Reeds which are used extensively for basket-making and weaving in general are procured from the species of palm described in Chapter I. These reeds should not be confused with the term reed applied to several distinct species of large water loving grasses. Such reeds are usually designated under the name of grasses. There are a thousand species of palm distributed over the tropical regions of the entire world, but only a few are native in the United States, and these are of no distinct commercial value. The rattan or cane palms of India and the Malay Islands grow to an unusual height, and are imported into this country in great quantities. These rattans and the trailing palm of the species Calamus have as main export centers Singapore and Calcutta. These palms are stripped of leaves and bark and split into round and flat strips of different diameters and widths. The outer bark, when stripped into proper sizes, is known as chair cane; the entire palm, with leaves removed, is commercially known as rattan; and the flat reeds are frequently sold as flat rattan and pith cane. Inasmuch as these flat and round strips, split from the palm plant and exported under the name of rattan are called reeds, we shall refer to them under that name in all discussions to follow. There are two qualities of reed on the market sold under the names of China reed and German reed. The former is inferior in quality and the latter is superior, being strong, tough and durable. The Philippine Islands give promise of producing a liberal supply of reed of good quality that is claimed to equal the German product. The problem, however, is one of gathering and marketing the product. The government has made a partial survey of the rattan supply, and this justifies the belief that the Islands will eventually compete with the world market. Primitive Methods.—Briefly the primitive process of converting the rattan, or raw material, into cane and reeds, or the finished product, is this: The rattan stems are thoroly dried or seasoned, and the nodules are pared off with a peculiar native knife. Then the rattan is sorted into sizes and selection made as to grade. The sorting is based upon external color and diameter of the rattan. The rattan is then immersed in water, and the stem is rubbed vigorously with sand and cocoanut husks to remove dirt and foreign substances. It is then bleached by means of sulphur fumes, either in the stem or after the peel and core have been prepared.

The method of preparing the peel and core is this: The peel, or outer covering, is removed with a heavy knife; it is then stripped to selected thicknesses and widths by drawing it by hand thru two knives set at required distances apart. This peel is commercially called cane. The core is then stripped into as many strands as necessary, depending upon the diameter of the cores required. These are rounded by drawing them thru a sheet of tin or iron perforated with holes of different diameters. The rounded cores are called reeds.

Considerable rattan is still converted into the finished products by hand processes thru these laborious stages. Machines have been perfected which do practically the entire work. Particularly have the Germans brought this industry to a perfected state. Still in various sections of India, China, and the Philippines hand working of rattan is a thriving industry; an industry seemingly peculiarly adapted to the natives. The Philippine method of preparing the raw material varies somewhat from the Chinese method in that the natives do not bleach the rattan.

Reed may be procured in large or small hanks, in coils and in bundles, with the cost determined by weight. Schools generally will find it advantageous to buy it in small hanks, because of ease in handling and for economic reasons. Round reeds are shown three-fourths size in Fig. 49, from No. 0 to and including No. 7, also winding, half-round and flat reeds. Winding reed is thin and slightly rounded on one surface. Half-round is as its name implies. Flat reed may be obtained in several widths from ¼ in. to ½ in., and if of good quality, one surface will show a decided bevel on the edges and appear much smoother than the other. Thus the right side is determined. There are many more sizes on the market than are indicated in Fig. 49, but those shown should supply adequate, if not liberal variety for the ordinary school shop. The cost of reed cannot be given with any degree of accuracy at present. The price is determined by the quantity bought, and by the quality and size. Under normal commercial conditions round reeds will cost from 30 cents to $1 per pound for Nos. 1 to 8, and flat reed about 25 cents per pound.

Bleaching.—Reed is procurable either bleached or unbleached. Ordinarily it is better to buy the bleached product. However, if the worker desires to bleach the reed, the method for small quantities is as follows: In a tub two-thirds full of water dissolve ten pounds of chloride of lime. Immerse the reed in this solution, weighting it down to insure covering it all, and let it stand about 4 hours. Remove it from the tub and wash thoroly in running water. The best way to do this is to lay the reed on an inclined surface and turn a forceful stream of water upon it. Chloride of lime has a bad effect upon the hands in that it makes them sore and tender, so care must be taken to properly rinse the reed. A little tallow rubbed over the hands will materially offset the tendency to tenderness, and generally keep them in good condition.Staining.—Bleached reed takes stain much more readily and evenly than does the natural or unbleached. It may be stained any color with prepared stains, but ordinarily these leave the reed muddy in appearance due primarily to the difficulty in brushing in or wiping off the stain in the recesses which weaving leaves. Perhaps the best agent for coloring reed, and at least a very desirable one, especially after it has been woven, is naptha. The preparation of the stain and the process of coloring is as follows: Obtain the necessary amount and variety of colors ground in oil; mix the required colors with a little naptha; then to determine the shade of color test with a reed. Reed absorbs a given amount of color, therefore the shade will prove out practically the same when tested with a small quantity of naptha, as when tried out with a greater amount. Add the required amount of naptha to the solution, avoiding thinning too much; otherwise the color produced will be “sickly” in appearance. Five pounds of color to about 3 gallons of naptha will prove about the right ratio. For instance, to obtain a rich nut brown mix 1 pound of chrome yellow and 5 pounds of burnt umber with a small amount of naptha. Stir until the colors are liquid, then gradually add 4 gallons or so of naptha, and stir well. The intensity of the brown may be varied by using more or less chrome yellow.

