THE WILLOW. 



305 



ascertained what these were, for he distinguishes them 

 more by the names which they bore in his time than by 

 description. He places them among the most useful of 

 aquatic trees, furnishing vine-props, cordage, osiers for fine 

 and coarse basket-work, and rural implements of many 

 kinds. No tree, he says, affords a safer return to the 

 planter, gives less trouble, or is more independent of the 

 seasons. On the authority of Cato, he assigns to it the 

 third rank among the most valuable of vegetable pro- 

 ductions, placing it before oliveyards, corn, and pasturage. 



BLOSSOM OF THE CKACK WILLOW. 



The willows are natives of the temperate regions of the 

 northern hemisphere, and are 'much more numerous in the 

 Old World than in the New. The majority grow by the 

 sides of water-courses, but a few grow high up in the 

 mountains, and are found nearer to the North Pole than 

 any other shrubby plants. As far as it is possible to 

 include under a general description so extensive an array 

 of species, they may be characterised as trees or shrubs 



