440 



Besom-making. 



[Aug., 



A besom-maker usually goes with his horse and cart and cuts 

 the heather under the direction of the gamekeeper, to whom 

 it is an advantage to have the heather kept down by this 

 means. If it were not cut, it would have to be burned — a 

 more laborious and less satisfactory method for the keeper. 

 On some estates a nominal sum is paid for the privilege of 

 cutting, on others a tip to the keeper is in vogue, while on a 

 few there is no money transaction. The heather must usually 

 be cut before Lady Day, but as there appears to be little 

 deterioration in it when stacked if it is cut in dry weather, 

 this is not a disadvantage to the besom-maker. 



The other most important material used is wood for the 

 stakes (or handles). If the besom-maker lives in a wooded 

 district, as well as near the moors, so much to his advantage, 

 and it is usual for the two supplies to occur together, as exten- 

 sive moors are part of large estates on which there are almost 

 invariably some plantations and therefore underwood for sale. 



Another material for making besoms is birch twigs. These 

 can usually be obtained near the stakes, from the underwood 

 cut on the estates. In Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, 

 however, a far more important outlet is to be found for 

 heather besoms. These are Hsed in the steel works of Shef- 

 field and in malt kilns, whereas birch besoms are mainly used 

 for lawns and gardens. 



Old-fashioned besom-makers used split ash for binding the 

 heather or birch, and one or two men who make besoms as a 

 part-time occupation have never troubled to learn modern 

 methods and still use it. It is very laborious ; only half-a-dozen 

 strands can be cut off each stick and then the centre is used 

 as a thatch pin. Cane is used for this purpose by all whole- 

 time besom-makers: one man said that he was able, in one 

 hour with cane, to supply his son with all that he would require 

 for a day's work; with split ash it would have taken four hours. 



Implements. — Besom-making is almost entirely a hand- 

 industry. With the exception of a tool Imown as a " needle." 

 for threading the cane through the brush, the only implement 

 used is a very simple iron press or vice worked with the foot 

 which presses the heather into place while the cane is being 

 wound around it. It is a comparatively modern invention and 

 was unknown to the fathers of present besom-makers. One 

 man was heard of who had begun to use it only last 3'ear, 

 but he was one of the part-time workers of the forest district 

 of Nottinghamshire. These men usually make besoms of 



