The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1895-05-22
STYLES IN CANES.
African Walking Sticks Are Now
Fashionable,
Many Novelties Manufactured
From Imported Woods.

SO many persons carry canes nova
days that the manufacture of this adj
junct to dress has become quite an i'm
portant American industry. 1t is true
that most of the unfinished sticks are
imported. but hundreds of people are
kept busy preparing them for market.
People prefer wood of foreign
growth.
Fashions in canes change with other
dress and for several years the only
proper stick to carry has been of nat
ural wood. These sticks are treated
while growing to give them a knotty
appearance. No one in this country
could afford to spend the time in
watching and trimming sprouts, but in
the rural districts of Europe there are
many people who earn n livelihood in
canestick growing.
There is reported to be one wood
grown in America for walking sticks,
and that is Irish blackthorn. Accord
ing to an old canemaker, the introduce
ton of irish blackthorn in the United
States was begun by native of New
Jersey, who few years ago brought
some roots over from Ireland and
planted them. The roots sprouted
easily, and it is now said that Jersey
Irish" blackthorn sticks are superior
to those from the Emerald Isle. But
as biackthorn is decidedly out of date,
it is possible that the New Jersey arti-
Gle will not cut much of figure in cane
manufacture for some time to come.
The most popular wood for a year
or more has been what is known as
the Congo oak, n stick supposed to
come from the valley of the Congo,
but the bulk of which is imported
from Hungary and other countries of
Europe. 1t is the cultivation which
makes the Congo oak canes what they
are. All sticks are marred while
growing, so as to have the regular line
of knobs, that gives the cane its
value. They are imported straight, and
are bent and trimmed in this country.
A wood that holds its own through all
the changes in style is the French ad-
relette. Among the other foreign
woods now popular are Scotch frs,
Madagascar swamp wood and English
ash. The sweet-scented German and
Scotch wexel is getting out of date.
Many cane sticks are now imported
from the West Indies, Central Ameri-
ca and the fertile region of the ANA
zon, and are finished under various
names. China and Japan have also
furnished their share of canes, in O
variety of bamboo sticks, which are
considered choice by many people. In
New York city there are over two hun
dred small shops where these sticks
are bent, stained and trimmed.
There have been known number
of noted men whose hobby was the
collection of all varieties of canes,
and it is said that Lester Wallack col
lected during his lifetime several hun.
dred of the finest and rarest kinds.
The most valuable of all woods fol
cane-making is said to be African oak,
which only grows on the edges of the
desert, and so slowly that it takes
years for the wood to become the size
necessary for cane. There are re.
ported to be but half dozen canes ol
it in the United States.
The constant tendency of the Amer.
can mind to have some new, requires
cane dealers to continually bring out
new sticks. A new taking style oi
wood is shortly expected. New York
Advertiser.