The import and export values of baskets and basket-ware, and of willows and rods for basket-making, have been enumerated in the Board of Trade returns for the United Kingdom since 1900, in which year basket-ware from foreign countries was imported to the value of £239,402. In 1901 the imports increased to £264,183; then they declined to £227,070 in 1905. The main sources of supply are shown in this comparison of 1900 and 1905:
| 1900. | 1905. | ||
| Belgium | £72,031 | £77,766 | +£5,735 |
| Holland | 58,214 | 54,407 | - 3,807 |
| France | 55,870 | 27,910 | -27,960 |
| Germany | 33,155 | 22,892 | -10,263 |
| Japan | 8,140 | 25,536 | +17,396 |
| Portugal | 5,066 | 3,971 | - 1,095 |
The increase from Japan (for 1904 the value was £52,377) and the decrease from France are remarkable.
The import values of foreign willows increased from £52,219 in 1900 to £62,286 in 1905, the most important exporting countries being:—
| 1900. | 1905. | ||
| Germany | £22,594 | £34,752 | +£12,158 |
| Belgium | 18,800 | 11,864 | - 6,936 |
| Holland | 9,771 | 12,750 | + 2,979 |
Small British re-exports of willows (£1808 in 1900 and £371 in 1905) and of baskets (£3785 in 1900 and £6633 in 1905) to foreign parts and British possessions are tabulated. No particulars of exports of British produce and manufacture are specified in the returns.
(T. O.)
[1] See the report of a paper by T. Okey, published in the Journal of the Society of Arts, January 11th, 1907.
BASKET-BALL, a game adapted to the open air, but usually played upon the floor of a gymnasium and in the cold season. It was the invention, in 1891, of James Naismith, an instructor in the gymnasium of the Young Men's Christian Association training-school at Springfield, Massachusetts. A demand had arisen for a game for the gymnasium class, which would break the monotony and take the place, during the winter months, of football and baseball, and which was not too rough to be played indoors. The idea of the game was first published in the Triangle, the school paper. It soon became one of the most popular indoor games of America, for girls as well as for men, and spread to England and elsewhere.
Basket-ball is played on a marked-off space 60 ft. by 40 ft. in extent, though in the open air the dimensions may be greater. In the middle of each short side and 10 ft. above the floor or ground, is placed a basket consisting of a net suspended from a metal ring 18 in. in diameter, backed, at a distance of 6 in., by a back-board 6 ft. long and 4 ft. high. The object of the game is to propel an inflated, leather-covered ball, 30 in. in circumference, into the opponents' basket, which is the goal, by striking it with the open hands. The side wins that scores most goals during two periods of play divided by an interval of rest. Although there is practically no limit to the number of players on each side, all indoor matches are played by teams of five, in positions opposing one another as in lacrosse, centre, right and left forwards and right and left guards (or backs). A referee has the general supervision of the game and decides when goals have been properly scored, and an umpire watches for infringements of the rules, which constitute fouls. There are also a scorer and timekeeper.