Salix l 7&7 



as soon as felled, which is done in winter, are cross-cut into lengths of 28 to 30 in., 

 and these in turn are split into clefts. The clefts are split up along the radii so that 

 the annual rings run from the front to the back of the bat. The best clefts come 

 from the lower part of the tree, which is far tougher than the upper portion. In 

 the best bats I have counted from seven to nine annual growths. 



The clefts are ultimately fashioned into blades, which are subjected to hydraulic 

 pressure ; and it is here that the value of S. ccerulea shows itself, as blades made of 

 S. fragicis are unable to stand the requisite amount of pressure. The further process 

 of manufacture is detailed in a pamphlet ' written by W. E. Bussey, which should be 

 consulted by those interested in the growth of willow. 



The extraordinary value of the true cricket-bat willow is not exaggerated in the 

 following statement, 2 made by Mr. John Barker of Pishiobury, Sawbridgeworth : "A 

 good set costs is. to is. 6d., and, if planted in a suitable soil and does well, is worth 

 from ,5 to 8 in fifteen years." He instances a case where a piece of land was 

 bought for ^50, and planted with willows, which were sold, when sixteen years old, 

 for ,2000 in 1905. 



The following figures have been given to us by a reliable grower of willows in 

 Herts. In December 1910 he sold twenty-four trees which grew on the bank of a 

 stream, and had been thirteen years planted, for an average of $ per tree. In 

 January 191 2 he sold eleven willows, which had been planted fourteen years 

 previously, for 2>\. These trees averaged 55 to 60 ft. in height, and were clear 

 of branches for about 18 ft., their stems ranging from 42 to 46 in. in girth at five feet 

 from the ground. The best tree contained 12 cubic feet of timber, available for 

 making bats, and as it sold for ,8, the price per cubic foot came to 13s. 4d. In 

 1906 fifty-three trees growing on the same property were sold for ^190. These had 

 short stems, averaging 13 in. in diameter, and yielding only three bat lengths. 



Many trees of remarkable size, but comparatively young, have been felled for 

 conversion into cricket bats. One of the largest on record 3 was a tree at Boreham, 

 Essex, which was planted in 1835, and felled in 1888, when it was 101 ft. high and 

 5 ft. 9 in. in diameter. It weighed upwards of eleven tons, and was perfectly sound. 

 It was felled by B. Warsop and Sons, who made from it no less than 1 1 79 bats. 4 



Mr. H. Clinton-Baker tells us of another willow which grew in a field at 

 Aspenden, near Buntingford, and was purchased by the same firm. It was 6 ft. in 

 diameter, at three feet from the ground, and divided at five feet up into two stems, 

 which were clear to a height of 50 ft., where they still measured 2 ft. in diameter. 



Mr. Stuart Surridge purchased for ,25 in 19 10 a tree near St. Albans, which was 

 about 80 ft. high and measured 5 ft. in diameter at three feet from the ground. 

 Judging from a photograph, it had a clean stem of about 16 feet. He states that 

 the largest tree known to him grew at Robertsbridge, in Sussex, and measured 2 1 ft. 

 in girth. This was felled in 1902, and produced over 1000 cricket bats. 



Sir Thomas B. Beevor made the following note in his copy of Evelyn's Sylva : 



1 Published in 1910 by Geo. G. Bussey and Co., Queen Victoria St., London, E.C. 



2 Card. Chron. xxxix. 62 (1 906). * Trans. Eng. Arbor. Soc. iv. 122 (1899). 



4 Mr. Edwin Savill informs us that he sold a tree in 1911 for ^70, but he has no measurements. The dealer told him 

 that the number of feet utilized worked out at 1 per cubic foot. 



