At a recent show (at Yeovil) in a tent devoted
to rural crafts, I saw the happy organizer selling the very last of his wicker wheelbarrows. He was sending for more before the show had been open above an hour or two. These wicker barrows, light enough to be wheeled by the little finger, arc cheap and efficient ; but I mention the sale merely as an example of a real and flourishing rural craft. Many of these are supported with difficulty, and must, it is to be feared, be regarded as interesting survivals, rather than as promise of a return of the rural home factory. - On the contrary, wattle work with withies is a craft of considerable dimensions and likely to increase, especially in Somerset, where the willows are grown on moors that might else be more or less barren. The uses to which they are put are increasing, and the technique of the craft improving. The methods of organization arc interesting and are now employed in regard to many crafts. The Rural Industries Bureau (6 Bayley Street, London, W.C. ) sends down to any desired district a special instructor, who has knowledge of the work as practised in the past and present, both in England and other countries. He can help both to maintain continuity and enlarge scope ; and inciden- tally the Bureau does a good deal indirectly (not least by the exhibitions at shows) to widen the market. In general those who enjoy handffvork—in metal, wood, wool, or what not— can always get all the information they want from the Director of the Bureau.
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