io OSIERS AND WILLOWS 



branch of agriculture needs so much expenditure for 

 labour per acre as that of willow growing if the ground 

 is efficiently cultivated, and the produce properly 

 sorted, graded, peeled, and prepared. 



In many districts of England willows are in con- 

 siderable demand unpeeled, either green or brown, 

 i. e. dried. The difficulty of obtaining an abundant 

 supply of labour is in these districts surmounted by 

 cutting the crops in the winter usually from December 

 to March when work is slack. But conditions are 

 considerably altered when the willows are to be peeled 

 for buff, an operation which is generally carried on by 

 women in the winter months, or for white, in the 

 months of May, June, and July, just at the time when 

 labour is in demand. 



PLANTING 



Land trenched or ploughed in the autumn will be 

 ready for planting as soon as it has settled down into 

 a firm bed. This will usually be about the end of 

 February or during March, but, if the land was pre- 

 pared before the autumn, the sets may be planted any 

 time between November and March. 



The general method of planting is to use an Italian 

 hemp cord of three-ply with strips of linen passed 

 between the strands of the cord at regular intervals as 

 indicators for the sets, the distances at which the 

 strips are placed being determined by the variety being 

 planted. (For distances of the different varieties see 

 particulars given under the heading " Varieties of 

 Willows.") This method often throws the sets out 

 of their true distances, because in the length recom- 

 mended (40 yds.) the cord varies according to the 



