The Country Gciitlcinaiis Magazine 



569 



51 ^ictionanj of ^ook ani) Emplcmcute 



THE FARM, FOREST, AND GARDEN. 



(Continued from page 277.) 



BASKETS. — Various kinds of materials 

 are used in making these useful articles, 

 according to the purpose they are intended 

 to serve. Those made of willow and rushes 

 are principally used by the gardener and 

 farmer. Several kinds of willow (Sa/ix) are 

 employed. The finest baskets are made of 

 Forby's willow (Sa/ix Forbyana). The 

 coarser and strongest of the common osier 

 {S. viiiiiiialis), and basket willow {S. triandra). 

 The willows, which are at their prime about 

 five or six years after planting, are cut in the 

 spring, just before the bursting of the leaf 

 buds, and must be kept moist till cleaned, 

 which operation is performed by a hand 

 scraper. 



A very strong, useful, and convenient bas- 

 ket (fig. 18) for gathering potatoes and other 



roots, is in common use in all parts of the 

 north, and is worthy the attention of English 

 gardeners. 



The coarser and larger kinds of fruit and 

 vegetables are brought to Coven t Garden 

 market, and disposed of to the retail dealers 

 in osier baskets called Sirecs, Half-Sieves, 



VOL. I. 



Bushel Sieves, and Bushel Baskets. The fol- 

 lowing are the sizes : — 



The Siei'e. — Fifteen inches in diameter and 8 

 inches deep. Contains 7 imperial gallons. 



Half-Sieve. — Twelve and a half inches in dia- 

 meter and 6 inches deep. Contains 35^ 

 gallons. 



Quarter-Sieve. — Contains i^ gallons. 



Bushel Sieve. — Seventeen and three-fourths in 

 diameter at top and 1 7 inches at bottom ; 

 depth, 1 1 1^ inches. Contains i o ^ gallons. 



Bushel Basket. — Fourteen and a half inches in 

 diameter at top and 10 inches at bottom; 

 depth, 17 inches. AValnuts, nuts, apples, 

 and potatoes are sold by this measure. 

 ■\\'hen heaped (although contrary to the 

 statute) this measure contains an imperial 

 bushel. 



In the " Mechanics' Magazine " of May 18, 

 1S33, ^^^ B. Bevan of Leighton, gives the fol- 

 lowing particulars as to the capacity of these 

 measures : — " To obtain the required infor- 

 mation for myself and others, I purchased a 

 new set of these measures of one of the prin- 

 cipal vendors in Covent Garden market, and 

 have ascertained their capacities, heaped 

 measure, to be as follows : — The sieve con- 

 tained 1644 cubic inches, or about half a 

 bushel; the half-sieve, 822 cubic inches, or 

 about a peck; the quarter of a sieve, 362 

 cubic inches, or about a gallon ; the largest 

 punnet, 284 cubic inches ; the second punnet, 

 228 cubic inches, or about a pottle ; the third 

 punnet, 90 cubic inches, or about a quart ; 

 the smallest punnet, 60 cubic inches, or about 

 I Yz pint. These dimensions shew nearly the 



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