418 



boiler they are taken to the stripping room where the bark is 

 removed by women. The rods are then placed in a heated shed 



a°i i ry ' ? fter wMch they are £ raded int0 sizes ready for use. 

 Although attempts have been made to find a use for the bark they 

 liave so far failed, and it is simply a waste product. 



A few years ago baskets of all descriptions were made both for 

 * g I- u forei S n markets, but now only those kinds are made 

 tor which there is a local demand, and the majority of the rods 

 suitable tor fine work are sold ready for use. A brisk trade is 

 carried on in potato hampers, and there is a good demand for 

 pigeon and fowl baskets. 



The majority of the varieties of basket-making willows grown in 

 the country have been tried at Mawdesley, but most of them have 

 been discarded as unsuitable for the district, and only a few 

 selected forms of two or three species are grown, which are recog- 

 nised by local names. Specimens were, however, obtained, and in 



ttie following descriptions they are allotted to their respective 



species. r 



The varieties are : 



m,"- Red B « m" T a 01d Dicks " ; " Lon S Sk ein8 " or « Light Long 

 «RT^» B1 T kS ^ rame ? M: "^desley'sLong Skein"; and 

 M Ti «k i " ° ° herd known respectively as « Tulip Willow " 



"irsedX ""Re" Bud™ tim6 *"** " ^ W ^ 



Jrvurea nd C T 1 ° M ^ " iS a w ell-marked form of Salix 

 anSaohp; i ° tani f l Vanety ^arfenbergensis most closely 



Jmwth anf i L general a PPe^ance. It is of comparatively weak 

 It T IhP mil coyPicuoas by reason of its red stems and buds. 



lienor C T l X Qt ? 11 the Will0W8 * row * in *e district for 



rodsa; e i d S ™ i and U8uaI1 y c ommands the best price. The 

 Afferent Z Z Z i "* * T^ State and are obtainable in five 



the shortest 2 L 2" l^vl' Tf being from 4 to ^ ^ in length, 

 to the nron iLn^ ?h '^ nr8t r men tioned name evidently applies 



? 0M dBI^I wt W ^ lls 4 th u e latter is an abbreviation of 

 of the Efrl of T Ji WlUo 7- R^hard Meadows was an employe 

 fee ured rou°l wt / **l d ainong8t his other Unties he inanu- 

 on ^ociion g L w i ba8ketB f ° r the distribution of game. On 

 m^portedTant. t° d !? me ? iCe Willow rods round a bundle of 

 n superior rods t, F ^ the8 * H P rocured stings which resulted 

 ribued curtml *Z J **!¥• h ? ?* d P revi °nsly worked. He dis- 

 S St? 1 hlS friend8 aud Mr - Cowley obtained a 

 SS im to" taf me S ° R° pular that on one farm alone up- 

 yVeld of rods ner Zt'T^ 7 I,roduced in a sin ^ reason. The 

 S IrLZ the « *£? °i A" 8 Va , riet > r is from ei ^t to nine tons. 



Europe and CenLl ™?v °.l ier ' is widel y d istributed through 

 Europe and Central and Northern Asia, and is a variable plant, 



however, of very SSior mp«> ?? "I™* 7 ment i°ned ; it is, 

 "T„ «n \, 10r merit > aa <l has been discarded. 



willow ? h S anThe iLV met' ^ ^^ i8 a stronger-growing 

 selected f orm o ' th* fftgh% f ■ Ver ^ ood sW It is a 

 imported to Ma wdLlev f rorf ^ Vl f^ahs and was originally 



^wuesiey from Knowsley. It is used both plain 



