Harper's Outdoor Book for Boys

by Joseph H. Adams

Oak.—This of all sticks is the most reliable, and stout oaken cudgels are esteemed by most persons as affording the best props for failing legs, as well as the best weapons of self-defence against quarrelsome dogs, ruffians, and tramps. Straight sticks of sapling oak are not always easily obtained, but copse-wood sticks pulled from the trunks of trees form excellent substitutes. These should be selected for walking-sticks that taper from one inch below the knob or crutch to one inch at the ferrule end. Oak sticks split in drying when the bark has been stripped off or the knobs and branches cut too close, or when the sticks are dried too rapidly in a very dry place. They are then rendered useless for walking-sticks and cudgels.

Elm.—From the roots of elm-trees saplings often shoot up to a height of some ten feet; these furnish good walking-sticks of fancy styles, the rough bark serving the purpose of ornamentation when the sticks are dried, stained, varnished, and polished.

Among fruit trees the cherry, apple, and pear furnish some very nice, fancy walking-sticks, being supple and of moderate strength.

When sticks are half dried—that is, when the bark is shrunken, has lost its sappy greenness, and refuses to peel freely—they may be trimmed, straightened, or bent, as required. The wood and also the form of the knobs and roots will admit of much taste being displayed in grotesque and fancy carving.

I know of a young man in Florida, not yet twenty-one years of age, who is paying his way through college by collecting and curing sticks of the wild orange, on the handles of which he carves during his leisure time and vacations full-length figures of alligators as shown in Fig. 6. I have examined several of these sticks, and the entire work seems to be done with small chisels and a parting or V-tool. These sticks are in constant demand with visitors and tourists in Florida, and have become known as “orange-wood ’gator canes.” This fact may be suggestive to some of our ingenious farmer boys who are struggling to obtain a college course.

Walking-sticks can be gathered at all seasons. The sticks should be laid aside in a moderately dry and cool place, and should not be worked or the bark taken off till they are half dry. They are then most supple, and may be bent or straightened without injury. When laying by sticks to dry, the knots and spurs should not be trimmed close; it is best to trim them only roughly, leaving the spurs of branches and roots on the stick fully an inch long.

To straighten or bend the sticks, they should be steamed until they are supple, or buried in hot, wet sand until they become soft; they must then, while still hot, be given the form they are intended to keep, and kept in this form until they are cold. Straight sticks are tied firmly together in small bundles, and wound with a coil of rope from end to end; they are then suspended to a beam by their knob ends, and a heavy weight is attached to the ferrule ends. Crooks may be turned by soaking the end in boiling water for half an hour, then bending it to the desired form, and retaining it in its position by means of a tourniquet (as shown in Fig. 7) until the stick is cold.

The bark may then be taken off with a sharp knife, but care must be taken not to split or chip the wood. Knots may be trimmed at the same time, and the root knobs turned into grotesque shapes. There are no rules that can be given to guide one when carving the roots into handles, since their forms are governed by the outlines of the roots, these often being very suggestive of themselves. The group of heads shown in Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11 will illustrate what I mean. Figs. 8 and 9 show the rough stick, Figs. 10 and 11 the finished heads.

One or two points should receive considerable attention when designing the handles. If the stick is to be a fancy one to be carried and swung in the hand, the roots can be carved into grotesque or fancy forms. But if for use, the handle should be round and smooth, so as to fit comfortably in the hand. The head of a dog, or a swan or goose, forms an appropriate design for a stick that is to be held on the arm when lighting a match, or when wishing to have both hands free. The crutch and hook are also comfortable forms.

Wooden handles are given touches of rich brown by applying a red-hot iron to the parts to be colored.