THE WILLOWS. 



Sal'ix al'ba, etc. 



The Druids are stated to have burnt their human 

 sacrifices in wicker cages; and, though we cannot 

 with equal confidence vouch for the antiquity of that 

 other more harmless use of the Willow, the making 

 of bats to be wielded at Lord's, or on any other 

 English greensward, even if we forget altogether its 

 many uses in manufactures, we can find many 

 points of interest in the Willow group. It may as 

 well, however, be mentioned here that the wood, 

 especially that of the White Willow (Salix alba L.), 

 is made into paper pulp, besides affording the best 

 charcoal for artists' crayons ; whilst, not to mention 

 the undoubted value of the bark for tanning pur- 

 poses, it is now well known in the medical world as 

 the source of salicine. 



The Willows differ essentially from the Poplars 

 in having their catkin-scales unnotched, though 

 hairy, and in the absence of the rudimentary perianth 

 which characterises the latter group. They have 

 generally also narrower leaves, more erect catkins, and 

 fewer stamens in each male flower. Though their 

 flowers generally appear before the leaves, so that the 

 abundant pollen may without obstruction be carried by 

 wind, they also secrete honey and are much frequented 

 by bees. The male and female trees are often some- 

 what dissimilar, and hybrids (i.e. seedlings produced 



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