1464? ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART I If. 



closet into the anteroom, and thence into the garden. Where they sank 

 into the ground, there sprang up two trees, the weeping willow, and the 

 frankincense tree : the first weeps and mourns, and the second is incessantly 

 shedding big tears, in memory of the sincere repentance of David." (Lan- 

 guage of Flowers y p. 39.) The branches of one of the weeping willows on 

 the banks of the Euphrates are said to have caught the crown from the head 

 of Alexander the Great, when he passed under the tree in a boat on that 

 river ; a circumstance which made the Babylonish diviners predict his early 

 death. 



Soil and Situation. Almost all the willows are found naturally either in a 

 cold soil and moist climate, or, if in a sandy soil, within reach of water. The 

 low-growing kinds are sometimes, however, found in dry arid soils ; but in 

 such soils they are never in a thriving state. Willows are very seldom found 

 growing on moist peat bogs ; the only species observed in such situations 

 by Steele being the S. caprea and the & pentandra, and these only sparingly 

 in peat bog ttyat was dry. (See Steele's History of Peat Moss, p. 4.) This 

 author tried the S. alba, S. fragilis, S. viminalis, and, in general, all the largest 

 and best willows, in every possible way, in peat soils ; and states that he is 

 " satisfied that they will not grow there, even on the sides of moss (peat bog) 

 ditches." (Steele in Gard. Mag. t vol. iii. p. 256.) It will be recollected that 

 the moss here spoken of consists entirely of peat, without any admixture of 

 earthy matter ; and is totally different from the heath mould, which, in the 

 neighbourhood of London, is often improperly called peat. It is observed by 

 Desfontaines, that willows, taken from the Alps, and planted in gardens, so 

 completely change their character and general aspect, as not to be recog- 

 nisable for the same species. Narrow leaves become broad ; those which are 

 shaggy and woolly, often smooth and shining ; and plants only 1 ft. or 2 ft. high 

 attain the height of two or three yards. It has also been observed, that the 

 wood of willows, whether that of the trunks and branches, or of the young 

 shoots, is smaller, harder, tougher, and more compact and durable, than that 

 of willows grown in rich moist soils. In dry soils, also, the growth of the 

 plant is much slower than in moist ones. From these data, it may reason- 

 ably be deduced, that, when the object of growing willows is to preserve the 

 forms which they have in their natural habitats, these habitats should be imi- 

 tated as much as possible ; and that, on the contrary, when the object is to 

 ascertain what are species, and what only varieties, the soil and situation 

 should be uniform for all the sorts, of a richer quality, and of a description 

 more favourable for rapid growth, than what occurs to the average number of 

 sorts in a state of nature. Where bulky produce, either in timber, branches, 

 rods, or twigs, is the object, the soil ought to be good, and the situation and 

 other circumstances favourable to rapid growth. The best situation, when 

 the object is free and rapid growth, is on the sides of rivers and brooks which 

 pass through a level country. In such situations, the timber -producing kinds 

 attain a larger size than in any other ; and larger hoops and basket-rods are 

 there also produced : but both kinds of produce may also be obtained in dry 

 upland soils, that are deep and free ; and the wood from such soils will be of 

 a finer grain, and the hoops and basket-rods smaller and tougher, than when 

 the growth has been impelled by an extraordinary supply of water. The best 

 tree willow for thriving in dry uplands is the S. alba ; and the best basket 

 willow is the grey or brindled willow, first recommended by Phillips of Ely, 

 under that name. 



Propagation. All the willows are propagated by cuttings ; though some of 

 the more rare alpine kinds root with difficulty. Some species propagate very 

 readily from seeds ; and there can be little doubt that grafting, and other 

 similar modes of propagation, would be as successful in this genus as in most 

 others. The cuttings for plants which are to be grown in nurseries previously 

 to their removal to their final situation may be made of one-year-old wood, 

 about 1 ft. in length, cut straight across at the lower end, and sloping at 

 the upper end. Thej may be about 1 ft. in length, 9 in. of which should 



