Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-10-03
A sPRIG o. sHILLELAH.
The Irish BIAckthorn Snd 4ts Usefulness
In Cracking RAtes.
FROM tAe PAiladelDafa Neaps


From tie iPAiladelDs1a Neass.
''There never was a coward where that
came FROM" said a venerable delegate 70
the Sherlft's Convention, speaking with an
Irreproducsble brogue as he. brandished
q peculisr-looking cane, or rather blud-
geon.
The stick was about an mon IN Diane
ter with rude, natural head, OF dark
brown or chocolate color, and covered
with large thorns, the points OF which
had been cut OF. A rough brass terrible
was placed on the end.
''What is itY asked a reporter and
other bystanders who curiously examined
the stick.
"A rale Irish blackthoTn."
Every body was at once interested and
wanted to know all about the Veritable
sprig of shillelah.
"What part Of Ireland do they grow
IMP was asked.
"Eyerywhere. The sloe-busb flourishes
among rocks and in barren ground where
nothing else would grow. The fences
which line the roadsides and enclose the
fields are mainly Of hawthorn, and in
summer when nicely trimmed are charm
lug, but the hawthorn Is totally differ
ent kind of thorn and is unsuitable for
walking sticks, not being tough enough or
SO nice"
yAre they much priced in lrelandp'
You might as well ask does an irish
man prize a shamrock as does he prize
blackthOrn. Everybody has one or more
hiackthOrns, and is always eager to OBJ
tsifn a good one. Have you ever heard of
Donnybrook Fairy Well, there is a
sprig of shillelah that passed through it
twice. All, that was in the good old times
when boy, who couldn't dance a Jig,
sing good song, Kiss all the pretty girls
at pattern or fair, and handle his !shille-
lab. was nothing but Judy. There were
no stuck-up gentlemen there. There We're
bucks-the Buck OF the Bog sounds fun
Ny--but they weren't bad fellows. A
womanish sort OF a fellow is called dude
here, but we called him a Judy. After a
fair a good, devil-may-care sort OF boy
would be laid up for a week with
broken head; but il was only fun for him
and he thought it only natural. He had
no bad feeling for. the man that cracked
his crown, and the next time they met
they would have jorum, and perhaps
break each others beads in friendly sort
OF a way before they went home. But
those good old days are over. National
schools and railways and newspapers put
an end to all the fun"
chow are blackthorns preparedp' was
asked, when the old man had shown him
hell dfeIs6 70 CONTINUING MS I6mlUlbCbu-
ces.
slOe bushes are very plentiful, but, like
all trees of stunted growth, very few OF
them grow straight or have straight
branches, and there is some difficulty in
finding suitable ones for cutting. Some
which are bent can be Strengthened by
putting them in boiling water. Many
persons make living by doing nothing
but preparing them. The thorns are
FIRST cut oil, leaving about three-quarters
OF an inch on the body of the stick, which.
after being oiled, is laid in the chimney
corner TO season. While seasoning it is
oiled two or three times, and the oil and
smoke from she turf fire combine 10 give
II richer color even than the natural"
Nv hat are they WORTH
"a few cents in Ireland; about 81 each
here. | wrote to a friend of mine who
was coming over two or three years ago,
and he brought a trunk fun Of black
tn0rns. They cost him nothing, but be
sold them 50 well here that they brought
him Ia more than the cost of his passage"