No. 112.] 321 



tough and pliant, even when stripped of their bark, and very 

 durable should be cut every year. 



Salix Dicolor, or Two Colored Willow. — A. native of the 

 United States, and common in low grounds and on the banks of 

 rivers, from New England to Carolina. According to Parsh, this 

 kind is the one most commonly used in America by the basket- 

 makers. 



Salix Cordata, or Heart-leayed Willow. — A native of North 

 America. The sprouts are very tough, and are much used for 

 baskets. 



Salix Alba, or European White Osier. — This in England is 

 called the Huntingdon Willow, and also the White Willow. It 

 is of quick growth, and attains to a very large size, often reaching 

 to the height of forty to fifty feet. It is said to flourish on almost 

 any soil, and forms by its upright growth a fine contrast to the 

 Weeping Willow. It is also a good basket willow, and is used in 

 England extensively for hoop-poles and fencing by the farmers. 

 Tlieir manner of planting wdien for fencing, is by placing the ends 

 or cuttings in the ground, and then w^orking them into a kind of 

 lattice-work, and passing a withe around the tops or ends, so as 

 to keep in shape for the first year or two. They then cut tlie tops 

 off yearly, and sell them to the basket makers ; thus having a 

 fence and a crop from the same ground. 



The importance of the willow to man has been recognised from 

 the earliest ages, and ropes and baskets made from willow 

 sprouts were probably among the very first of human manufactures 

 in countries where those trees abound. The Romans used tho 

 twigs fur binding their vines and tying their reeds in bundles, and 

 made all sorts of baskets of them. A crop of willows was con- 

 sidered, so valuable in the time of Cato, tliat he ranked the wil- 

 low-field, next in value, to ihe vineyard and the garden. In 

 modern times, the man} u«( s, observes Hooker, '^ rendered to man, 

 by the dilVerent species of willow and osier, serve to rank tliem 

 among the first in our list of commercial plants." 



In an economical point of view, scarcely anything was added 

 to our knowledge of the cultivation and uses of the willow since 

 [As. Tr. '53.] V 



