274 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



willow-wood, and it is employed in making shoe-lasts, light 

 ladders and the handles of light agricultural implements. Its 

 incombustibility is so great that it is peculiarly suited for the 

 flooring of buildings intended to be fire-proof, and attention 

 has been recently called to its value for such purposes. 



As willow timber could be produced for more cheaply than 

 that of any of our native trees, it would soon come into 

 general use here for the purposes for which it seems par- 

 ticularly fitted, and for which more valuable woods are now 

 employed. Less than one-third of the willow used in the 

 United States in basket-making is produced here, the re- 

 mainder being imported from Great Britain, France and 

 Belgium, at an annual cost of $5,000,000. 



The osier proper, the product of 8alix viminalis, L. and 

 its allies, can be grown without trouble in any wet, undrained 

 soil, capable of producing little else of value; but the better 

 sorts of basket-willow are only successfully produced- with 

 careful cultivation on rich, well-drained soil. Under such 

 conditions it is a profitable crop, capable of netting at least 

 $150 a year to the acre, and well worth the attention of our 

 farmers. Further experiments, which might be made under 

 the auspices of the county societies, are, however, required to 

 determine which of the mauy basket-willows is best adapted 

 to our climate, and to devise some method for protecting 

 this crop against the attacks of many insects which have of 

 late years seriously interfered with its cultivation in various 

 parts of the United States. 



In spite of the beauty and great economic value of the 

 white pine, there are many situations in this State where its 

 cultivation is almost impossible, and where it should be. 

 replaced by its relative the Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris, L.) 

 of the north of Europe. It is many years since this tree was 

 first introduced for ornamental purposes in Massachusetts, 

 where it finds itself perfectly at home, and grows rapidly, 

 soon becoming a large tree on poor soil and in exposed situa- 

 tions. Under such conditions, we usually find the ground 

 covered Avith a spontaneous growth of the pitch pine, and 

 wherever this tree grows naturally, it is certain that the 

 infinitely more valuable and beautiful Scotch pine will flourish. 

 If Mr. Fay's success with this tree can be taken as a criterion, 



