The first mention made of hats is about the time of the Saxons, but they were not worn except by the rich.  Hats for men were invented at Paris, by a Swiss, in 1404.  About the year 1510, they were first manufactured in London, by Spaniards.  Before that time both men and women in England commonly wore close, knitted, woollen caps.  They appear to have become more common in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.  It is related, that when Charles the Second made his public entry into Rouen, in 1449, he wore a hat lined with red velvet, surmounted with a plume or tuft of feathers; from which entry, or at least during his reign, the use of hats and caps is to be dated; and from that time they took the place of chaperons and hoods, that had been worn before in France.

Where is Rouen?

In the province of Lower Seine, in France; it was formerly the capital of Normandy.

Describe the Castor, or Beaver, and its habits.

The Beaver has a broad, flat tail, covered with scales, serving as a rudder to direct its motion in the water; the toes of its hind feet are furnished with membranes, after the manner of water-fowl; the fore feet supply the place of hands, like those of the squirrel.  The Beaver has two kinds of hair, of a light brown color, one long and coarse, the other short and silky.  The teeth resemble those of a rat or squirrel, but are longer, and admirably adapted for cutting timber or stripping off the bark from trees.

     Membranes, thin, flexible, expanded skins, connecting the
     toes of water-fowl and amphibious animals, and thus enabling
     them to swim with greater ease.

Where do Beavers usually fix their habitations?

Their houses are always situated in the water; they are composed of clay, which they make into a kind of mortar with their paws:  these huts are of an oval figure, divided into three apartments raised one above the other, and erected on piles driven into the mud.  Each beaver has his peculiar cell assigned him, the floor of which he strews with leaves or small branches of the pine tree.  The whole building is generally capable of containing eight or ten inhabitants.

On what does the Beaver feed?

Its food consists of fruit and plants; and in winter, of the wood of the ash and other trees.  The hunters and trappers in America formerly killed vast numbers for their skins, which were in great demand, as they were used in making hats, but as the only use they are now put to is for trimming, and for men’s gloves and collars, the demand has fallen off.

Of what are stockings made?

Of cotton, silk, or wool, woven or knitted.  Anciently, the only stockings in use were made of cloth, or stuff sewed together; but since the invention of knitting and weaving stockings of silk, &c., the use of cloth has been discontinued.

From what country is it supposed that the invention of silk knitted stockings originally came?