CHAPTER VI 



THERE are in Great Britain only two species, known 

 in the trade as White and Red Willow, that produce 

 commercial timber, but of each there are several 

 varieties and local forms. The wood of the White 

 Willow is always more or less tinged with red, but the 

 Red variety is decidedly redder than the \Vhite and 

 finer and closer in its grain, and the timber is heavier 

 per cubic foot ; but as my object is not to go into small 

 botanical details, but to confine myself mainly to the 

 practical features, reference will be made only to those 

 for which there is a large commercial outlet. 



The species are 



(1) The Salix fragilis, or White Willow, known also 

 as the Crack Willow, easily distinguished by its open 

 or coarse bark, with deep corrugations and with a 

 deeply serrated leaf double the size of the Red Willow. 



(2) The Salix rubra, or Red Willow, is easily dis- 

 tinguished from the White by its finer, closer and much 

 shallower corrugations on the bark, and by its smaller 

 and very finely serrated leaves. 



Both these willows may be seen growing in every 

 part of the British Isles, mostly as pollarded trees, 

 which destroys their commercial value, excepting for 

 fencing poles or bobbin turners. 



The Salix ccemlea, or Blue Willow, also known as 

 the Cricket Bat Willow, or Close Bark Willow, is an 



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