430 BULLETIN OF THE BUSSEY INSTITUTION. 



Salix viminalis and Salix purpurea were the two varieties 

 ordered from New York, but on investigation it was found that 

 the importer, or his agent, had made a mistake, and had marked 

 the purpurea, viminalis, and the viminalis, purpurea. I am 

 ignorant whether this mistake was confined to the cuttings sent 

 to me, or whether it embraced all that were imported at that time. 

 After several years trial with these two varieties, grown side by 

 side, the variety bought for viminalis but proved to be purpurea, 

 produced osiers so much superior to the other variety that all of 

 the latter were destroyed, and only the purpurea plants were 

 permitted to grow. 



On my land the viminalis does not make so rapid growth as the 

 purpurea, and it sends out more lateral branches ; in fact with me 

 it has proved a failure for both basket work and hoop-poles ; but 

 the purpurea has proved a great success, especially when grown 

 on a soil of warm, sandy loam. For more than twenty years a 

 small area was kept covered with this variety, which without any 

 cultivation or fertilizer, continued to produce every year good 

 crops of osiers from 5 to 7 feet in length, which were sold to a 

 party who cut and peeled them, and disposed of them to a party 

 in Boston at a price of from 8 to 10 cents per pound ; a higher 

 price than the imported osiers sold for in Boston at that time. 

 The party who bought the crop, paid for it what he thought it was 

 worth, which was always more than could have been realized from 

 any ordinary crop grown on the same area of land. 



At the time of the death of the man who bought osiers of me, 

 other business demanded my attention, and as the land was 

 wanted for other purposes, most of my plantation of willows was 

 destroyed, but enough were left to continue the experiment, to 

 show that this variety of willows can be grown for many years on 

 high, sandy land without cultivation or the application of fertil- 

 izers, and yet produce good osiers. Forty-three years have passed 

 since I began to grow these willows on the high land, and the yearly 

 crops have never shown any signs of weakness. 



Forty-five years ago, Mr. Lincoln Jacobs of Hingham, Mass., 

 planted about one half of an acre of land with Salix purpurea ; 

 the soil selected was a rich, moist loam ; a good soil for potatoes 

 or grass ; but it proved a very poor soil for the variety of willows 

 he planted ; many of the osiers were less than 4 feet in length, 



