“Enamelling” or “Compoing,” which consisted of a paste made of starch, or isinglass, or gelatine, mixed with various white powders, making when ready for use a thickish whitewash. This provided both stiffening and colouring to the hat. But this in itself was an additional weight, and as all plaits with heads made the proper distribution of the enamel very difficult, some smoother and lighter medium had to be found. “7 ends Split” was the chosen plait, and for several years enamelled split bonnets were a most fashionable feature. The _modus operandi_ was to spread the “enamel” or “compo” over the outside surface of the bonnet or hat, in a perfectly even manner, so that when dry it presented the appearance of being evenly whitewashed. The final touch was given by ironing the hat very carefully on the block, with a bare iron not too hot; this imparted a slight glaze, which, if unscorched, was really very fine. Various other _media_ have been used at different times for stiffening straw hats, such as dextrine and other farinaceous products, and resinous and other gums, soluble in spirit or in water. Machines have been utilized for stiffening, but the little advantages therefrom were so overweighted by the disadvantages, that they have never obtained any popular support and to-day it is probably not too much to say that every straw hat is stiffened actually by hand. CHAPTER XI BLOCKING BY HAND The process of “Blocking,” as the next operation in the making of a straw hat is termed, consists of some method, either by hand or machinery, to place the somewhat uncouth looking article, exhibited by the dried stiffened hat, into its ultimate form.