FOREST REGENERATION AND TREATMENT. 79 



of that as it might under a different system of manage- 

 ment. 



Improving the Wood-lot. The general rules laid down 

 for the management of forests will apply here. The 

 cattle should be kept out, so as to give the young seedlings 

 a chance to grow. Improvement cuttings should be 

 introduced with a view of getting rid of the crooked and 

 mature trees and those of inferior species, and of en- 

 couraging a growth of young seedlings of valuable kinds. 

 Similar treatment should be given the sugar-orchard, 

 in which the old heart rotten and weak trees should be 

 gradually removed to make place for thrifty sapling^ 

 as the latter need the room. 



Osier Willows is a term that is applied to a variety of 

 Willows which are grown for their twigs, which are used 

 for basket-making. The plantations made for this pur- 

 pose are termed osier holts. The growing of osiers has 

 not been carried on to any great extent in this country, 

 but they are generally imported. At Syracuse, N. Y., 

 and near a few other large cities, it has reached a 

 considerable degree of development. A large amount of 

 these osiers are imported into this country each year, 

 and an immense amount of willow basket material is 

 used. The price paid for the rods, when of a proper length 

 and in good condition, is about fifteen dollars a ton, 

 green. The yield per acre around Syracuse, N. Y., is 

 about four tons of green rods, but occasionally as high 

 as eight tons has been obtained. Dried peeled rods are 

 worth somewhere about sixty dollars per ton. In order 

 to facilitate peeling, which, in this case is termed strip- 

 ping, the rods are steamed until the bark comes off easily. 

 These are not as white, however, as those which are sap- 

 peeled in the spring, but the latter are not as durable as 

 steam-peeled rods. 



The best soil for the growing of basket Willows is a 



