34 OSIERS AND WILLOWS 



SALIX TRIANDRA 



m 



This is a species embracing numerous varieties, 

 known to the basket-maker in some districts as fine 

 tops, in contradistinction to the many varieties of the 

 common osier (5. viminalis) which are known as full 

 tops or soft rods. The former species supplies the 

 varieties most suitable for peeling white or buff as 

 one-year-olds. Many varieties of triandra are less 

 suitable for two-year-olds, owing to closeness of the 

 grain of the wood and the limited growth made 

 intone season by the choicest sorts. Some of the 

 largest-growing varieties of this group are more open 

 in the grain, and consequently better suited for pro- 

 viding the larger rods required by hampei -makers. 

 After standing on the head three years this species 

 sheds its bark, a feature not common to other kinds of 

 Salix, and perhaps affording the readiest method of 

 identification. All varieties of this species thrive on a 

 cool, strong loam, and make the best growth in a wet 

 season. In a dry period they are very liable to honey 

 dew, green fly, and gall attack. 



The following are varieties of 5. triandra : 

 " Black Maul," a variety believed to have been 

 brought prominently to the notice of the trade by a 

 practical worker named Maul in Leicestershire, is one 

 of the best willows for all kinds of baskets subjected to 

 long and hard service. It is extensively and chiefly 

 grown in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire ; shoots, 

 4 ft. to 6 ft. 6 in. long; requires a rich, loamy soil, 

 with strong, cool subsoil; is a heavy cropper, and 

 always realises good prices before the war 4 to 5 

 per ton as green one-year-old (in 1917 up to 8), and 

 24 to 26 per ton (in 1918 from 60 to 85) as 



