1468 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



clean off: were a part of these small shoots allowed to remain, they might 

 produce a crop of twigs fit for wickerwork, but by no means adapted for 

 hoops. It is better to have a few good growths for that purpose, than a 

 profusion of inferior ones. At no period should any one stool be allowed 

 to bear many shoots, otherwise they will be small and worthless. Every 

 manager of willows has it in his power to increase or diminish the number oY 

 shoots on the plants under his care ; for, if he take off the shoots clean by the 

 stem of the plant, in spring, the number of shoots will be proportionally 

 diminished in the following season." (Plant. Kal., p. 533.) Rods for hoops 

 may be cut at the end of the second or third year's growth, according to the 

 size of the hoops wanted. In poor soil, or in plantations nearly worn out, 

 the rods will require three years' growth to enable them to attain their proper 

 size. " The proper season for cutting willow rods intended for hoops is 

 any time during the month of November, immediately after the leaves have 

 dropped. The cut should be made to within two or three buds of the place 

 whence the shoot issued ; and it should be in a sloping direction, at the back 

 of the uppermost bud left on the bottom of the shoot on the stool. In cut- 

 ting hoop willows from the stools, the swell at the bottom of the shoot only 

 should be left. This part is amply furnished with proper buds, to serve as 

 outlets for the rising sap ; so that it is unnecessary to leave so much at the 

 bottom of those as is necessary in the case of basket willows, especially as fewer 

 shoots are required in the present case." (Ibid., p. 534.) We agree with Sang in 

 being " decidedly hostile to the barbarous" manner in which coopers frequently 

 cut hoops from the stools. Under the idea of preventing the hoops from being 

 split, they hack the rods off by cutting downwards with a hand-bill ; " and 

 thus the under part left upon the stool is split into many pieces, to the 

 manifest injury of the plant." (Ibid.} The duration of willow plantations 

 grown for the hoops is considerably longer than when* they are grown for 

 basket-making; because, in consequence of the stronger shoots, and of their 

 remaining on the stools two or three years, greater strength is thrown into 

 the root. 



The Culture of Willows for Basket-Pods. Almost all the species of willows 

 may be grown for this purpose ; but some are greatly preferable to others. 

 The most vigorous-growing basket willow is, unquestionably, S. viminalis ; 

 and it is also the sort most generally cultivated for that purpose. It has 

 no disadvantage that we are aware of, except that in cold wet seasons, and 

 in a moist soil, it does not always ripen the points of its shoots. S. rubra, 

 S. Forbydna, S. decipiens, and S. stipularis are excellent species, of less 

 vigorous growth than S. viminalis, which ripen the points of their shoots 

 perfectly in most seasons. The best of these is, perhaps, S. Forbydna, S. 

 triandra is nearly as vigorous as S. viminalis. S. //elix, S. vitellina, 

 and S. purpurea are very desirable species, where small tough rods are re- 

 quired. Various other sorts might be mentioned ; but these we consider as by 

 far the most valuable. The soil for basket willows ought to be deep, well 

 drained, and thoroughly prepared ; and the situation ought to be low, level, 

 and naturally moist; and, if there is a command of water for irrigation, so 

 much the better. " There are few soils," Sang observes, " that will not bear 

 willows ; yet some situations are very unfit for them. Dry and exposed 

 grounds, peat moss, and land covered with standing water, or a quagmire, are 

 not at all suitable. Hollows, the soil of which is composed of rich, soft, 

 earthy particles, and which can be laid dry, are the most eligible for converting 

 into osieries ; and, if such can be occasionally soaked with water during the 

 dry months in summer, the situation may be considered perfect. Completely 

 draining the site of a basket willow plantation is the first step towards its 

 formation, and the foundation of its prosperity, and, consequently, of the 

 profit to be derived from it. Drains, in any soil which is to be occupied 

 with a permanent crop of trees, should be constructed upon principles of 

 durability. If the drains be what are called rubble drains, the interstices will 

 soon be filled up with the fibres of the willow roots, which \\ ill creep down 



