BLACKTHORN LORE AND THE ART OF MAKING WALKING STICKS. By John Murchie Douglas.

(1984) 2011 new edition. Square 8vo (175 x 180mm). Pp104. Colour and b/w photographs, illustrations. Laminated boards.

Stickmaking using blackthorn: how to turn knobbly, unpromising looking sticks or roots into fine, interesting walking sticks of various types. With a certain amount of Scottish local history and much on the folklore of the species (Prunus spinosa). Contents include: The tree; Identification; History, growth and reproduction; Thickets; Where it grows; Branches; Colour; A walking stick and a piece of string; Theory of straightening shanks and bending handles; Methods of straightening and bending; The last experiment; Objet trouve; Culzean Bay; Origins of folklore and superstition.