Editing Felt (section)

===Carroting===
Invented in the mid 17th century<ref name="Larkin2010">{{cite book|author=Jack Larkin|title=Where We Worked: A Celebration of America's Workers And The Nation They Built|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evCyBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA95|date=23 November 2010|publisher=Lyons Press|isbn=978-1-4617-4592-1|pages=95–}}</ref><ref name="Snodgrass2015">{{cite book|author=Mary Ellen Snodgrass|title=World Clothing and Fashion: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Social Influence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gO9nBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA251|date=17 March 2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-45167-9|pages=251–}}</ref> and used until the mid-20th centuries, a process called "carroting" was used in the manufacture of good quality felt for making men's hats. Beaver, rabbit or hare skins were treated with a dilute solution of the [[Mercury (element)|mercury]] compound [[mercuric nitrate]].<ref name="Snodgrass2015"/> The skins were dried in an oven where the thin fur at the sides turned orange, the color of carrots.<ref name="Larkin2010"/> Pelts were stretched over a bar in a cutting machine, and the skin was sliced off in thin shreds, with the fleece coming away entirely.<ref name="Chico2013">{{cite book|author=Beverly Chico|title=Hats and Headwear around the World: A Cultural Encyclopedia: A Cultural Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GdbYAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA309|date=3 October 2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-61069-063-8|pages=309–}}</ref> The fur was blown onto a cone-shaped colander and then treated with hot water to consolidate it.<ref name="Corporation1941">{{Cite magazine |last=Burlingame |first=Roger |date=November 1941 |title=Pulling Hats Out of Rabbits |magazine=[[Popular Science]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nCcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA52 |pages=52–58 |issn=0161-7370}}</ref> The cone of felt was then peeled off and passed through wet rollers to cause the fur to felt. These 'hoods' were then dyed and [[blocking (textile arts)|blocked]] to make hats. The toxic solutions from the carrot and the vapours it produced resulted in widespread cases of [[mercury poisoning]] among [[hatter]]s.<ref name="Larkin2010"/> This is the origin of the phrase "[[mad as a hatter]]", which was used to humorous effect by Lewis Carroll in the chapter "A Mad Tea Party" of the novel ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]''.