president’s address. 
643 
knife, peeled of their outside green skin, with the exception 
of a small strip of rind on either side, which was left to give 
rigidity to the soft, white pith. They were then dried in the 
sun, packed into so many bunches to form a bundle, and 
sold at Norwich Rush Fair on the first Monday in August at 
about ten shillings per gross. 
When peeled, twelve rushes were tied up together to form 
what was called a whip, and twelve whips went to a dozen, 
twelve dozen whips made a gross, that is, 1728 rushes — or 
what haberdashers would call a great gross. The rushes 
were very neatly bunched up, into the form of elongated 
cones, standing from 3I to 4 feet high. The cones measuring 
at the base 30 to 36 inches in circumference. In 1875 one 
thousand dozen Rush Candles were sold by one grocer in 
Stalham. These were made in different sizes. The late 
John Bayles of Ludham used to light up his shop with 
“ middle eights,” and it was the duty of an apprentice at his 
grocery stores, for the first winter of his apprenticeship, to 
see that these candles were properly “ snuffed,” and to snuff 
one or two out, when the absence of customers did not warrant 
a great expenditure of tallow ! 
In hot weather it was not an uncommon thing for the 
tallow to drip on to the customers whilst they were doing 
their shopping. 
The Rush Fair was held at the Artichoke Inn. near 
Magdalen Gates, Norwich, and was looked upon as a regular 
jollification bv the people of this neighbourhood, who took 
or sent up, cartloads of future candlewicks. 
Ruston may be a corruption of Rush town. The Sweet- 
Sedge (. 4 . calamus) does not grow here, and I have not found 
it nearer to Ruston than by the river side between Sutton 
and Catfield to the south-east, and at Westwick to the west, 
but it was probably planted artificially round the lake at the 
latter place. Within the past ten years strangers have visited 
Ruston Common, for days together, searching for large 
VOL. vm. 
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