CHAP. CIII. SALICA CEA. SALIX. 1471 
completed. (Sang.) Another mode is, to fix a plank on legs at a convenient 
height, so as to form a stool, or small bench, having holes bored in it with an 
inch auger: into these is put a stick, the upper end of which is cleft; 
and through this cleft the willow twigs are drawn, to separate them from the 
bark, in the same manner as through the iron rods. (Mitch. Dend., p. 60.) 
After being peeled, the rods will keep in good condition for a long time, till a 
proper market is found for them, It may be useful here to remark, that 
osiers in the peeled state will keep better to wait a market, than if left with 
the hark on; and that they never fail to produce a greater return in the peeled 
state, after paying for the labour of peeling, than they do when sold immediately 
after they are cut from the stools. (Plant. Kal., p.534.) 
Whitened, or peeled, rods are tied up in bundles, the band of which is 3 ft. 
Gin. long, and sold, about London, at from 5s. to 7s per bolt, or bundle. The 
rods which have the best sale in the London market are those of S. triandra. 
Green rods are sold by the score bolts, and whitened rods are sold by the 
load of 80 bolts. In Covent Garden Market, in and around which there are 
several basket-makers, the rods of S. viminalis are by far the largest brought 
to market; and, whether with or without the bark on, to them is exclusively 
applied the term osiers. All the other kinds of willow rods are exclusively 
termed willows; and those most frequently exposed for sale, with the bark 
on, are S. decipiens and S. triandra. All the larger baskets, and all the ham- 
pers, are made of the rods of S. viminalis. In Germany, and also frequently 
in Scotland, the willows, after being cut and tied up in bolts, are stacked, or 
kept in an airy shed; and, when the bark is to be removed, it is effected by 
boiling or steaming them. The rods, thus prepared, are considered to be 
rather more durable than when the bark is separated in consequence of the 
rising of the sap; and they may be used immediately after cutting, instead of 
remaining in a useless state for several months. 
Basket-making, in the commonest form of the manufacture, is a very simple 
operation ; and in most parts of Europe it was formerly understood by every 
country labourer, and practised by him for himself or his master, as it still is 
in Russia, Sweden, and other countries of the north. In Britain, and es- 
pecially in Scotland, it was the custom, some years ago, for every gardener to 
understand basket-making, and it generally formed a part of his occupation in 
the winter evenings ; but this is no longer the case: gardening is now be- 
come a more intellectual occupation, and the rising generation of gardeners 
are obliged to spend their evenings, and every spare moment, in reading. 
Still, we think that every gardener, forester, and woodman ought to know 
how to make a common garden basket, and more especially those wicker- 
work structures which are now in very general use for the protection of half- 
hardy trees and shrubs, when young, and planted out in the open garden. 
These wicker structures are formed on the familiar principle of wattling a 
hurdle or wickerwork fence, and, therefore, we shall not enter into details 
respecting them in this place, but refer our readers to the Gard. Mag., vol. xiii., 
in which they will find a copious article, illustrated by engravings, on the 
fabrication of wickerwork for garden purposes. We shall here confine our- 
selves to giving a slight outline of garden basket making, as practised in Scot- 
land and Germany, by gardeners. 
Every basket, according to the Scotch and German mode of construction, 
consists of two parts; the main ribs, or principal parts of the framework 
of the structure; and the filling in, or wattled part, or web. The principal 
ribs, in common baskets of a roundish form, are two: a vertical rib, or hoop, 
___ the upper part of which is destined to form the handle; and a horizontal 
a hoop, or rim, which is destined to support all the subordinate ribs, on 
which the wands are wattled. The two main ribs are first bent to the re- 
quired form, and made fast at their extremities by nails or wire. They 
_ are then joined together in their proper position, the one intersecting the 
_ other; and they are afterwards nailed together, or tied by wire, at the points 
of intersection. The operation of wattling is next commenced, by taking the 
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