The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-08-24
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and then he added refiectively, "besides
corporal punishment is played out in the
public schools, ma told me So" care
you aware, my little friends" we said,
"that there is trick worth knowingp If
some cross old schoolmaster should ever
want to let you have his rattan over your
fingers, all you would have to do would be
to-"
"You were goiHg to tell u.s." interrupted
| our little friend, Something about pulling
hair out of your eyebrow, and putting il
in your hand, and that that will splinter the
rattan. There isn't word of truth in it.
It's yarn" and the young gentleman, We
think, rather gazed at us for moment with
an expression of scorn. $50" wethought
mas the American youth, or at least the
New York boy, thrown off superstition"
But we declare we would have liked the
STRIPPING better if he had believed it. We
knew that at his age, being more ingenious
and trusting, we put the utmost faith in this
charm. The driver of the dray, listening
to our conversation, remarked, "when |
was boy the master didn't thrash with
them things. Three or four birch twigs did
your business. 1t was u country sch ol,
and what was hard about it was that we
boys had to cut the twigs for the master.
If one broke there wa galway; lot sea-
soning; but, you see, even whaling boys
goes now by fashion,"
From the driver we learned the destina-
ton of his load, and from the largest re-
ceivers and manufacturers of rattan in the
country we acquired the following facts in
regard to the rattan business: Rattan comes
frnr Mn1t III.
pore, Padang, Penang, Samarang and St.
Simon's Bay. OF all the rattan collected
in the east, the United States consumes
three-quarters of the total product, the i'm
ports amounting now to something more
than G,00O, 900 pounds. There are rattans
and 10 less than ten different
grades can be found which vary in price
from two cents up to ten cents a pound.
The first quality should be of a bright color,
OF straw yellow, but, in addition, must
be supple and not sticky, a trade word
meaning dull and wanting in elasticity. 1t
requires a great deal of experience to de-
eide what is good rattan, or the kinds which
will work up best tor particular sort. of
goods. The very choicest rattan comes
from Besjamasslng. Beth outside and in
side have their special uses. The Calamus
ROtang belongs to that peculiar species of
palm which secretes in its cuticle very
considerable amount of silica, while its iu-
side is made up of tough and fibrous fla
ments. The outside, with the smooth ma
tural varnish, when stripped off by particu-
lar machinery, is used for seating chairs.
There is a single factory in the United
States which turns out daily enough chair
cane to cover 90, 900 chairs. The inside of
the rattan is employed in variety ofways.
1t is shaped by machinery either round or
fiat, and so worked up into innumerable
articles. Baskets, brooms, mats mating,
are all made from the inside of the rattan,
and an immense quantity of it is worked
around demijohns. Both the inside and
outside of the rattan are employed in the
manufacture of furniture This branch of
industry we have undoubtedly copied with
Chinese accuracy from India. Perhaps
even with the addition of our numerous
mechanical helps we have bat very little
improved on the models as to appearance
or solidty. There ia an exquisite COM
that We can Hafafy euaRinnt Fsll rattan
made up into some half dozen different
sizes, and is then sold by the 1000 feet
The finest qualities of rattan are also used
by wing makers. This large and constant
ly increasing business may be estimated by
the fact that one factory in New England
alone employs 1000 operators, .and that the
total number of people working in rattan
(the schoolmasters eXcluded) is fully 1900
The capital used in the manufacture of rat
tan, we are informed, is about S2,000,O0O.