VARIETIES OF WILLOWS 39 



can be partly counteracted by close planting, which 

 compels the shoot to apply upwards for light and air. 

 This willow thrives in the valley of the Severn and some 

 parts of Gloucestershire and Somersetshire. It has 

 been tried on several kinds of soil in Leicestershire, 

 but with comparatively little success ; it is regarded as 

 a " shy " cropper, but very valuable. Shoots, from 

 2 ft. to 5 ft. long. Suited to a damp, alluvial, warpy, 

 clay soil. Plant 16 in. by 16 in. Worth in 1918 

 100 a ton when graded into three sizes. 



" Rayns's Ten-feet," a vigorous and heavy cropper 

 of the Spaniard class. Attains a length of from 6 ft. 

 to 10 ft., and is principally employed for white hampers. 

 Suited to a damp, cold loam. Plant 20 in. by 20 in. 

 for one-year-olds. 



" Black Holland," one of the largest and longest 

 of this species, is believed to have been brought by the 

 Dutch and planted first in the East Anglia low country, 

 where it thrives better than on the water-basin of 

 Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. On a favourable 

 soil it is a vigorous and heavy cropper. The shoots 

 are 6 ft. to 8 ft. long, and it makes an excellent two- 

 year-old white. Grows best on strong warp land. 

 Plant 22 in. by 22 in. for one and two years' growth, or, 

 if for covert purposes, 24 in. by 24 in. As brown or 

 white for large and strong gardeners' baskets it is much 

 sought after. If the shoots are left on the head for 

 three-year-olds they make excellent sticks, for which 

 there is an ever-growing demand, either as brown, 

 white, or buff, and they command good prices. 



" Glib Skins," a name given by growers in the East 

 Anglia fen country to a variety closely allied to the 

 " Brown Norfolk," is largely grown in Hunts and 

 the Isle of Ely. It is regarded as an excellent willow 



