236 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



folia, or Long-leafed Willow. 20. S. pecUcellaris, or Stalk-fruited Willow. 21 . -S". uva 

 ursi, or Bearberry Willow. 22. S. repens, or Creeping Willow. 23. S. herhacea, or 

 Herb-like Willow. 24. ,S. viminalis. Basket Osier. This last is the willow which is 

 deserving our attention, and which I Avoukl hereby recommend for general cultivation 

 everywhere , and at least to the extent of the demand for the same . 



The next question would naturally be the preparation of the soil, and perhaps it 

 would not be out of place here to give a description as I tind it in Johnston's Encyclo- 

 poedia, to-wit: "The mode of planting is very simple; it is, lirst to dig the land from 

 six to twelve inches, and then to prick down cuttings of four years' growth and eight- 

 een inches long, at about three feet distance from each other. The soil may be moor 

 or clay^, or any that is low and wet. ' ' 



Now I will give you my own modus operandi : 1 plow the land as deep as I can, 

 (alwa5^s bearing in mind the deeper the better) , and make it as fine as rolling and har- 

 rowing will do it. This is all that is and can be needed by waj^ of preparation of soil. 

 It should be done in the latter part of April or the first days in May, according to the 

 season. Now we are ready for planting, which is done in rows of 30 to 30 inches 

 apart, for the purpose of using a small one-horse cvillivator between the rows^ the 

 young willowry reciuiring very clean culture the first year. 



The cuttings in one hand, a line having been previously stretched where the rows 

 are to be, we proceed to stick them in the ground about 8 or 12 inches apart; and if 

 the cuttings are kept fresh, and are of good size — about 6 or S inches long — and receive 

 sufficient cultivation, 99 out of every 100 are sure to grow, mostly reaching a height of 

 4 or 5 feet the first season. During the winter or early spring they are cut down to 

 within 3 or 4 inches of the ground, and the cuttings can be used for small baskets, or 

 for the purpose of tying grape vines, roses or the like; they are, however, not so 

 valuable for that purpose as the yellow willow, not being so tough as the latter. 



The ground should be again kept clean the second year, as well as ever after, though 

 each succeeding year less and less labor is required. Your willows are cut down the 

 same as the first year, and prepared for market or use. Care must be taken not to cut 

 them after the sap rises, as that will prove injurious to your willow stimip or stalk. 

 When cut down they are tied in bundles, and put upright in a pond or brook one or 

 two feet deep in water, so as to make them groAV or keep the sap rising, when at any 

 convenient time — especially on clear days — they are taken ovit, peeled and sun-dried, 

 after which they are ready for market, or can be kept for years in a dry, airy place. 



But let us not stop here, with the practical and useful only; but let us rather pro- 

 ceed to the both ornamental and beautiful, by recommending the planting of the salix 

 BabyloniccL , or weeping willow. In my opinion no dooryard is complete if there is not 

 one or more of said trees in it: it is of a rapid growth, a beautiful green, and withal 

 one of our handsomest ornamental trees. Nay more, it might be grown for the pur- 

 pose of wood, it making the best charcoal in use. 



Mascoutah, St. Clair Co. G. C. EISENMAYER. 



