Other hoods are made of “chip” (generally of wider splints than those used for making plait); of “rush,” “yedda,” “raffia,” and other similar materials, in fact each succeeding season generally sees some novelty of fibre introduced. Of rush hoods there are two varieties, one of the fine, rather hard, but very tough rushes that usually grow in England by the wayside; these are made in the greatest quantities in China, and wonderful ingenuity is displayed in their finish. The other variety is that of the pithy “rush” such as one may gather in the Fens, and which is to be found in quantities in the Lombardy marshes; these are used for making both plait and hoods which are very light in weight. “Yedda” is the inner cuticle of an exotic plant, which has great toughness and is very light in weight, but, owing to the growth of the plant, can only be obtained in very short lengths, this of necessity making both plaitting and weaving more difficult. “Raffia” is the substance known to gardeners, and makes an excellent medium for plait and hoods on account of its lightness, its toughness and the great length of its staple. There are other natural fibres that have been utilized for hood weaving by hand, but the above-mentioned are the principal ones. In addition there are some hoods made of machine woven plait of hemp, cotton, silk, or imitation silk fibres. Although the first named is frequently worked alone, the others are generally woven with other materials. A hood of straws machine woven with the aid of a cotton, hemp, or silk fibre emanates from Switzerland and Italy, and is extremely light in weight. Sometimes the straws are utilized whole in these hoods, but more generally they are split. In both cases the straws are dyed or bleached before weaving. All these hoods are utilized for making men’s or ladies’ hats, and except in a few cases they are imported in the natural colour, requiring bleaching or dyeing before entering the actual hat making process. It is perhaps necessary to add that hoods of splints cut from palm leaves imported from Cuba, were made during some years at St. Albans. The result was similar to a “Brazilian” (in fact, they went under that name), being woven by hand in the villages round the city, and blocked into proper shape and trimmed in the St. Albans factories. The trade languished when French competition arose, Strasburg and Nancy being the most successful European competitors. “Panamas” or hoods made from the fibre imported from the West Indies have also been made in these last mentioned centres. CHAPTER V STRAW PLAIT AND PLAITTING Having briefly described the nature of, and method of preparation of various plaits and hoods, some detailed account of the method of working those which have largely contributed to the creation and augmentation of the Straw Hat Trade will be necessary.