CHAP. cm. .S'ALICA'cKilD. SA^AX. 1471 



completed. (Snug.) 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 up[)er 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. DencL, 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 [)ecled state will keep better to wait a market, than if left with 

 the bark on ; and that they never fail to produce a greater return in the peeled 

 state, after paying for the labour of peeling, than the^ do when sold immediately 

 after they are cut from the stools. {Plant. Kal., p. 534-.) 



Whitened, or peeled, rods are lietl up in bundles, the band of which is .3 ft. 

 Gin. long, and sold, about London, at from 5.v. to 7.'- 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 willmv rods are exclusively 

 termed willows ; and those most frequently exposed for sale, with the bark 

 on, are »S^. decipiens and iV. 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 m 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-mnking, 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 garilener, 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 

 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 



5 D 



