PREPARATION AND MARKETING 69 



rods, and, if bunched tightly for export, they may be 

 greatly damaged during a journey of any considerable 



length. 



Grading and Tying into Bundles 



Grading. Good rods always find a ready market, and 

 the difficulty of selling increases with the poorness in 

 quality. It frequently suits a grower to clear all his 

 stock annually, so as to save labour, to avoid storing and 

 waste, and to make room for the next crop. In such 

 cases grading is purposely not practised. In former 

 years grading was, perhaps, not so necessary, as the 

 basket-maker made many kinds of goods and could thus 

 use up all kinds of rods. The industry has, however, 

 now become so specialised that a maker can find little or 

 no use for rods which are unsuitable for making his one 

 special class of goods. The price offered for ungraded 

 rods and mixed willows is low, because of the expense of 

 sorting out the material required, the packing, and the 

 necessity for reselling those rods which are unsuitable. 

 In view of the higher price obtainable, the grower would 

 be well advised to grade his rods. Grading according 

 to length is not sufficient. Quality and evenness in 

 colour must also be taken into account (Fig. 8). 



Tying. The bundles should also be neatly tied. If 

 the rods are placed upright in the bundles and secured 

 with two, or, in the case of long rods, three, bands tied 

 neatly, the bundles present a pleasing appearance and 

 realise better prices. 



It is known that the rods imported from Belgium 

 and Germany were far inferior in quality to the home- 

 grown rods, but found a readier market because they 

 were graded in a satisfactory manner, neatly bundled 

 and tied. On the other hand, the rods from France, 



