WEEPING WILLOWS. 23 



used to be a tree at Sion eighty-nine feet high, with 

 a trunk upwards of twelve feet in circumference, 

 some years ago, but the writer is unaware whether 

 it is yet standing, as well as other large trees in 

 different parts of the country ; the remarkable point 

 being, in the case of such trees, that they are useful in 

 some form or other at every stage of their growth, 

 from two years to fifty years of age, the latter in the 

 shape of timber, the former as rods for basket-making. 



For the adornment of suburban villas and gentle- 

 men's residences, there are some very elegant willows 

 which have lately been introduced into Britain, one 

 of the handsomest of which is the American weeping 

 willow. As the plant is, however, of itself but of 

 feeble growth, it will be found the best plan to 

 graft upon the top of a strong stem, such as that 

 of 6\ caprea. The graceful, drooping, long slender 

 branches have a very elegant appearance when 

 agitated by the wind, and it possesses the recom- 

 mendation of being extremely hardy. 



6\ Babylonica is another very ornamental willow, 

 being a native of Asia and the north of Africa. It is 

 very graceful in form, but somewhat tender ; and it is 

 only during the most favourable seasons, and. on the 

 best soil, that the twigs ripen at their extremities. 

 Unlike most willows, too, it does not grow freely 

 from cuttings, but needs to be propagated by layers. 

 The ordinary weeping willow becomes a very hand- 

 some object, where drooping over a pond or lake. 

 The Kilmarnock weeping willow is said to be a 

 drooping variety of the 5. caprea, which was origin- 

 ally discovered in -the west of Scotland, and is now 

 extensively cultivated in the nurseries of North Britain. 



