1460- ‘ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART Ile. 
of willow bark, when dried and pulverised, to yield 1 02. of salicine. (Zbid.) 
The wood of the willow is soft, smooth, and light: that of the Salix caprea 
is heavier than that of any other species of the genus, weighing, when dry, 
41 lb. 6 oz. per cubic foot, and losing a twelfth part of its bulk in drying ; that of 
Salix alba weighs 27 |b. 6 oz. per cubic foot when dry, and loses, in drying, some- 
what more than a sixth part of its bulk. In Pliny’s time, willow wood was in re- 
quest for the fabrication of shields, on account of its lightness; and in the present 
day, it is, for the same reason, preferred for making cutting-boards for the use of 
shoemakers and tailors. It is also used for whetting the fine steel instruments of 
cork-cutters, and other mechanics. It is in demand for turnery, and for shoes, 
shoemakers’ lasts, and toys; for dyeing black, in imitation of ebony, as it takes 
a fine polish; and for a great variety of minor purposes. The wood of the 
larger trees, such as S. alba and S. Russellidna, is sawn into boards for floor- 
ing, and sometimes for rafters; in which last situation, when kept dry and 
ventilated, it has been known to last upwards of a century. The straight 
stems of young trees, when split in two, make excellent styles for field ladders, 
on account of their lightness. The boards are well adapted for lining waggons 
and carts, particularly such as are intended for coals or stones, or any hard ma- 
terial, as willow wood, like other soft woods, is by no means liable to splinter 
from the blow of any hard angular material. It is also valued for the boards 
of the paddles of steam-vessels, and for the strouds of water-wheels, as it 
wears in water better than any other kind of wood. The red-wood willow, 
or stag’s-head osier (5. fragilis), according to Mathew, produces timber superior 
to that of S. alba, or of any other tree willow. It is much used in Scotland 
for building small vessels; and especia!ly for fast-sailing sloops of war, by 
reason of its lightness, pliancy, elasticity, and toughness. The wood, when 
dry, is easily known from that of all other willows, by its being of a salmon 
colour; on which account it is sometimes used in cabinet-making and for 
children’s toys. “ Formerly,” says Mathew, “ before the introduction of iron 
hoops for cart wheels, the external rim, or felloe, was made of this willow; and, - 
when new, the cart or wain was drawn along a road covered with hard smallgravel 
(and, in preference, gravel somewhat angular) ; by which means the felloe shod 
itself with stone, and thus became capable of enduring the friction of the road 
for a long time, the toughness and elasticity of the willow retaining the gravel 
till the stone was worn away. Under much exposure to blows and friction, 
this willow outlasts every other home timber. When recently cut, the ma- 
tured wood is slightly reddish, and the sap-wood white. When exposed to 
the air, and gradually dried, both are of salmon colour, and scarcely dis- 
tinguishable from each other.” (On Nav. Timd., p. 63.) S. Russellidna being 
very nearly allied to S. fragilis, its wood has, probably, the same charac- 
teristics. ‘The longer shoots and branches of the tree willows are made into 
poles for fencing, hop-poles, props for vines, and other purposes ; and, when 
torked at one end, into props for supporting lines for clothes. They are also 
much used for the handles of hay-rakes, and other light agricultural imple- 
ments; and they are split, and made into hurdles, crates, and hampers; and, 
when interwoven with the smaller branches, into racks, or cradles, tor the hay 
and straw given to cattle in the fields, or in feeding-yards. The smaller rods, 
with or without the bark on, are manufactured into various kinds of baskets, 
for domestic use; and, split up into two, four, or more pieces, for making 
lighter and ornamental articles, such as work-baskets, ladies’ reticules, &c. 
It is a remarkable fact, that basket-making was one of the few manufactures 
in which the ancient Britons excelled in the times of the Romans. These 
baskets, or bascaudie, as they are called by Martial, are said to have been of 
yery elegant workmanship, and to have borne a high price. (See Encye. Brit., 
art. Basket-making.) At Caen, in France, hats are manufactured from 
strips or shavings of the wood of the S. alba, in the same manner as they are 
manufactured in Switzerland from shavings of the wood of Daphne Lauréola; 
and as they were, some years ago in Essex, from the wood of Pépulus fastigiata. 
Branches of two or three years’ growth are taken and cut up into thin slices 
