Basket

Basket, a vessel of wickerwork, made of willows, reeds, cane, straw, bast, or other materials, interwoven. The origin of the word is very obscure. It has been conjecturally allied with Lat. bascauda, used by Juvenal and Martial, and by the latter given as British; but at present there is no evidence to connect the words. It is found in English since the 13th century, but it does not occur in the Teutonic or Romance tongues. In ancient Britain the shields of soldiers were formerly made of basket-work as well as their coracles or boats; the latter were made water-tight by being covered with the skins of animals. Similar boats are still used for crossing some of the rivers of India. Window-screens, chairs, pony-carriages, and screens are made of basket-work. Willows are largely grown in Holland, France, and Germany, though those most in request among basket-makers are grown in England in the valleys of the Thames and Trent. In several parts of England and Scotland, great attention is now paid to the cultivation of the willow; and judging from the statements of some of the cultivators, the returns yielded are very satisfactory (see OSIER, WILLOW). The tools required being few and inexpensive, a large number of poor persons are engaged in the manufacture of baskets, that are hawked about the streets by their wives and children. But a large proportion of these are of French manufacture, as is also the case with the fancy baskets sold by blind asylums. Baskets are of all shapes and sizes, and their uses are so well known to all as to obviate the necessity of description here.