Cutting Walking-sticks. 135 



best ' natural ' sticks are those which when growing 

 were themselves young trees, sprung up direct from 

 seed or shoots— saplings, which are stronger and 

 more pliant than those cut from a stole or pollard. 

 To cut such a stick as this is equivalent to destroying 

 a future tree, and of course a good deal of mischief 

 may be easily done in a short time. 



Another kind of ash stick which is in demand is 

 one round which there runs a spiral groove. This spiral 

 is caused by the bine of honeysuckle or woodbine, 

 and in some cases by wild hops. These climbing 

 plants grow in great profusion when they once get 

 fixed in the soil, and twist their tendrils or ' leaders ' 

 round and round the tall, straight, young ash poles 

 with so tight a grasp as to partly strangle the stick and 

 form a deep screw-like groove in it. When well 

 polished, or sometimes in its rough state, such a stick 

 attracts customers ; and so popular is this ' style ' of 

 thing that the spiral groove is frequently cut by the 

 lathe in more expensive woods than ash. Wild hops 

 are common in many places, and will almost destroy 

 a hedge or a little copse by the power with -which they 

 twine their coils about stem and branch. Young oak 

 saplings, in the same way, are frequently cut ; and the 

 potential tree which might have grown large enough 

 to form part of a ship's timbers is sold for a shilling. 



