THE WILLOWS. 115 







the manufacture of baskets.* This willow grows 50 

 to 75 feet, and under favorable conditions 90 feet 

 high. I know of a very old and handsome 

 specimen in central New Hampshire, with 

 a spread of over fifty feet, and a remarkably 

 picturesque contour ; it is planted opposite an 

 old and interesting farmhouse, in combina- 

 tion with which it forms a very beautiful pic- 

 ture. The crack willow is not sufficiently ap- 

 preciated as an ornamental tree ; it has been \c 

 too often displaced by the weeping willow, 

 whose conventional and sober aspect is a teeth of 



Crack 



poor substitute for the cheerfulness and wniow. 

 vivacity of the other tree with its scintillant foliage, f 

 The crack willow may be identified by its shining leaf, 

 which has two tiny excrescences at the base just at 

 the junction with the leaf stem, and rather thick, 

 fine teeth ; these, when magnified, look like my 

 sketch at A. The under side of the leaf is whitish 

 and smooth. The twigs are yellow-green, polished, 

 and very brittle at the base ; hence the name of the 

 tree. 



* It was imported in the especial interest of basket manufac- 

 ture before the Revolutionary War. 



f The sparkling color of the crack willow's foliage is caused by 

 the swaying of the firm leaves in the wind. The weeping willow 

 never shows this effect, but its drooping leaves have a listless 

 motion. 



