Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-02-12
HOOPS.

HOOPS
How Shaved Hoops Are Made In England
As soon as the cutters have cleared .
sufficient space, the hoop-shei. which
is TO be the center of several months
work, Is begun This edifiee is not bull
under the influence of any caprcious
Inspirations: its lines have been handed
to hoop-shaver, and its general form
may be as surely predicted as that OF
the cell of the wild bee. Its framework
Is neatly put together with fork-ended
ash-poles. and the few requisite fasten-
ings are made with bent withes- The
long open side of the shed faces the
southwest; the two sides toward the
cutting winds of the north and north
! east are roughly closed in with fagot-
wood. The roofing is work of time
At first there is only the open frame
! work. but as hoop-shayings accumulate
they are cast upon 1t In this way il
! NAV be some weeks before the roof has
anv pretension to being water-tight-
As we approach the hoop-shed- the low
] sunshine of q winter morning lights ur
! the io0se-heaped roof of shavings and
| the gray -greenness of the oak-poles
! that are left standing here and there,
whilst some slender pillars of birch
shine ike white metal against the
shaGowiness of the rayine behind
them The woodland workshop. with
all that leans against it and lies
! shout it, has q fine intricaey of detail
that makes it capital subject for pho
Biography Standing in the three bays
/ OF the open side are three of the rude,
yet sufficient engines upon which
hoops are shaved. Each of these con-
shaving board. SO poised as TO be
easily movable. the slope being regu-
| lated by the hoop-shayer's knee at the
| one end and weight hung from the
/ other Faithful TO his primitive WAYS,
| the hoop-shayer does not use a metal
! weight for his counterpois: he gets him
big stone or heavy piece of oak-stub.
bends 4 withe about it, and his need is
suppl Led The three occupants of the
shed look cheerful as We glance in
| upon them round the closed end. They
are some of the few rural laborers who
are able 10 count upon d winter work
jus. now the boy Is splitting. the an
! c5enE Is trimming. and tie chief shaver
zxaistles as he brings his blade down a
str ID Of hazel with hiss. About these
rugged sylvan figures and their sylvan
/ shed there floats the wholesome sappy
smell that the green wyaod gives out as
! ii IS shaved or rent Many PROTECTIVE
4-hulls'' are necessary to this ha1cl-
craft The two who are using ADDE'S
wear leather gloves; and each of the
three has @-side-patch'' of leather on
has left side, laced half-sleeFe of
leather on his left arm, and oyer-knee
leg-sns of sheepskin. The ancient
grows ehafty, and It is with q dull
twinkle In his eye that he tells US how
plentiful fur and feather are on these
lands, and how no known poacher can
hope to get work as hoop-shaver.
4 great deal of eopsewood that falls
before the billhook Is not suitable for
hoops Alder Is in this category, and
its larger stems go TO The ioymakers,
while the smaller ones are made into
heads for hay-rakes- Beech and white
beams which are abundant on chalkv
soils are also rejected Spindie-wood.
which Is nowhere plentiful is reserved
Tor skewers. but the rural skexer trade
is no longer what il was ..BranchyH
pieces and the rough sprayed tops are
sorted into --pea-boughs AMI fagot-
wood for domestic Use and for the
lEl,e-kiln- OF the many woods availa-
bic for hoops. hazel IS held IN the high
IS. repufe, and oak ranks next The
various willows. ash, Spanish chestnut.
and wild cherry are also valuable.
Even the wild and gaelder rose. OF
white dog-wood as it is called in
Surrey. comes under the hoop-shaEe.
e L
monty made is fourteen feet long. and
between that and the smallest two feet
in length. there are syeral intermediate
sizes The stems are trimmed with an
adze, and the pieces taken from the
ends form part of the ..offal7' that is
the hoop-shavers pe-qIisite- Ii Is
strange how closely some of these
smooth young stems mimic the glister
OF the blind-worm and the diapers of
the snake. The next process Is the
halying or quarter5ng iongwise. which
IS done by an nndnlafing motion of the
asize. an operation that demands con-
siderable skill. This splitting is most
easily done when the wood has been
csls for two or three months At the
outset of a severe frost this part of the
work is interrupted. but after a weeks
continuous freezing the frost dries
out of the wood. and il becomes
workable
The split pieces are now ready for
the actual shaving The long-bladed
hoop-shaye. with the double handle. is
generally of local manufacture; some
are made BY the country blacksmith.
others by south-co1ntry makers. whose
reputation has been handed down from
the DAYS of Wealden iron The shaver.
with . few long sweeps of this imple-
ment. quickly shayes down his raw ma
terial into supple hoops with one side
ION which Is the bark slightly curved.
and the other side fat Hoops were
formerly shaved on both sides, but the
consumers now prefer TO have the
barked side left intact The finished
hoops are put up in close bundles six
e. going to bundle of the longest.
and go to bundle of the shortest
kind Most of the hoops are sent to
London where. after due soaking. they
are used for boxes, tea-chests and pack
ages of various descriptions. as well rs
for hogsheads and rough casks In the
neighborhood of the docks or of C0vent
Garden one NAV study almost all the
various purposes they serve But In
many cases where hoops were formerly
employed they have been superseded BY
n -.ssFs II