OSIER-HOLTS. 43 



Grown chiefly for Oak-bark and charcoal (Birch and Alder) 

 in Scotland and Ireland, they used to be largely cultivated in 

 parts of England where fuel was scarce and hop-poles always 

 in good demand ; but since about 1870 the value of coppices 

 has in most cases shrunk so much that they are now unprofitable. 



Osier-holts of the smaller Willows, the most valuable and 

 profitable coppices, are largely grown in the fen districts 

 (Lincoln and Cambridge). The chief kinds cultivated are 

 the True Osier (S. vimi?iaUs), with thin, tough, flexible withes 

 growing in thick clusters ; the Laurel Osier ($. triandra), with 

 long flexible twigs ; and the Purple Osier (S. purpurea, from 

 the colour of its male flowers), with very thin and tough withes. 



Periodical inundations stimulate the growth of Osiers. Floods 

 in winter do no harm, even if lasting for weeks, but lengthened 

 submersion during summer is injurious. Mounds must be 

 thrown up on soil that is too low - lying and wet, whilst 

 stagnant water must be brought into circulation by digging 

 trenches or ditches. 



The cost of preparing and planting Osier-holts is from ,14 

 to 23 an acre, and the crop maturing in four or five years yields 

 about 15 an acre, taking 150 bunches of green rods as the 

 average crop (although heavy crops yield 250 bunches, worth 

 25 per acre). But from the amount of attention it requires, 

 Osier-growing is far more of the nature of Gardening than of 

 Forestry. Coppices of Oak, Ash, Alder, and Osier should be 

 kept pure, and care should be taken to prevent the intrusion of 

 softwood seedlings, which should be weeded out ; but in all other 

 coppices a mixture of different kinds is of advantage, enabling 

 variations in the local market demand and in the quality of the 

 soil to be better utilised. 



Osier-holts are generally coppiced annually, but otherwise 

 the rotation usually varies from seven to twelve years for mixed 

 coppice, from twelve to sixteen for Oak-bark, and from twenty 

 to twenty-five or thirty years for Alder, the form of coppice 



