THE BROAD-LEAVED TREES 163 



willow. It is not so good for basket-making, and only makes 

 inferior cricket-bats. 



The Osier (Salix viminalis). 



The osier is not a tree-willow, and is solely planted for 

 coppicing in osier beds to provide material for basket- 

 making. It requires a fertile soil, and succeeds best along 

 river beds in low-lying land which is occasionally flooded. 

 It is light-demanding and a rapid grower. It is fairly hardy, 

 but sometimes suffers from frost. 



For full details regarding the cultivation of osiers for basket- 

 making the Board of Agriculture leaflet No. 36 should be con- 

 sulted. The name ( osier ' is in practice used for all willows 

 cultivated for basket and wicker work. 



Osiers are grown in plantations known as c holts ' and the 

 produce of the osier holt is known commercially as ' rods '. 

 The land must be thoroughly cleaned, and in autumn should 

 be ploughed or dug over to a depth of 14 inches. Planting at 

 about 15 inches apart in rows 30 inches apart is done in 

 February or March. The sets are cut from two-year-old wood, 

 and should be about 18 inches long of which 10 inches is put 

 into the ground. The spaces between the rows must be kept 

 well cleaned during the first two years, after which the growth 

 is dense enough to kill out all vegetation. The "holt reaches 

 its full production in about four or five years, and will last from 

 twelve to fifteen years. The rods are cut annually before the 

 sap rises, with a sharp hook, and are tied up into bundles or 

 * bunches ', an average crop giving about 150 bunches per acre, 

 each bunch having a girth of 45 inches one foot from the butt. 

 The rods are peeled and graded into sizes. 



Various local names are given to varieties of the osiers used. 

 Glibskins, Black Mauls, Green sucklings, and Black Hollanders 

 are varieties of Salix triandra. The Welsh osier is Salix 

 pur pur ea, Mottled Spaniard is Salix decipicus and the Cane 

 osier is Salix viminalis. 



