72 OSIERS AND WILLOWS 



and Great. These are tied by the aid of a special 

 machine in bolts of 40 in. in girth, measured 8 in. for 

 the smaller sizes, 10 in. for the Threepenny and Middle- 

 boro', and 12 in. for the Great, up the bolt from the 

 butt. Rods are afterwards " pricked in " round the 

 band so as to fill up every crevice. The grower quotes 

 his price per load of 80 bolts, the average weight of a 

 load being about one and a half tons (see Figs. 9-12). 



The tying machine (Fig. 9 (2)) was made especially 

 for export tying, and is the only one known in this 

 country. It enables a bundle to be tied of equal size at 

 each end and also in the middle. This was found to 

 be necessary because shippers would only carry rods by 

 the measurement ton. The bundle (Fig. 9 (2a)) shows 

 the style of tying adapted for export. It protects all the 

 tops from injury. The steel peg and chain (Fig. 10) will 

 be found a very efficient tool for tightening the bundle 

 before putting on the willow band. Fig. n is a very 

 simple and efficient machine suitable for growers who 

 are not expert tiers. 



Somerset growers tie up in bundles of 38 in. at 3 in. 

 above the butts, and here again (with few exceptions) 

 always quote a price per bolt. Berkshire growers, who 

 usually produce a good class of large stuff, grade their 

 willows into Tack, Short Small, Long Small, Three- 

 penny, Middleboro' and Great, tie their bolts 40 in. 

 in girth at 10 in. above the butts, and quote by the 

 load. In Huntingdon, Cambridge, Eastern Counties 

 and Berkshire the actual growers frequently decline to 

 do business unless the buyer will take the entire crop. 

 This plan is very inconvenient, for it often happens that 

 a buyer who has contracted to take the entire produce 

 finds himself overdone with a size of material not well 

 adapted for his particular class of work, and the makers 



