i6 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



AMERICAN FOREST TREES. 



White Willow. 

 f^utix iillMi — Linn. 

 Tills specie? of the willow family is known 

 by but few names, although it is found in 

 nearly all parts of the eountry. Those most 

 commonly given to it are white willow, yellow 

 willow and golden osier. 



The various members of the genus Saliit 

 170 distinct species and numerous hybrids — 

 are found growing from the Arctic circle to 

 the equator, under the greatest pos- 

 sible varieties of soil and climate, 

 on the tops of mountains and at 

 the sea level. 



The white willow was importeil 

 to this country from Europe, where 

 it grows in equal or even greater 

 abundance. There are several varie- 

 ties of the species alba: in its 

 typical form the twigs are olive 

 green, and the leaves are silky on 

 both sides, while in the variety 

 argentea the foliage is quite gray 

 and silvery; in cwrulea the twigs 

 are olive, the leaves smooth above 

 and slightly greenish-blue; in the 

 variety Salix alba ritellina, which 

 is the one pictured herewith, the 

 twigs are smooth and brittle at the 

 base, and yellowish, hence the com- 

 mon name golden osier. Says 

 Lounsberry, "Early in the spring 

 especially, a golden glow from this 

 willow appears to lighten the whole 

 of its surrounding atmosphere. It 

 is a tree very common in America, 

 perhaps the most so of any one of 

 the family. Even about old houses 

 it is found, and it grows abun- 

 dantly in low places." In shape 

 and general contour the leaves of 

 all three varieties are alike — taper- 

 ing both ways, and having sharply 

 defined teeth; they are simple,- al- 

 ternate and lanceolate; silky white 

 hairs appear on the tipper surface 

 as well as underneath, particularly 

 when young ; the leaves grow from 

 two to four inches long. 



Both staminate and pistillate 

 flowers grow in long slender cat- 

 kins, appearing when the leaves do, 

 usually in May. The fruit is flask- 

 shaped and sessile. 



In general appearance the Salix 

 alba jintellina is often a venerable- 

 looking tree, with its short erect 

 trunk and regulai' broadly-spread- 

 ing top. It reaches a height of 

 from forty to sixty feet. Very few become 

 exceedingly large trees. 



This American ofif-shoot of the white wil- 

 low of Europe is far more common in culti- 

 vation than is the parent tree, and is one of 

 the most vigorous and useful of all the wil- 

 lows found in the United States. Its yellow 

 twigs are its best means of identification. 

 The many varieties and often even species 



FIFTY-FIFTH PAPER. 



of willow are difficult to distinguish. 

 The wood of willow is invariably light and 

 weak. However, uses for it have always 

 been found. The wood is a favorite mate- 

 rial for the manufacture of wooden limbs, 

 and the soft light timber makes excellent 

 iharcoal for gunpowder and is largely em- 

 ployed for fuel when a hot, quick fire is 

 essential. The wiry, flexible twigs of many 



TYl 



ICAL FIELD GROWTH WHITE WILLOW, WASHING 

 TON PARK, CHICAGO. 



varieties are staple articles in the wicker- 

 ware industry, and tannin is obtained from 

 the bark. The fondness of the tree for 

 water has permitted its use in Holland and 

 other countries to hold up the banks of 

 streams and canals. The cultivation of wil- 

 lows is very simple, since a twig stuck into 

 damp earth will develop into a little tree in 

 a comparatively short time. Posts made of 



them soon grow into an avenue of saplings, 

 and in damp places their roots drain and 

 improve the soil. Some of the species have 

 twigs which will strike root if they fall on 

 rich earth, especially the waterside willows ; 

 a stream will carry them along with its cur- 

 rent and when they eventually lodge upon 

 some shoal they take root and a dump of 

 trees springs up. This characteristic is ad- 

 vantageous to many localities where 

 the sands and banks are thus firmly 

 established and made sightly. 



The British claim that the willow 

 timber grown in England is far 

 ahead of that imported either from 

 America, Australia or the Conti- 

 nent for the purposes to which it 

 is put, being more springy, less 

 brittle and more lasting. Unpol- 

 larded willow trees, that is, those 

 which have not been denuded of 

 the top and xipper branches, are 

 most suitable for the making of 

 cricket bats, and in England the 

 selling price of excellent, clean wil- 

 low for that purpose is now about 

 5s. and upward per cubic foot. 

 The people are being urged to set 

 out willow plantations in all parts 

 of the country. There are a few 

 stations, in Bedfordshire, the fen 

 districts of Lincoln and Cambridge, 

 and along portions of the Thames 

 river, where willow culture is en- 

 gaged in, covering in all perhaps 

 7,000 acres, the product being de- 

 voted to basket making. Foreign 

 competition has been so keen that 

 in spite of the fact that English 

 makers prefer the home species, cul- 

 tivation of willow has decreased re- 

 markably during the past thirty 

 years. The sorting and harvesting 

 of osiers gave good employment to 

 many people, and rather damp land 

 that could not be used for other 

 purposes brought good returns when 

 planted with willows. 



The illustration accompanying 

 this article is from a photograph 

 of one of the many willows grow- 

 ing in Washington Park', Chicago. 

 It often happens that these trees 

 arc planted without any regard to 

 fitness or arrangement, and in such 

 eases they mar rather than enhance 

 the general appearance of the land- 

 scape. In the Chicago parks, how- 

 ever, they have been placed with such good 

 taste that they form a fitting and graceful 

 foil to larger and more handsome trees, 

 making the general effect very pleasing. 

 On account of the rapid growth of willowy 

 its hardiness and other qualities, it is often 

 planted freely in residence districts where 

 it is desired to produce shade and shelter in 

 a very short space of time. 



