PREPARATION AND MARKETING 63 



together and fitted up with brickwork in such a 

 manner as to leave the flues as mentioned. By this 

 arrangement the maximum amount of heat will be 

 given to the tank before the smoke ascends the chimney. 



The tank should have an inside flange at the top in 

 addition to an outside one, in order to keep the wooden 

 sinkers which hold the rods under the water during the 

 process of boiling, in their places. 



For continuous use in the Midlands, it is found 

 advisable to work so that all the rods in the tank on 

 any day can be peeled by four o'clock in the afternoon, 

 which is as late as the peelers can see in the winter-time ; 

 the fire should then be stoked and the water brought to 

 the boil. This done, the tank should be closely packed 

 with willows, some of the peelings placed on the top 

 to keep in the heat, and the wooden sinkers fixed across 

 under the flange to keep all the bundles immersed. 

 After the willows have been boiled for about five hours, 

 the fire should be banked up and the tank left until the 

 following morning. The water should then be heated 

 to warm the rods ready for the peelers. In Somerset 

 the bundles of willows are placed into boiling water in 

 the tanks at twelve (noon), and the water kept boiling 

 until the evening. The fire is then banked up and 

 left until the following morning, when the willows 

 are removed and peeled. The water is brought to the 

 boil and the tank refilled with willows at twelve (noon) . 

 The tanks are thus kept in continuous use for a fort- 

 night, when the fire is withdrawn, and the flues cleaned. 

 The tanks are emptied of water, cleaned of refuse, 

 and refilled with fresh water. 



The simple method described above will be found 

 equally good in the case of larger plants. In one case, 

 a range of four large tanks and one small one was 



