280 The Osier Willow. 



for railroad-brakes, as it is Dot readily set on fire by friction. In the 

 works constructed for preventing the erosion of mountain torrents, 

 bundles of willow are often fastened down in the beds of streams, 

 where they sometimes take root and grow. In the jettys constructed 

 by Captain Eades, for improving the mouth of the Mississippi for 

 navigation in recent years, the willow was the principal brush-wood 

 employed. 



Cultivation of the Osier or Basket- Willow. 



1131. Although this is scarcely a branch of forestry in its prdi- 

 nary sense, it is often noticed in connection with it, and as it involves 

 some principles in cultivation in common with tree-planting, we will 

 concisely state the principal rules concerning it. It deserves favor 

 on account of the small capital that it employs, the large amount of 

 hand-labor that it affords at remunerative prices, and the considerable 

 amount of money that would be saved to the country were the sup- 

 plies that we use, wholly produced upon our own soil. 1 It is fur- 

 ther to be noticed, that willows may be cultivated upon soil too 

 marshy for most kinds of farm-crops, and that the labor they fur- 

 nish may be carried on through the year. 



1132. The soils best adapted for the willow are rich alluvions, 

 and reclaimed swamps, and the land should be sufficiently drained. 

 It would bo better if means were provided for irrigation in dry sea- 

 sons. If liable to overflow in spring floods, it should have ditches 

 at proper intervals for sooner carrying off the water. 



1133. In preparing an osier field for planting, it should be cleared 

 of all vegetation, and the soil should be mellowed by plowing or 

 spading late in the fall before planting. 



1134. The kinds of willow preferred in Europe are chiefly the 

 following : 



1. Red- willow (Salix purpurea). 



2. Ural willow (S. purpurea var. Uralensis). 



3. White osier (S. vim'uialis). 



4. Narrow-leaved willow (S. rubra or S. viminalls-purpurea') . 



5. Soft-leaved willow ( mollissima). 



C. Caspian willow (S. acutifolia or S. pruinosa). 



1135. These, under cultivation, run into varieties, so that their 



1 During the ten years ending in 1870, the annual importation of prepared 

 willow averaged $33,000, and that of willow-work $170,000. 



