Skins

The skin on my bushel-banjo (almost a mistrel-banjo) is from calf, not goat, as Pär wrote to me. And just now I am reading in Bob Carlin's book "Banjo, an illustrated history" about Joe Sweeney, who must have been quite a guy when he was seven years old (i.e. 1817). His grandniece was telling stories about him having built his first own banjo in the age of seven using a gourd and the skin of the family's black cat - which led to his mother giving him a god thrashing and burning the banjo.
As the family had another -white - cat, Little Joe jumped at the chance and took another gourd, this time with the white hide. It was then that his mother realized that this boy was special and from then on he got encouragement in his musical career.