[175] 



POND CULTURE. 



G41 



Fig. 44^ 



ones. The laborers frequently overlook these in cuttin<;. This should 

 not be allowed, however, for these ciii)i)led branches will be the lirstto 

 grow in the following year, and will hinder the growth of the healthy 

 branches. The entire work connected with the willow 

 harvest had best be done by contract. The amount i)aid 

 for cutting, binding, taking to the wagons, and loading 

 of 100 bundles of willow branches — the bundle measuring 

 about 1 meter in circumference at the lower (thicker) 

 end — is generally 8 to 9 marks [$2 to $2.25]. One la- 

 borer can cut thirty to sixty bundles per day. The 

 wages are still better if three men work together, and let 

 a woman do the binding, for which they pay lier 2 pfen- 

 nige (one-half cent) per bundle. The cutting of the wil. 

 lows can only be done, without injnring the stems, in the 

 period between the fall of the leaves and their sprouting in spring. If 

 basket-makers have rented a willow i)lantation, they like to do the cut- 

 ting at the time when the sap rises in the trees, so that the branches 

 can be peeled immediately. If cutting, however, is rejieatedly done at 

 that period, the plantation will soon be ruined. After the branches 

 have been cut they are either sold immediately, with the bark on, or 

 l)eeled later and sold as white willow branches." 



One hectare of willows yields per year about 800 bundles of willow 

 branches (with the bark on), viz. : 



If the willow branches are sold peeled, the 800 bundles can be sold 

 for 59G marks [S149]. Besides the expenses for harvesting, the follow- 

 ing will be the running expenses of a willow j)lantation per year and 

 per hectare: 500 shoots at 2 marks per 100 = 10 marks [$2.50J ; cut 

 down oOO old trees at 3.32 marks per 100 = 10 marks [$2.50] ; weeding, 

 &c., 5 marks ($1.25] ; total, 25 marks [S0.25] ; leaving a net profit of 

 23G marks [$59] per hectare. 



The capital invested in starting a willow plantation need not be taken 

 into account by the pond cultivator, as, strictly speaking, the willows 

 are not planted for the direct purpose of yielding income, but for 

 strengthening the dike, for which they arc absolutely needed. The 

 capital invested should, therefore, bo accounted for under the head of 

 U. JMis. 08 il 



