OSIER WILLOWS. 247 



be obtained. The bark of some species is used for tanning 

 leather. The slender tough twigs are used extensively for bas- 

 ket making and tying. They are often cultivated solely for this 

 purpose. The wood of the Willow is not very valuable, but it 

 is used for light fuel, for charcoal to be used in the manufacture 

 of gunpowder and artists' charcoal, and that of some kinds for 

 timber in a limited way, as hoops for kegs and barrels and for 

 artificial limbs. Some kinds are also planted largely for holding 

 the banks of streams and for windbreaks. For ornamental plant- 

 ing some kinds are used that are very pretty in flower and foliage, 

 which quality, taken in connection with the ease with which they 

 are propagated, their hardiness and the rapidity with which they 

 grow, have made them largely used. Although most of the wil- 

 lows flourish best when they have abundant moisture at their 

 roots, many of them will stand well on any land good enough for 

 corn, and a few kinds, such as the White Willow, are among the 

 hardiest kind we have for prairie planting. 



Osier Willows is a term that is applied to a variety of wil- 

 lows which are grown for their twigs, which are used for basket 

 making. The plantations made for this purpose are termed osier 

 holts. The growing of osiers has not been carried on to any 

 great extent in this country, but they are generally imported. 

 At Syracuse, N. Y., and near a few other large cities here, it has 

 reached a considerable degree of development. A large amount 

 of these osiers are imported into this country each year, and an 

 immense amount of willow basket material is used. The price 

 paid for the rods, when of a proper length and in good condition, 

 is about fifteen dollars a ton, green. The yield per acre around 

 Syracuse, N. Y., is about four tons of green rods, but occa- 

 sionally as high as eight tons has been obtained. Dried peeled 

 rods are worth somewhere about sixty dollars per ton. In order 

 to facilitate peeling, which in this case is termed stripping, the 

 rods are steamed until the bark comes off easily. These are not 

 as white, however, as those which are sap-peeled in the spring, 

 but the latter are not as durable as steam-peeled rods. 



The best soil for the growing of basket willows is a deep, 

 sandy soil, drained yet moist. If water for irrigation can be 

 commanded, so much the better, but the basket willows will 

 prosper on even rather dry soil of good quality, but do not grow 



