The Osier and the Dutch Willows. 283 



causing a spongy excrescence and a scrubby growth. These insects 

 in turn are attacked by the ichneumon insects, and the balance of 

 nature badly disturbed by the former, has been restored in a single 

 season by the latter. Another insect (Tipula saliciperda) and sev- 

 eral small beetles have at times proved injurious. 



1145. Among mammals the sheep, goat, rabbit, and mouse are 

 often destructive, the former by eating the leaves and the latter by 

 ^nawiug the bark. The red willow, from the bitterness of its bark,, 

 is less liable to injury than other cultivated kinds. In Europe, wil- 

 lows sometimes suffer from hail, and insurance against this damage 

 may be obtained as in other crops. 



1146. If exposed to cold and dry winds, the osiery should be pro- 

 tected by wind-breaks of high trees, and the oaks, ashes, and firs 

 are recommended for this use. In the cultivation between the rows 

 when wide apart the first year beets, carrots, cabbages, or potatoes 

 are employed. The weeding or cultivation should not be done when 

 the shoots are forming. When done in fall, after the leaves have 

 fallen, they should be gathered and buried. The bind-weed (Con- 

 volvulus, several sp.) and the dodder (Cuscata) sometimes infest a 

 willow plantation, and must be carefully extirpated. 



1147. THE DUTCH OSIEII (tialix lanceolate,) is much used for 

 hoops and basket-work, and is best set in spring, in trenches about 

 four feet apart, and from 30 to 40 inches between, in the rows. 

 They should be fertilized with stable-manure as above described. 

 Upon dryer ground the plants may be set a little closer together. The 

 watering with manure-water is of first importance if the soil is 

 poor. 



1148. When used to turn the course of rivers from encroaching 

 upon laud, the willow should be cut between October and April, and 

 should be formed into frames, by interweaving the smaller spray 

 with larger timber, securing in place by piles, and covering with 

 sand, gravel, or soil. It is well to load them down also with heavy 

 stones. In a slight current this will often prove sufficient to form 

 an artificial cape, and the mud settling above and below this obstruc- 

 tion will gradually extend out the shore. The willows will push 

 out fibrous roots into the soil aiul sand, creating a surface vegeta- 

 tion, and may be kept in this condition by being cut back from year 

 to year. If such sloping barriers can form an angle up-stream, the 

 effect is better. 



