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Show ' 1 I i ; Panama Hats Ycnf cba :Ever S Arc Lostly l Thcm. j the atn:c;rrrc Is bnnvd. from about ! midnight to 7 a. m. If the (Irani j breaks, it ran be replaced and M plalt-i plalt-i ed as D' t to arT t the work or be visi-' visi-' Me to t!ie raked eye. It require from I three to five rronth' daily labor of three hours a diy to n .ike one of the. I finest hats, which oi.nl be a month l or a mn;h and a bif of eight-hour i days. The tuMnrfS to Its highest di j ve loprr.ent i really an art, requiring i ra'i'n.e. fine sicht and special skill ! q. lalif! h; or.s few of the native pos-itn. pos-itn. T'.ie pir'.tt-.g completed, the hat Is wa.-rl in cleia. cold water, coated I with a th.rj solution of gum. acd pol-' pol-' ifhed w,-h dry pnadered sulphur. ! 1 hy are so pliaMe that they can b I lolied hp without Injury and put in i ore s po. ket. thy alii last for yeara j and can lw cleaned re peatedly, j Natives of bo:h sexe and all age are rrgaged In this mork at odd tloe. the bucir.es bWng a side lean. Cbll-j Cbll-j dren cake from raw, undrened straw i alio-.t to of tl.e- common hat a day. j The Cu-nia tat wholesale at from j 17 S2 to Ji.'6 40 a di.ien; finest, $5.iS to j f60 each; the Manavl hat brings 11.32 to 1:2 a dozen; finer hata, ft 40 to (17.60 each; fancy Lata, fit to 14 and more each. ' 1 ne finest hats ever made were by 1 n native named Falma and wera ei-! ei-! hlbitcd at the Paris exposition bl I Napoleon III. was enif.eror. The two best were bought by a Frenchman far I JIM and presented to the emperor anJ ! Marshal Mai Mahon. Falma ia dead, i but there are two or three, others who ' possess equal skill. Monotony in shape bas been perV.p one of the chief causes why t'.e bats have not been more popular, but If dealers would take up the matter the natives could eas'ly make any style desired, l-adies' hats may t worn aur- cessive seasons; cleaned and re-trimmed re-trimmed they appear pvrfwtly new , a;sssssssssssssaassasaaacs.,ia -I . j Poverty-striken, war-ravaged Cu'ia i revel In the expensive Panama bat. ' Americans either can't afford to w. ar tem or else do not care to do so. Ia cfr9 Cuba took directly Panama hat? to the value of $41,019. and nea l." all of the hats sent to the Vnltrl Fta'es. valued at 477. were tran?hirred to Cuba. The total value of laM year's eiportations of Panama hats I on Kcuador was I100.S7S. Costa Rica. Colombia and Mexico together tk I.K-7 in value, and all other countries, coun-tries, except those mentioned, tl.e balance of ?11.723. Our consul g--eral a Giiayaiuil. Ecuador. Perry M. de Leoa. says that the Manavl I Panama I hat was tr ade first In the province of Manavl. Ecuador, Ecua-dor, about 2-5 years aso. by a nathe. Franclsi-o Delgado. The present centers cen-ters of the industry are Monte Crli l and Jipijapa. In the province cf M ina-vl. ina-vl. and Santa Elena and Cuer.cs, In the provinces of Guayas and Azusy, respectively. They came to be known as Panama hats years ago. when that city, was a distributing .center. In Ecuador. Colombia aud Central America Amer-ica the hat is known by the natives ! as "Jipijapa" (pronounced Hipr-hapa). j but they are made anywhere in Ecna-j Ecna-j dor, principally In the province o' Manavl ( Mahn-ah-vee). The plant is a native grass or rpe-I rpe-I ciee of cane. It Is cultivated in the i provinces of Manavl and Guayas, and j U known as "paja toqullla." In ap-i ap-i pearanie. it resembles the American j saw paimetto; it is fan-like In shape. I Low-lying, wet land Is selected and the seed planted in rows during the rainy season. When the grasa attains j a height of 41, or 5 feet it Is cut Just . before ripening, boiled In hot water, ' and, after being thoroughly sun-dried, ' Is assorted and ready for use. j The straw first ia selected, dampened j to make It pliable, and then finely divided di-vided into requisite widths, the little finger or thumb nail being nxd for the purpose. The plaiting begins at the apex of the crown and Is continued contin-ued in circular form until the hat Is finished. The work Is carried on while j |