110 CULTIVATION OF THE WILLOW. 



a further obstacle against cattle. This wall is very useful to the hedge, and a hedge 

 thus protected in three years attained a height of 6 or 7 aunes (12 to 14 feet) and 

 afforded a shelter for my whole nursery against the winds. It was necessary to cut it 

 off frequently all along the south side, on account of its shading the grounds. This is 

 the most economical method of protecting such a plantation against the violence of 

 the winds. 



The willow family embraces an immense number of species, mostly 

 thriving iu cold climates, and it grows in polar regions on the extreme 

 border of vegetation. It is found sparingly in Barbary, and there is 

 one species in Senegal.^ 



The species generally cultivated for basket-making is the Salixviminalis 

 of Europe.* It can be raised to advantage only in low, level, and moist 

 soils, properly drained and prepared, and it is desirable that means 

 should be had for irrigation, especially if the soil is calcareous or sili- 

 ceous. If poor, the soil should be well manured, as for a crop of grain. 

 The planting may be done in autumn or early in spring, by cuttings 

 square at the lower end, so that the roots may come out equally all 

 around, and slopiug above, to shed rain. They should be of one-year- 

 old wood, from 12 to IG inches long, and the larger the better, thrust 

 vertically down three-fourths of their length, and the soil firmly pressed 

 down with the foot. They should be hoed flat, and be kept perfectly 

 free from grass and weeds. They should be set a foot apart, in rows 18 

 inches apart, and be cut close to the root every fall after the leaves have 

 fallen. If not peeled at once, they should be tied in bundles standing 

 upright in water two or three inches deep till spring ; or they may be 

 steamed and peeled in winter; but steaming injures their color and 

 lessens their market-value. 



A serious injury is sometimes experienced from the larvse of a saw- 

 fly — the Nematus ventralis (Say.) — closely allied to the currant-worm, 

 which strips off the leaves, and greatly injures the plant. Its proper 

 remedy is the dust of white hellebore, and the destruction of eggs when- 

 ever they can be fouud.^ In France, the osier is sometimes injured by a 

 small insect on the under side of the leaves. The bind- weed is, how- 

 ever, most dreaded, as it loads down and greatly injures the shoots. 



The osier may be injured by late spring and early autumnal frosts, 

 and the latter in cold climates is very apt to injure the young wood 

 while it is still herbaceous, of course killing it thus far. A plantation 

 once started and properly cared for should last many years — sometimes 



'The study of willows has been made a specialty by some naturalists, who find 

 therein an ample field for research. LinnjBus described 31 species, many of them 

 Arctic ; Pursh, ;}7 from North America alone ; Willdenow, 116 ; in Rees's Encyclopedia 

 (1819) we find 141 species described, and Loudon has 262. Professor Torrey, in edit- 

 ing "Lindley's Natural System," iu 1831, credits 51 species to North America, and in 

 1843 hatl found 16 sjiecies growing in the State of New York. West of the Mississippi 

 we do not find a great variety, there being but 6 mentioned in the Survey of the 

 Fortieth Parallel, and only 4 in Professor Newberry's Reports in the Pacific Railroad 

 Surveys. There is no end' to poetical allusions to the willow. They are found in the 

 literature of all languages and of all periods. 



The osier-willow is an important article of manufacture in England, where, besides 

 the large production, about 5,000 tons a year, worth about £46,000, are importetl from 

 abroad. Eftbrts have been made for several years to introduce its cultivation into 

 Australia. 



The great variety of uses to which the willow is applied has led to the careful 

 selection of varieties, and their multiplication by grafting, layer, and cuttings, so that 

 the English distinguish not less than 300 varieties. Mr. Scaling, of Basford, near 

 Nottingham, has the most important plantations iu that country. — (Bulletin de la Soc. 

 d'Acclimatation, June, 1874, 420.) 



-Among other species, the Salix vitelUna, S. ruhra, S. koriijana, S. decipiens, S. slipu^ 

 laris, S, triandra, S. helix, and S. purpurea are sometimes used for Va-ket-work. 



3 Patent Office Report : Agriculture, 1853, p. 207. Annual Report of Department of Ag- 

 riculture, 1873, p. 254, giving a particular account of the ravages by the saw-fly. 



