62 OSIERS AND WILLOWS 



green state, and peeled by the fingers, so as to prevent 

 splitting, which would destroy their value. 



Time of Cutting. Cutting the crop for buffing can be 

 started as soon as half the leaf has fallen, i. e. usually 

 about the third week in October. The remainder may 

 be cut after the whole leaf has fallen, and may be 

 stacked in the open without harm to the rods. 



Boiling. The size of the boiling tanks will vary 

 according to the kind of willow and to the number of 

 peelers employed. Four peelers on each side are as 

 many as can work on average rods to advantage. The 

 eight peelers should empty in one day a tank 12 ft. by 

 4 ft. 6 in. by 4 ft. 9 in. deep inside, holding about 

 30 cwt. of ordinary green one-year-olds, which, when 

 peeled and dried, give 10 to n cwt. of buff. This size 

 tank will also be found useful for sticks. 



In the case of Dicks or any similar small-growing 

 varieties, a tank 7 ft. long by 2 ft. wide and 2 ft. 

 deep (inside measurements) is large enough. In the 

 north-west of England, where the Dicks are largely 

 grown, wooden tanks, of the dimensions above, having 

 a sheet of iron on the underside of the tank, are used. 

 The water is heated by a fire underneath, with a single 

 flue running up a cheaply constructed chimney at the 

 end. 



For the grower of ordinary willows the following 

 arrangement will be suitable : Having decided on the 

 size of the tank, the flue should be run underneath the 

 centre for the full length of the tank, raised or bridged 

 two-thirds of the way along the bottom to save fuel and 

 give greater heat, turned at the end so as to pass along 

 the side and across the front above the furnace door 

 and then along the opposite side and up the chimney. 

 The tanks are made of compressed steel sheets bolted 



