The cane is one of the most important and most intrinsically severe of all instruments of punishment, and though it is most commonly found in the schoolroom, there is no reason why it should not be employed, where necessary, for domestic punishments as well. Second only to the birch, the cane stands-in England anyway-for the idea of corporal punishment, in the same way the martinet represents the same idea in France, the taws in Scotland, and the tapette in the Americas.
Canes are made from a variety of materials, with rattan being the most popular, due to its unique combination of light weight and extreme flexibility. They can also be made from malacca and bamboo-both unsuitable materials in my opinion, since malacca is too "knobbly" and bamboo is liable to splinter-and also from whalebone, a very severe form indeed of this instrument. And of course, ad hoc punishment ferrules can be shaped very easily from switches cut from any hedgerow-hazel, willow and young ash-plants all being suitable, though only the last-named will last for more than one punishment.
The standard British school cane is universally manufactured from rattan, and is typically supplied with one end already curled into the traditional handle. Lengths vary from about two feet (these are intended to be used across the knee on smaller boys but I do not think this "punishment" can ever be effective) to about four feet. Canes longer than this will be difficult to control and aim properly and should be rejected (unless the caning is of the judicial type).
The weight of a cane is the important thing and here appearances may be deceptive. Rattan is a very light material and inexperienced, not appreciating this are liable to choose their canes on the slender side, reasoning that this will make the strokes more merciful. In fact the reverse is true: a slim, wand-like cane is crueller and more liable to cut. Thicker canes better combine the qualities of penetration and "spread", and are less liable to break the skin.
THE CANE IN USE
It is, a severe instrument, and though versatile-it can be used to punish the hands and the clothed or unclothed bottom-the cane should be used with respect for its considerable powers of penetration. Wrongly used, it can be a vicious implement.
Applying the cane across the bare bottom is one way of observing the progress and effect of a punishment, and of checking one's aim, even a light caning of a few strokes will leave, in addition to the usual blush across the nether regions, intermittent evidence of the rod in the form of visible weals. If the strokes are administered at a slow pace-say, one every ten seconds-the caner has time to observe these marks begin to develop, and like a rifleman can correct aim accordingly. All strokes should be delivered into as narrow a band as possible, and that area should correspond with the plumpest and best-padded part of the posterior.
Administering any sort of caning is a matter of some precision, the attainment of which is generally a matter of practice. In order to be effective at all, it must be administered with a minimum of real force.
CANING TECHNIQUES
Much already has been said about this excellent implement so we shall confine ourselve to observations concerning its use. The cane is a highly penetrating instrument of great potential severity, and care must be taken when administering it-so much is obvious. It is also lighter than it looks. But the important point is its extreme flexibility. During the quarter-second or so of flight, the instrument achieves a near semicircularity in shape. Although it may appears straight and even stiff (till it is moved), in practice it is more whiplike. The arm and wrist motion is therefore a complex one. At the beginning of the stroke, the hand leads the tip of the cane; it continues to lead throughout the descent; only at the last moment, after the shortest of follow-throughs, does the wrist halt and reverse direction slightly so that the business end of the cane "catches up" at exactly the right angle to the posterior. The achievement of a good caning action is therefore a matter of some diligence and constant practice.
Another precaution is to take one's stance slightly to the left of the target-perhaps as much as a half-pace. This ensures that the tip of the cane, which travels faster than the rest of the instrument during the latter part of the flight, strikes the far buttock at precisely the same instant, and with the same force, as the rest of the cane makes contact with the near buttock. The result should be a perfect stripe across the broadest part of the bottom. This mark will immediately appear in white as you finish the stroke; then it will fade; to reappear (if it has been a severe stroke) within less than a minute as a thin welt.
We spoke earlier about limits on the use of the cane. Feeble strokes merely tap the skin. Savage blows can cut it. Both are to be deplored. The result of a sound caning should be a welted bottom, certainly-if the behind is not vividly marked the punishment has been too mild and will be too rapidly forgotten-but not a scarified one. That is simple brutality.
The cane should hum or whistle in the stroke and fall across the target with a sharp snap, like a toy pistol. There should be a pause between strokes-say, a minimum of ten seconds.
Beware of canes that are too long. While a long cane whips-in satisfactorily, it is harder to control, and the stray six inches at the end may cause the further buttock to be punished more severely than the nearer. Standing well to the left of the target is one cure, but on the whole it is best to use a slightly shorter weapon, and to strike slightly harder.
When a culprit is bending over in the conventional position, do not make the mistake of shaping your stroke with too great a downwards component. The chances are you may hit the base of the spine, or the cane will fall at an awkward, grazing angle, or you may punish the upper half of the buttocks and leave the lower, more sensitive portion, unscathed. Take a horizontal or even slightly upwards aim, draw the cane back slowly within the same are, then whip the forearm and wrist smartly through from one side to the other, keeping your eyes on the exact spot you are aiming for. Do not look up from this spot until you have completed the stroke. If the buttocks have been bared beforehand, observe the mark and compare it to your point of aim; adjust the next stroke accordingly.
A traditional way of limiting the amount of force that may be applied is to tuck a large book-say, the Bible-under your punishing arm and retain it there throughout the caning. A little experimentation will shew that it is impossible to use the shoulder and upper arm muscles without letting the book fall. You are constrained to wrist and forearm, which is exactly as it should be. An even greater error is to be over-harsh. The difference between the lightest cut that may reasonably be given, and the severest, is not large; and if greater severity is required it is safer to increase the number of strokes, or to apply some additional measure, such as baring the bottom, or administering the punishment in public, or all three.
Canings are well-nigh impossible to administer in most of the spanking postures (over the knee,) due to the length of the weapon. They must be inflicted with the culprit bent over (or if necessary held), for example touching his toes, or across a chair, or a desk, or the end of his bed, or in any of the postures already discussed for the Taws (see above).There being a natural level of formality in a caning, this tone should be maintained both before and after the punishment proper, wherever it is inflicted and under whatever conditions of dress. At the end of a whipping apply ointment to the afflicted area, the offender is released fromthe posture, and the punishment is over
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