To form the nap of a hat, one half or three-fourths of an ounce of beaver, and some other less costly fur, are bowed together and imperfectly felted in the manner already described, and shaped the same as the body to which it is to be applied; that body is then softened by immersing it in the boiler, when the nap is applied and worked as in felting, until the required union is effected between the two bodies. The felt thus covered is brought to the proper shape by working it on a wooden block, and is then dyed black. The hat is softened by steam, the crown is strengthened by placing in it a disc of scaleboard, and linen is pasted over this. The nap is raised and a uniform direction given to its fibres by means of warm irons and hair brushes. The last processes are lining and binding, when the hat is ready to be worn. In the low-priced hats of the present day, commoner wool and fur, and smaller quantities of each, are used. [Illustration: Lathe. Finishing.] Silk hats consist of a cover or exterior part made of silk plush, which is laid upon a foundation of chip, stiffened linen, or some other light material, previously blocked into shape. The so-called velvet and satin hats deserve those titles only so far as the plush resemble those materials. The plush is mostly woven in the north of England. Paris hats are for the most part made in England, the silk plush being imported from France. [Illustration: Rounding Card, No. 1. Rounding Card, No. 2. Finishing Iron. Brow-piece. Blistering Iron. Card. Polishing Block. Multer. Brush.] The various tools employed are mostly used for shaping the different parts of the hat. The _cutting machine_, for dividing and preparing the felt and other materials; the _block_, on which the body of the hat is formed previous to its being placed in the _lathe_, where it is made perfectly round; the _brow-piece_, for shaping the hat where it fits the head; the _card_, a sort of wire brush for scratching up or carding the fibre of the silk or beaver after the hat is made; the _rounding cards_, for pressing and completing the hat near the brim; the _curler_, for turning up and shaping the brim; the _multer_, _finishing iron_, and _blistering iron_, are used for shaping and smoothing; the _polishing block_ holds the hat while it receives the final process of brushing and smoothing with a pad of velvet called the _veleure_. [Illustration: Curler. Block. Veleure.] THE MILLER. [Illustration: WATER-MILL.] There is scarcely a boy to be found who, when he has been into the country and seen the wheel of the old water mill going round, or the fans of the windmill slowly revolving in the air, has not thought that it would be pleasant to follow the business of a Miller.