96 ON GEOWTH AND CULTIVATION OF WILLOWS IN SCOTLAND. 



sorts is fatal to success. Mixed basket willows, however good 

 each sort may be, are of small value ; besides, no two varieties 

 grow precisely alike ; one variety always overpowers the other, 

 and uniformity of crop is destroyed. 



Cuttings may be taken from either one or two year old twigs. 

 If taken from one year olds, not more than three cuttings must 

 be taken from any rod, however large it may be, for if large there 

 is a risk of the top not being sufficiently ripe to grow; but if taken 

 from two year old twigs, they may be cut up to the extreme 

 growth of the first year. The recognised length for cuttings is 

 twelve inches ; the thick ones may be an inch or two longer, and 

 the thin ones an inch or two shorter. They should be cleanly 

 cut, without any splinter, and with one stroke of the knife. 



The trade price for cuttings is 10s. per 1000 for mixed or un- 

 selected sorts, and 15s. per 1000 for guaranteed sorts. 



The number of cuttings per imperial acre should range from 

 20,000 to 30,000, Professionals often plant many more, but the 

 extra care involved by so doing would not do for general practice. 



The following table of distances at which cuttings may be 

 planted will be found well adapted for general purposes : — 

 Salix viminalis, 20 inches by about 16 inches. 

 „ triandra, 18 „ 15 „ 



„ puiyurea, 16 „ 13 „ 



It is not always advisable to follow a hard-and-fast rule in 

 planting ; something in all cases must be left to the judgment of 

 the planter. Therefore, in giving the above table of distances, it 

 is with tlie idea, that a margin is left to the judgment of the 

 person who has the work in hand. It may, however, be said that 

 it is safer to err on the side of over close, than over-wide plant- 

 ing, when it is considered that the value of a basket willow 

 depends more upon the twigs being long, straight, and clean, than 

 it does upon their toughness and elasticity. All basket willows 

 grow crooked, and covered with lateral twigs, when too much 

 space is allowed ; and for the same reason, they are not of much 

 value when grown in long narrow screeds. To be good, they must 

 be massed, and receive light and air from above, and not at the 

 side. 



In preparing the land for planting, much must be left to the 

 superintendent of the work. Where steam power or horse power 

 can be applied, it is cheaper than the spade, and quite as effec- 

 tive. The chief thing to insist upon is, that by whatever means 

 it is done, the hard pan or subsoil must be broken up to a depth 

 of 12 to 14 inches, and the surface brought into a good free mould 

 before planting. The planting may be done at any time when 

 the ground is free from frost, between the middle of November 

 and the end of March. There are some advantages in early 

 planting, but those advantages arise chiefly from having the work 



