forgot where i originally found this, it may have been on here!?
anyway i thought some here might find it interesting.
thats cool it was proper for a gentleman to never go out without a hat and cane, even if he wasnt disabled, it was just the style to carry one.
  interesting context as it was written in 1901.

http://ejmas.com/jnc/jncart_barton-wright_0200.htm

The cane or walking stick is a very useful weapon, as our Victorian ancestors knew well.  Most all of these techniques are derived from fencing, of course, likely saber technique.
The Koreans feature quite a bit of cane technique in Hapkido, the typical "hooked" cane is extensively used for it's trapping abilities.

There are a couple of makers of "combat canes", good, solid hickory:

http://www.combatcanes.com/

In Victorian times, quite a lot.  It was the sort of accessory most any "gentleman" of the period would have with him at all times.    The techniques would be applicable to fighting folks armed with other weapons, of course, or against an unarmed "ruffian". 

No worries back then about "use of force" lawsuits!

It is useful. I developed arthritis in my knees while I was in Jr. High and was awful at sports. When I moved up to Sr. High and had to get to classes on time on a bigger campus I bought a cane and DVD from http://www.canemasters.com/. Turned out that the cane fighting acted like physical therapy and made me need the cane less! The point being: Even if you never use it, Cane Fighting is still a good skill (and fun.)