Neglected Walking Sticks
A new term of praise which pleases me was heard the other/day on a Welsh farm. It was said of one labourer by an envious companion, " He has a wonderful eye for a walking stick " ; and most of the walking sticks are cut from the hedges or spinneys. There is an opening perhaps for a walking stick farm for such experts as this Welshman. I knew one such in Surrey, which was, I believe, a success. Square-handled sticks, of such wood as cherry, were made by a careful and ingenious method of layering. Round-handled ash sticks and such were manufactured after cutting by steaming and bending processes. There are labourers in my neighbourhood envied for the possession of a wonderful eye for " Mollies," the common term given to the wooden mallets used by hedge-laytrs for driving in the uprights.
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