EMBANKMENTS FORMED BY WILLOWS. 21 



all fast-growing trees, but that of the vS. caprea is 

 reckoned the best of any of the willow tribe. 



It is easily propagated by cuttings, taking strong 

 one-year old shoots, formed into lengths fourteen to 

 sixteen inches long, which should be inserted in the 

 ground to the depth of ten or twelve inches. These 

 often strike, and grow as well as rooted plants in 

 favourable situations, but when the ground is not 

 particularly well-adapted for the growth of the willow, 

 or has not been well prepared, it is best to have 

 recourse to rooted plants. 



The bark and leaves of all the willows are as- 

 tringent, and can generally be used for tanning leather. 

 Its natural home and habitat being near to water, it 

 can be made to render most valuable service in 

 resisting the encroachments of streams subject to 

 violent floods. With this view, it is customary to cut 

 the branches between October and April, and form 

 them into frames for embankment. The frames are 

 made to extend from the channel of the water to the 

 top of the flow-bank, with a gentle slope, the larger 

 timber being blended with the smaller branches ; the 

 whole is covered with a few inches of sand, gravel, or 

 the ordinary soil of the banks. The branches send out 

 a great number of fibres, which create a surface 

 vegetation in a proper form, effectual for resisting the 

 force of the water. By this method materials of a 

 shifting character are made firm and consolidated, 

 and, by being lopped every year, the willows form a 

 permanent embankment. 



The White, or Huntingdon Willow (S. alba). In 

 soils and situations favourable for its growth, this 

 tree frequently ranges from sixty to eighty feet in 



