Evening star., 1899-02-09
GROWING WALKING CANES.
curious Novelty in Agriculture
Pursued in Europe.
Ernm Ih.. adalI L..

from the Philadelphia Inquirer
The fashion for congo canes has attained
such gigantic proportions in the United
States Of late that some details regarding
thar manufacture and origin may not be
without interest to the hundreds of thou
sandS Oh men IN America who use these pop
u4ar walking sticks. Congo canes We're first
oeslshed py frenchman, and the manu-
facture OF the same was for a time confined
wholly to France. They are made of the
common overgrowth of wood that springs
up from the stumps of ordinary chestnut
trees soon after the trees have been feued
cor lew years France did a Thriving h,1si
ness in this new line of manlifacture th.
simplicity and handsome appearauc. of tb,.
canes winning rapid favor both at home
ana abroad After awhile, however the
trade reached such rapidly increasing di
menSlonS that il attracted the atreptI0n of
several large Austrian business men who
forthwith began to consider the faasihiIitv
OIL starting a competition III the same line
LOT IN certain parts of Austria a nd hungary
Such as the provinces of Croatia and * ram
the growth of chestnut is enormous ,rhev
rented large tracts of land from the own
efS, agreeing to pay in return for the wood
they should take away sonnet hing like ba -
cent for every stick. Workinsmen were
easily obtained that would cut Ihe sticss
,'.''i wiring zen hours day for the nominal
wage OF 50 kreuzers (32 cents per day so
that the inst steps in the cost OF production
were reduced to a minimum The trade
once started, good results were al once no.
tlcedDle, and thus the industry which iS 70
day one OF the most important in the mon
archy, was started
The preliminary steps to be taken i'm the
growth and manufacture of canes are very
sinpIe' IN the early spring care must be
taken to insure a good crop of STICKS
Norkinen are sent into the groves with min
pers, and every stick that is 10 be cut later
on must first be nipped. March is the best
month Tor the npplng process for in thic
month the shoots begin to Sprout and by
the time autumn arrives they are ready IN
be gathered Forestry laws here sim in
with restraining regulations by providing
@ tndt certain number of sticks in every
grove must be left standing until they grow
TO a Sufhcient height to be used as teIe
graph poles. This does not take 50 lnp,r as
one might think, however, for Austrian
leiesfaph poies, 1t may be stated resemble
closely good-Sized American bean poles the
wires being strung along the sides instas1
OF on cfoss-bars attached to the. ton of the
poles. - 'e
The maximum length which the sticks
reach IN one seasons growth-and if tn
are nfpped in the spring the law snecificai
~ states that they must be gathered in tba
ran OF the same year-is two meters. in
thlekness they vary all the way up to 40
mlilimeters. Sticks which do NOT attaio
full growth by autumn must also he taLan
ana be paid for at the regular price but
these are saved from waste by being hent
anu M prepared 10 serve as umbrella handles
InuS every piece of material is utilizad
When the entire crop has been eatbsrad
the SUCKS are stripped of twiss and throwp
into bath of boiling water which, Ioosans
.ne park ana makes the work of peeling
quite easy. 1t is interesting to look os
while the workmen deftly snatch the his
terlng not sticks from the steaming nool
ana with bare hands draw the bark off in
,aIse ~ pieces, as unconcernedly as any other
person would handle the cane in a finished
state. - 'iieo