Coiled hanks of reed may be immersed in the solution, immediately withdrawn and hung to drain dry above the receptacle, thus permitting surplus stain to drain back into it. The stain may be used repeatedly, and as it is very volatile it should be kept in a tightly corked red can when not in use. It is also highly inflammable, and should be used in a room in which there is free circulation of air. If colors have been mixed properly and thinned to the right consistency, the reed will dry rapidly and the color will be sharp and clear, free from muddy effects.

A woven article such as a basket or woven top footstool may be dipped, or the color poured over and allowed to drip dry. In some instances it is good policy to wipe surplus stain off lightly. Then, in the case of the footstool or similar project, if the worker so desires he may stain the wood a darker shade than the top with a prepared stain. Reed is very effective without stain; many of the stools shown herewith are left natural. Reed may be shellacked or varnished. Because of its porosity it soils very easily unless some finishing agent is used, and a good grade of elastic varnish is recommended as a finish, especially when the woven article is subject to severe use.Other Materials.—Reed is not the only good medium adapted to weaving, either in correlation with wood or when used alone. On the stools illustrated several other materials have been used, as inner hickory bark and Indian splints and fiber. Binding cane, rope, and even willow may be utilized with success. Paper fiber was discussed in detail in Chapter V and needs no elaboration. Fig. 60 shows a stool partly woven with this serviceable material. Sufficient to say that this fiber adapts itself admirably to almost all work where reed is commonly employed, and in many instances is, commercially, supplanting reed.

Inner hickory bark may be obtained of manufacturers of rustic furniture either directly or indirectly. They may be obtained first hand if hickory trees grow in the locality, thus enhancing the educational value of weaving. In the spring or early summer when the sap is up and the bark slips easily, a hickory tree may be cut down, and the rough outer bark shaved with a draw knife from the top of the log the full length of the trunk, leaving a surface from 8 in. to 10 in. wide. With a heavy knife split the inner bark on either side of the shaved strip; then beginning at one end peel back the inner bark the full length of the log. This process may be repeated until the log is stripped. The thickness of the inner bark depends upon the size of the tree and the species. Manufacturers of hickory furniture claim that the pignut possesses a thicker bark than any other species, the bark running from ¼ in. to ¾ in. in thickness, and they accordingly use this tree in preference to others when available. The rolls of thick inner bark are allowed to dry for several weeks. Then they are placed in water, to remain until pliable. They are then split into strips of proper thickness and width. Factories use a very simple motor driven machine for making the strips, and any manual training shop can devise some scheme for accomplishing this work. These strips cut in indefinite lengths must be made pliant by a thoro soaking just previous to use. In weaving they should be pressed close together with the fingers or with the aid of a hammer, as there is an appreciable shrinkage especially in their width upon drying. Such strips are used mainly by builders of rustic outdoor and porch furniture for the weaving of the backs, arms and seats of chairs, and have at present no general use in school shops. Their use here should be encouraged. If bought of the manufacturer these strips cost 40 cents per pound, dry. They are put up in coils, and are ¾ in. wide and ¹/₁₆ in. thick. They may be stripped into narrower widths by means of a hand stripper, soon to be described.

Indian splints of ash and hickory may be obtained from dealers in the raw products. These strips are cut from the wood of the tree in long shavings in a manner similar to obtaining the inner hickory bark, and stripped into desired widths and thicknesses. One kind of ash splint is made in three weights or thicknesses, fine, medium and heavy, and in strips 1½ in. wide. It is sold in coils of 200 ft. each at $8.00 for 4,000 ft. The strips are a number of feet in length. Hickory splints are sold in coils of a dozen strands each. These strands are 8 ft. to 10 ft. long by ½ in. wide, and slightly less than ¹/₁₆ in. thick. A coil weighs about three-fourths of a pound and costs 5 cents.

The ash splints particularly, need to be restripped to widths needed by the worker. For ordinary purposes the hickory strips are right for seating purposes. The stripping is done by means of a combination hand stripper and gage shown in Fig. 50. A working drawing of it is shown in Fig. 51. It is made of maple preferably. The cutters are of a watch spring, pointed and sharpened as indicated. The end piece is removable to permit changes of the cutters. To use, merely hold the splint flat between the right hand and stripper, press the strand down on the cutter and pull it across the cutters with the left hand. Two persons may do the operation more readily and speedily than one. It is a good policy to make several of these devices with cutters at different distances apart so splints of various widths may be cut without resort to a change of cutters.

Splints need to be soaked in water for a number of minutes before using. They will be found to be somewhat less pliable than inner hickory bark, and different in color, varying from almost white to a light brown. Inner bark is a nut brown in color. The splints stain well, and may be dipped in identically the same manner as reeds. Inner bark needs no stain; in fact is more pleasing if left natural.

Ash splints are extensively gathered and prepared by the Indians in certain sections of Canada and the northern states. There they are woven into baskets of intricate design and beautiful colors, usually in combination with other materials, as sweet grass. Splints may be used for almost every purpose for which flat reed is utilized, and in numerous cases is superior and preferable to reed.

In Fig. 52 is shown in order, two rolls of hickory splints, a bundle of inner hickory bark strips, and a small hank of flat reed. These are in the original bundles as they come from the dealers.