The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1901-05-10
THINGS OF WILLOW.
Whole Rooms are Fitted Nowadays
with Fine Furniture of
This Material.

"Surely," said willow worker, ac.
cording to the New York Sun, you are
quite right in considering articles OF
willow among beautiful things. They
are graceful and light, and at the same
time substantial and durable.
Things made of willow finished in
the natural color of the wood look
cool and charming, and they have an
appearance of delightful freshness
that is found in no other material that
I know of. Of course the willow is
delicate in it's whiteness, and in this
state it would in season lose it's first
yelvety sort of freshness.
"But willow takes stains beautifully,
the tans and greens and other colors
that are most appropriate to it, and
willow furniture finished in these tints
is scarcely less pleasing to the eye
than that made of the material in its
original purity.
''Reeds, growing, as you know, of uni
form dimensions, can be prepared fol
use in basket work largely by machin'
ery, but this would not be true as to
willow. Machinery is used to some ex.
tent in preparing willow for use, as for
instance in cutting the surface strips
that are plated into table tops and
that sort of thing, but willow rods,
round willow, cannot be handled in
that manner. The rods are not uni
form in dimensions from end to end
they taper; nor are the rods abso-
Iufa in Gin with n.
other. These must all be worked by
hand. AS a matter of fact, many strips.
too, are still cut in that way. With
the materials for them thus prepared.
and carefully handwrought as they
are throughout, it would seem reason
able to describe these beautiful things
of willow as productions of art.
''Many baskets of one sort and an
other in the almost endless variety OF
forms and manner of characterization
into which basket work is put come
from Germany; but France is yet, new
ertheless, as it has always been, the
home of the artistic in basket work
We make, however, now, beautiful
things in basket work in this coun-
try, and in articles of utility and things
of more or less practical character.
combining use with decorat ton or or.
namental effects, we make here things
quite as fine as are produced any
where; as in all manner of willow fur.
niture and fittings, and SO on.
"All these things we produce in the
most graceful style, and the most COM
Portable shapes. Of course willow and
rattan chairs and that sort of thing
are old, time-honored, but we make
them all now in greater variety than
formerly; we make a greater variety
of things than we did, and people &C
in for these things more than ever
more particularly, of course, in coun-
try houses.
Rattan has been more used for some
of these purposes; but now, again, we
use more willow; and there is nothing
but what can be made of this material
1t is easily possible to furnish a room
with it. We make bedsteads of will
low, and, of course, an endless va
riety of chairs and lounges and that
sort of thing, including tables. We
make willow bureaus and chiffoniers
and willow wall panels and picture
frames and willow chandeliers and gas
fixtures, and so on. In fact, in all but
the floor coverings, for which mat
tings are used, we can furnish rooms
complete.
"And," said the willow man. in con-
clusion. "while this might not be the
cheapest outfit you could buy, I don't
supposeyou could find anything cooler,
more comfortable or more pleasing to
the eye"