HERE AND THERE

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 1, 2 January 1937, Page 16

HERE AND THERE

Old Industries. i An interesting photographic page in , a coloured number of "The Times" ; depicts some old industries which still • exist in England. There is a village smithy at Ightham, near Sevenoaks, Kent, which shows the village smithy, with the blacksmith outside busy examining the damage to a wheeled cart which is in need of repair, and there are a number of others around. Another picture is of a man with a sort of roller, smoothing a sheepskin which is being prepared for .parchment. It is stated that this place has carried on this kind of work for about 1000 years, so far as is known by the county records, and is likely to be closed down as there are easier processes nowadays. Clog-making, in Wales is the subject of another 'good picture, a typical scene in a clog-makers camp being shown. There is a grove of trees, probably of the wood from which clogs are made, and a couple of men are seen putting the finishing touch to these articles, which are not known in New Zealand. Then there is a photograph of a very primitive-look-ing machine, turned by a cart-horse, which is used in the making of "trugs, or market baskets. This industry thrives in the village of Hurstmonceaux, Sussex. There is also a cider-pressing machine, in which horse-power is used. As a matter of fact, there are many more home industries in England and Scotland, as visits to shops in various centres show, and a great deal of interest is attached to them, as they undoubtedly provide sustenance for people who are not able to leave their homes, either on account of little children, or because of ill-health. They reveal, too, the sturdy determination of a large number of village poople to earn their own living somehow, and not to accept alms whether public or IpriwatQ.. V