FORMATION OF AN OSIER-BED. 13 



portion of sand, the French, Goldstone, and a variety 

 of the Spaniard, better known in Berkshire under the 

 sobriquet of Black Jack, come to tolerable perfection ; 

 but to insure their cultivation becoming a profitable 

 occupation, a stronger staple is necessary, and also a 

 compact subsoil. The Spaniard, French, and new 

 kind, sometimes grow of fair quality upon light soils, 

 when the subsoil is moist with springs, but the rods 

 are smaller in size, and shorter in length, and the crop 

 less bulky, than when grown on strong loam. The 

 London clay, which is found in what is termed the 

 London basin, and reaches about forty miles in some 

 directions from London, is injurious as a subsoil to 

 osiers, and when the roots come into contact with it, 

 they invariably die off. 



I have mentioned seventy years as the duration 

 of time a healthy osier plantation will last under 

 favourable conditions ; but on the lighter soils, with an 

 imperfect supply of moisture, they will only last from 

 fifteen to twenty years, and will then require to be 

 laid down afresh, while in river grounds they will last 

 the period mentioned. 



In forming an osier bed, the ground should be 

 trenched fifteen or sixteen inches deep. The sets 

 should be about a foot and a half long, or a little less, 

 and be inserted in the ground about half their length. 

 The distance at which to plant must be regulated by 

 the quality of the land. In light soils, where the 

 supply of moisture is imperfect, so that the shoots 

 come thinner, and shorter, than in the more favourable 

 situations for their growth, it is usual to plant them 

 in rows, a foot and a half apart, and fifteen or sixteen 

 inches asunder. If they are planted wider apart, they 



