This clue showed you the larch, and that, along with the Scots Pine, is the tree of choice for making cabers, as seen in the Heavy Events category of the Pitlochry Highland Games. And the full list of these are :
- pitching (or putting) the stone - a local river stone, today either 16lbs or 22lbs in weight -
- throwing the hammer - a weight, again 16lbs or 22lbs, on a shaft - thrown the longest distance
- throwing the weight - a 28 lb ball on a chain - thrown the longest distance
- throwing the weight - a 56 lb block with a ring - thrown for height, over a bar.
- tossing the caber ...
Now a caber is a long pole, tapered either naturally or by careful trimming. The word comes from Gaelic, both the Irish form (cabar) and the Scottish form (chabair), and both mean a wooden beam. However it is a pretty massive one, usually sixteen to twenty feet, at least, and weighing up to a hundred and fifty pounds.
The idea is that the contestant runs with the caber upright into the air in order to gain momentum, and then throws it so that the ends change places. The aim is for the caber to land on the ground and lie as straight as possible, rather than what most people tend to think, which is that you have to throw it for the longest distance.
Now this set first appears in our original Ogdens reference book (RB.15, first published in 1949), as :
53. 25. BRITISH TREES AND THEIR USES. Fronts printed by letterpress in colour. backs in grey, with descriptive text, "Ogden`s Guinea Gold Cigarettes" at base. Export issue, about 1930 - known to have been issued in New Zealand, where special album was also issued. Similar series by B.A.T., Edwards Ringer & Bigg, and Lambert & Butler.
Now I am following date order here, and going for RB.21, which is the B.A.T. reference book - that lists this set under Lambert & Butler, additions and corrections, as simply :
209-34. BRITISH TREES & THEIR USES.
A. Anonymous issue, with letterpress on back
B. Ogden`s Guinea Gold Cigarettes issue
C. Edwards, Ringer & Bigg Home issue
D. Lambert & Butler Home issue.
However this gets a lot more interesting in the front index, where it is revealed that the Anonymous issue was circulated in Malaya, in 1930, and the Ogden`s in New Zealand, in 1927.
We also know from other sources that the Lambert & Butler version was issued, in the British Isles, in the same year, 1927. We featured that in our newsletter for the 18th of March 2023, on Tuesday the 21st of March.
In our World Tobacco Issues Index it catalogues our set under Ogdens Section 5, "Export issues without I.T.C. Clause, issued through B.A.T" and under sub section "B", for "Guinea Gold Cigarettes" issues. Coloured cards, inscribed "Ogden`s Guines Gold Cigarettes" at base of back. Issued in New Zealand 1927-28.".
There are just two sets in this section, ours, and Famous Railway Trains, and our set is listed as :
BRITISH TREES AND THEIR USES. Sm. 67 x 36. Nd. (25) See RB21/209-34.B ... O/2-106
In the updated version of this volume, the section and the text remains the same, (though I forgot to note the code) - however there has been an addition to the heading, which tells us that "A special album was issued to hold the two series, and also Set D640-550" - which was Dominion Tobacco`s “People and Places Famous in New Zealand History”.