311 



were formed freely at the apical end of the tubers in all the 



* eyes.' 



Watson 



garden and duly yielded an ample crop of quite normal potatoes. 



Literature quoted. 



a. Deutsche Landwirtsch. Presse, Nos. 91, 94, 95, & 97 (1905) 



b. Comp. Rend., Dec. 1903, p. 1006. 

 c Comp. Rend.. Dec. 1892, p. 241. 



L.-THE CRICKET BAT WILLOW 



(With Plates.) 



W. J. Bean. 



No question in connection with profitable tree-planting has 

 aroused greater interest in recent years than that as to the kind of 



ttt..i ,.,.,_., v p i .j- :_i.~i. 1 ±„ T± Una 



Willow best adapted for the manufacture of cricket bats. It has 

 only attained importance in recent times because it is only lately 

 that thft snm.lies of tho hpst " Bat Willow " have become seriously 



Willow trees on Sir Walter 



to be equivalent to about seven shillings per cubic foot. I _have 

 recently been informed by the agent of a large estate in Essex 

 that he had declined the offer of £1,500 for the best 100 Willows 

 on the estate ; and Mr. John Shaw, of the well-known firm of 

 Shaw and Shrewsbury of Nottingham, last winter offered £40 for 



_ _• i . ttti .. • l a an* imoo Iiq¥» Wn known 



a single tree. W 



a single tree, wnen it is rememuereu luav "^p ^«.~ — ~ 



in favourable situations to reach a saleable size in twelve years 

 (having in that period attained a girth of about 50 indies) these 

 prices show that there is no timber so profitable at the present 

 time as that of the Cricket Bat Willow. It is not BurP nsin 8» 

 therefore, that the attention of owners of land suitable tor me 

 growth of Willows should have been attracted by this tree, as a 

 matter of fact a large number of Willows have been planted 

 during the last few years with a view to meeting the future 

 demand. But we have it on the authority of Mr. Shaw, one of the 

 largest buyers as well as a leading expert, that n0 J »°™ *™ °J£ 

 fourth of the trees that are being planted are the best Crictet 



Bat Willow. 



The identity of the true « Bat Willow " has always been obscure 

 The cricket bat maker recognises the tree best suited to his 

 purpose with infallible certainty, but the characters on wh ch he 

 relies are not characters on which the botanist bj^eBbisdwti^ 

 tions. It is with a view to helping the planter to "MjpiBe ^e 

 Willow best suited for cricket bats, and to avoid the »™™™ [e 

 ones, that the matter is now being taken up m the Kew Bulletin. 



It has for some time been evident to m »t Km rttot titere £ 



Willow 



