56 Practical Forestry 



grade cricket bats. In the trade the " Cricket Bat Willow,*' 

 as it is now known throughout England, is popularly 

 designated as the close-barked willow in order to readily 

 distinguish it from the open-barked or crack willow. Con- 

 fusion generally exists in determining the various forms 

 of willow, but in S. ccerulea the branches incline upwards ; 

 indeed, the tree has a semi-fastigiate form of growth, and the 

 branches also have an upward tendency. The bark is a 

 dark grey, with long, straight, narrow fissures closely ar- 

 ranged and from which the term " close-barked " is derived. 

 The leaves are of a bluish tint or covered with bluish-grey 

 hairs beneath and long and narrow in shape, while an uner- 

 ring point of difference between the hybrid and other willows 

 is that the tree produces only female flowers. It may be 

 well to mention in connexion with the crack willow that 

 the bark fissures are far more rugged and placed farther 

 apart than is the case with the true cricket bat willow. A'. 

 ccerulea. The great importance of recognizing and growing 

 for purely economic purposes the true variety will be appar- 

 ent when it is mentioned that makers of cricket bats \\ill 

 have nothing to do with any but the true " close-barked " 

 tree, and the English bat-maker is keen to recognize the 

 characteristics of the timber he requires, and will not stick 

 at paying exorbitant prices for trees of the right kind. 



As showing the value in England of the timber of the true 

 bat-making willow, it might be mentioned that in many 

 instances that have come under my notice as much as 16s. 

 per cubit ft , or six times the price of the best oak, has been 

 paid for trees of the true S. ccerulea. A single tree growing 

 in London lately sold at 10, and in Hertfordshire eleven 

 trees fetched the handsome sum of 81, while 20 was re- 

 fused for four trees growing in a wood in Essex. Such 

 prices are, however, exceptional, though on a visit to two of 

 the largest bat-making establishments in the metropolis I 

 was told that for several years past the average price paid 

 for willow worked out at 6s. per cubit foot. A well-known 

 grower tells us that if planted in suitable soil a " set " or 

 cutting, which usually costs Is. 6d., will in fifteen years be 

 worth about 6. 



