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The strips are interlaced in the usual manner, the loose
ends being left inside until the finish, when they are
trimmed off, and the sides are then built up to the top.
Pieces of the refuse wood, first steeped for several days
in water, are bent into circles and fitted, one on the
inside, and the other on the outside of the top of the
basket. These are bound by
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narrow strips, and are strengthened by turning over
some of the splints and binding these with the hoops.
The strips are wound around the top very firmly,
and an opening is left for a handle on each side,
as shown at fig. 7. Sometimes wooden handles are
made as at figs. 8 and 9, and fixed into the sides.
These are trimmed out of waste pieces, steeped in
water until pliable, and bent into shape. |
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Fig. 7—Complete basket. |
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Fig. 8—Shape of wooden handle. |
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Fig. 9. |
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Fig. 10—Basket for leaves.
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A
basket, finished as shown at
fig. 7, 20 inches
wide at the top,
and 22 inches deep, and holding
a bushel, is usually worth 60 cts. Such a basket
is very useful for
many purposes about the barns
and stables, and in husking corn. A splint-basket
for gathering leaves is shown at fig. 10, this
should be 4 |
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feet long by about 3 feet wide, and will also be found
useful for many other purposes about a farm. Baskets, like
this, are usually sold for 75 cts. each; a water-cress
basket holding about half a peck, 12 inches deep, and
about 7 wide at the top, of the shape shown at
fig. 11, is worth $8 a hundred. |
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| Small
baskets, used in some localities for marketing strawberries,
are made of the shape shown at fig. 12; these
hold about half a pint, and are 4 inches deep, 3
inches wide at the top, and 2 inches wide at the
bottom.
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Fig. 11. |
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Fig. 12. |
The small baskets are made of the narrow refuse
splints, and thus the whole of the wood is worked,
even the knotty central portions serve to make
handles or hoops for the larger sized baskets.
Excerpt from American Agriculturalist, Volume XXXVIII—No. 12,
December, 1879.
Editor’s Note: This is a reprint of an article published in 1879. It describes what was recommended in accordance with the knowledge and practices of the day. While reading it, please consider this fact. |
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