THE CULTIVATION OF WILLOWS. 1 95 



tidal portion of the river, it is flooded during high'tides. The soil 

 is a rich stiff loam, being the accumulation of alluvial deposits 

 brought down by the river. The common osier (Salix viuiinalis) 

 is grown to produce rods fit for making small baskets. The 

 area has been an osier bed for a long time, and some of the 

 old stools are about 2 feet in girth, perfectly sound, and yielding 

 as good rods as ever. On one of the old stools nearly seventy- 

 five shoots were counted. The stools stand, roughly, about 

 18 inches apart, so that there are about 19,000 stools per acre. 



The harvesting of the crop is commenced in the latter part 

 of December or early in January, and is completed in about 

 five weeks. Care is taken to cut the rods clean, and close to the 

 edge of the stool, and the rods are then sorted into sizes and 

 stacked until Easter, when they are peeled. 



Planting is done soon after the crop is harvested, i.e., about 

 the middle of February. The best i-year-old shoots are used, 

 and are merely stuck about 9 inches deep into the ground. 

 Weeding is done about the end of May. The bulk of the 

 crop is used for making small baskets for use on an adjacent 

 farm. 



The crop is sorted into the following classes, which are stated 

 to be those now used on the London market: (i) rods over 

 II ft. in length; (2) rods 9-1 1 ft.; (3) rods 7-9 ft. ; (4) rods 

 5-7 ft. ; and (5) rods below 5 ft. in length. The first four are 

 peeled by means of a simple instrument called a "brake," but 

 the last class is not peeled. 



All the operations are carried out by piecework : — 



Cutting. — The cost of cutting is 6s. per score of bolts of 

 various sizes. These are generally about 20 inches in circum- 

 ference near the butt end. 



Sorting. — The sorting costs 5s. per score of bolts of 40 inches 

 in circumference. 



Feeling. — The cost of peeling varies according to the class 

 of bolts, but average about icd. per bolt. 



Basket-making. — It costs 7|d. to make a bushel-size basket 

 having alternate bands of peeled and unpeeled rods. 



Planting. — The cost of planting is 2s. 6d. per 1000 cuttings. 



Weeding. — This costs ;^5 annually for the whole area. 



Yield. — The yield is 750 bolts of green unpeeled rods of 

 40 inches girth near the butt end, />., 115 bolts per acre. These 

 750 bolts of unpeeled rods yield 60 bolts of peeled rods of the 



