282 The Osier Willow. 



should be done with a very sharp knife, bent flatwise to a right an- 

 gle, with the cutting edge on the inside. 



1140. The time of cutting should be always late in fall, or in 

 winter, but never in leaf-time, nor when in sap. The rods should be 

 be sorted into sizes, tied in bundles, dried in the sun, and stored in 

 a dry place till ready for peeling. The rain discolors and injures 

 them. When peeled, the rods are first set in the water, and where 

 assisted by a constant and genial temperature this may be done at 

 any time in the winter. When peeled, they should be dried for a 

 day or so in the sun, and if properly cared for the wood will be 

 white and brilliant. If not, they will have a dull yellow tint, 

 which may be somewhat whitened by sulphur-fumes. 



1141. The bark stripped from osiers may be used for tieing bun- 

 dles, or spread as litter in stables, and to some extent be cut up with 

 straw and fed to stock. It is used in tanning leather for gloves, and 

 for the preparation of salicine for medicinal use. In common prac- 

 tice, from 18 to 20 per cent of willows were damaged, either from 

 branching, injury to bark, crooked form, or dead tops. They 

 sell at a discount of sixty to seventy per cent, and are used for in- 

 ferior work. 



1142. When carefully managed, an osier field may last 25 to 30 

 years, but a single year of neglect will greatly shorten this period. 

 Something may be done to restore vigor, by letting the shoots re- 

 main over a year, and by manuring, but as soon as the yield begins 

 to fail it is best to begin anew. If on the same grounds the roots 

 should all be taken out, and fresh soil from below be brought to the 

 surface by spading. 



1143. An osier plantation costs about $20 to $30 a year for cul- 

 tivation, per acre, and will yield from $100 to $125. The cultiva- 

 tion has its perils, as well as its profits. It may be injured by early 

 or late frosts, but only to kill the wood that has not ripened. The 

 willow is sometimes attacked by the saw-fly, the Nematus ventralis, 

 or nearly allied species, similar to those that attack the currant and 

 gooseberry, by eating off the foliage. The best remedy is the dust 

 of white hellebore freely sprinkled upon the leaves just after the 

 eggs are hatched. This insect produces two broods a year, one in 

 May and another in September. 



1144. Among the other enemies of the willow are a kind of fly 

 (Cecidomya salicina) , which stings and lays eggs in the tender sprouts, 



