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inaugurated by the manufacturers of the world; in other agricultural 
implements there were comparatively few entries. The intelligent 
foreigner appeared to realize that American manufacturers generally 
do not seek a European market, and that the reaper, the sewing- 
machine, tramway-car, the shoe-manufacturing ‘machinery, and other 
articles that stood in apparent isolation, were there because foreign 
markets were opening rapidly forthem. These characteristic American 
inventions, realizing the labor-saving idea and a marvellous economy 
and suitability of material, were recognized as a very few forms repre- 
senting at home a broad series of manufacturing industries. There 
were not a few European mechanics who were candid enough to say that 
a large proportion of the new ideas in mechanism brought forth by ex- 
hibition were to be found in the American department. 
THE OSIER WILLOW. 
By THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 
THE SALIX oR WiLLOW: in a series of papers, by William Scaling. Practical instructions for planting 
and culture; with observations on its value and adaptability for “the formation of hedges, &c.”’ Lon- 
don, 1871. 
This little work is prepared by one who derives his knowledge from 
the experience of many years in the propagation of the willow, and 
treats the subject of the various species of willow, their mode of prop- 
agation, and the uses to which they may be applied, for the purpose of 
communicating his knowledge to others and of promoting this interest- 
ing industry. 
Little attention or study has been bestowed upon the willow-plant in 
the United States, although there is scarcely any part of the country in 
which it may not be successfully raised. It grows readily from cuttings, 
and in almost any quality of soil, although, like all other plants, its 
quality will be characterized by the soil in which it grows. The various 
purposes to which the willow may be applied, its extensive usefulness, 
and the facility with which it may be raised, command the attention of 
our farmers whether it may not be made ai most profitable industry. 
The species of willow best fitted for cultivation involves the considera- 
tion of the purposes for which they are designed and the quality of soil 
in which they are to be grown. For wicker-work, such as baskets, car- 
riage and sleigh bodies, a particular species is most profitable ; whilst 
for hedges another species is better adapted ; and for coopers’ hoops or 
poles another is more fit. So that any one about to enter upon the busi- 
ness of propagating the willow should consult not only the quality of his 
soil but the market where he was likely to dispose of his product. 
Doubtless the use of the willow in this country would be greatly multi- 
plied by the facility for obtaining it, and by the improvement of the 
quality, which would be a necessary consequence of its careful cultiva- 
tion. It has been estimated that between six and seven thousand acres 
in England and Ireland are now appropriated to the cultivation of the 
willow, and yet there is imported into that country, from France, Bel- 
gium, and Holland, 4,400 tons, of the Seis value of $218,045, in 
addition to baskets of the value of $224,200, and the extension of "the 
trade is gradually increasing. The followin’ table, obtained from the . 
Bureau of Statistics, is interesting, as showing the progress in the use 
of the willow in the United States: 
