The herald., 1896-04-26
and this is what most people refuse

and this is what most people refuse
to do.
The newest cane is the Whangee
curious bamboo of a bright yellow color
with leaf branches from each alternate
joint to the right and left. This cane
sells as low as 10 cents and as hlgh as So
for fashion DEGREES that the value de-
pends on the arrangement of the Knots
or joints. If these are regularly placed.
with equal distances between them, the
cane is comparatively valueless 1t
should rather have knots or joints with
spaces varying from nearly two inches
at the handle end to half an inch at the
ferrule end the cane tapering in pro-
portion. This is because the tapering
cane is the very top of the bamboo. and
only one comes to each cane growth,
while in a fifty or sixty foot bamboo
several of the more evenly spaced can
be cut; hence the price and the vogue
The most popular cane this year is the
Congo. Why it is called the Congo is
difficult to perceive because it is the
wood of an oak saplng doctored in pc
culiar way. Most cane dealers, how
ever, will solemnly assure you that it is
called the Congo because it is made OF
Congo wood The reason of it's great
popularity is that the prince of Wales
invariably carries cane of that kind,
and, of course. what he does in the way
OF making fashions is never questioned
by the men who pay attention to such
matters
The Congo is a peculiar brown stick,
marked hereand there along it's entire
length with tiny dots. making one Won
der what kind of appearance it present
ed when all these embryo shoots came
to maturity. They never did mature;
as matter of fact. they are not natural.
1t is simply an oak sapling, colored to
taste. which. when growing in the for
est. is priclled or bruised with a blunt
instrument and left for time, the
growth attempting to heal the marks
and so producing the curious pricks on
| The inner wood. The cane dealer may
not acknowledge this, but this is an un-
deniable fact.
The wood is the Austrian or medlar
oak. The stick was produced by chance
A Frenchman happening across a sap
ling accidentally wounded set it aside
for cane. After receiving several Of
fers of money for the stick he began
Woundng the sapiings in large num-
bers. Keeping the secret to himself for
two years. until he had enough to offer
them in wholesale lots to manufac-
turer. Then the Congo cane became the
style.
All the fashionable canes this year,
with the exception of the golf cane
have the handle formed into what is
called the Prince of Wales hook. For
two years this style has survived. and it
is more firmly intrenched now than ever
before. The handle is bent into a long
graceful hook, the end being tipped with
silver and the cane itself Just below the
handle encircled with band of silver
Next year all kir. Is of odd and unique
handles will be in vogue. for there is al
ready wclldefincd tendency in tha.
direction. Men who are not content to
keep abreast of fashion. but insist upon
walking in advance of her DEGREES, are
appearing with canes with all kinds of
wonderful tops. T.
Natural horns predomnate. Some of
these have hippopotamus tusk; some
antelope, from all parts of the world;
some just the round based spike horn
OF the yearling deer. These may be
decorated handsomely with deposits of
gold and silver. Such decorations are
very hard on gloves, and have devel-
oped a new industry, where a concern
makes speciality of knitting covers for
such cane handles.
1t may not be known generally that
canes with rough metal handles, by irri-
tating the palm, and also those with ball
bandles, by pressing unevenly on the
palm, have produced some very curious
diseases. one man getting a species OF
intermittent paralysis from the press
ure of ball-topped cane on large vein
in the hand.
Some leaders of fashion are trying to
bring into use again the famous clouded
canes used by the dudes of the seven
teenth Gentry. but they will never be
very popular with the masses, because
of their great cost There are few in ex-
istence now, and their owners are gen
orally men whose wealth permits them
the luxury of collecting all kinds of
canes. These clouded canes are now
worth from $1,000 to $500. one being for
sale in New York at the present time for
$500.
The firm which has placed this cane
on the market knows the owners of all
the famous canes the world over, and
keeps track of the growth or decline OF
the great collections. If an unusually
odd and valuahle carc Is to he MIA ced