muslin, &c., even stretchers similar to umbrellas without a body at all have been adopted, and all of them have had their day. At present, however, the trade seems to have settled down to the two kinds--fur and muslin. The fur body of a silk hat, called a shell previous to coming into the hands of the silk finisher, is made much in the same manner as that of a plain soft hat, by felting and sizing it down to the proper dimensions in the plank kettle. It is quite light and thin, and when blocked or otherwise, and dried, is then ready for _stiffening_ by the finisher. The different substances for this purpose, and the various methods of doing it, have been as numerous as the varieties of bodies that have been adopted. The whole of them, however, now have been abandoned for shellac.