River cane

[T*O*F]

I see there is some river cane for sale to make powder measures.  What is river cane specifically, or is that just another made up local name?  The reason I ask is that there are a number of cane brakes near me and none are on a river.  Also you used to be able to buy cane poles for fishing rather cheaply.  Why not just use them as a source?

Carpet used to come rolled around large cane poles.  I used one of them in Jr. High school to practice pole vaulting at home and won the county grade school pole vaulting event.

[rich pierce]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arundinaria_gigantea

[T*O*F]

Arundinaria gigantea is a species of bamboo known by the common names giant cane (not to be confused with Arundo donax) and river cane

Rich,
That tells us what giant cane is, not river cane, although it is probably a subspecies.  Two of the cane brakes here are growing on the high side of the road ditch.  One of them has 2 different species growing alongside one another.  I cut them for garden stakes.

[webradbury]

T O F...I’m in eastern NC and what we have an abundance of is Arundinaria Tecta or switch cane. But it’s known as river cane here. Sounds like what you have on your ditch.  Strong stuff! Cut it and let it dry for about two months. I use it for primitive arrow shafts. I’ve been wanting to try it as a knife handle like Ian Pratt did.

[Dennis Glazener]

One thing that confuses me is long ago I read somewhere that river cane was smooth over the joints in other words on the outside the cane looked like a ram rod yet inside there is the partition that keeps it from being a hollow tube end to end. But most of the River Cane I have seen has a ripple on the outside at each joint. It also has a groove similar to a shallow ram rod groove, to me thus looks like oriental bambo!
Dennis

[iloco]

One thing that confuses me is long ago I read somewhere that river cane was smooth over the joints in other words on the outside the cane looked like a ram rod yet inside there is the partition that keeps it from being a hollow tube end to end. But most of the River Cane I have seen has a ripple on the outside at each joint. It also has a groove similar to a shallow ram rod groove, to me thus looks like oriental bambo!
Dennis

I think you are correct Dennis.  I have access to river cane which does not grow as tall as bamboo.  The joints on river cane are smooth with out the dimple that is on bamboo.
 I have acess to both and have compared the difference.

[Dennis Glazener]

The first river cane I saw in the wild was a Sycamore Shoals. Found it beside the trail between the fort and the river. Staight and smooth as an arrow. The other piece that I saw was at Cherokee NC it had been turned into a Cherokee blow gun. It too was smooth and straight as a ram rod.
Dennis

[Smokey Plainsman]

How do you caners seal up the end of the measures so the powder don't fall out?

[iloco]

How do you caners seal up the end of the measures so the powder don't fall out?

There is joints in the cane that have a solid partation in the joints to keep the powder from falling through. If you don't use the joint's then you would need to make a plug of some kind. 

Go to this link and look at the cane powder measures.
https://contemporarymakers.blogspot.com/search?q=cane+measures

[WadePatton]

River/creek cane is what I call the species that has been growing in middle TN the whole time I've been alive. Anything else I call bamboo. I expect it's all bamboo.

[Smokey Plainsman]

Very neat. Would make a neat measure for a barn gun or simple gun like that, and easier to make than antler ones.

Does the cane hold up well?

[iloco]

Very neat. Would make a neat measure for a barn gun or simple gun like that, and easier to make than antler ones.

Does the cane hold up well?

Cane holds up well.  Cane measures are easy to make.
For Wade.  I live close to a river where there is river cane.  I also have access to bamboo.  The river cane does not grow as tall and as big in diameter as the bamboo.