AGRICULTURAL TEXT-BOOK. 285 



others, the spring, when the sap starts freely and the buds be 

 gin to swell. If cut iu winter, the oziers are tied in bundles, 

 and stood up in cold water till spring. Every shoot must be 

 cleared from the stool ; leaving, however, about two inches in 

 length for the young shoots to spring from. The oziers are 

 then pealed by a very simple implement. (See figure.) It i 

 merely a round stick of hard wood, about 

 an inch thick and a foot long, quartered 

 about half the length of the stick, and 

 the two opposite quarters cut off, so that 

 it will leave a sharp edge on both the re 

 maining two. This tool is taken in the 

 right hand, and the willow inserted in the 

 slit with the left one, and pulled through, 

 the bark coming off. Sometimes, a piece 

 of split iron with half rounded edges on 

 the inside, set in a bench, is used for the purpose. With this a 

 man and three or four children ought to peel 400 Ibs. a day, 

 As fast as a little bundle is stripped they are cured by laying 

 them in the sun till they are perfectly dried ; and then tied 

 in bundles three feet round the butt ; being stowed away in a 

 dry place free from dust. They are sold by weight. 



631. In Mississippi the &quot;Italian ozier&quot; is cultivated ; it grows 

 on the uplands when well manured, to the height of 8 or 10 

 feet in a season, clear shoots. Peeled shoots sell in Natchez 

 and New Orleans, for 8 and 10 cents per pound; and cut green, 

 with the leaves stripped, only, in September, for 2 cents per 

 pound. The demand in New Orleans is greater than the sup 

 ply. (T. Affleck in N. Y. Agricultor, Jan., 1 853.) 



632. We have no data from which we can ascertain the yield 

 per acre, or the profits, but the latter are said to be very large 

 when once the &quot; halt&quot; is fully established. It is to be hoped 

 that our swamp lands in the west will soon be turned to this 

 use ; as not only will the country become more healthy, but 



