No. 138.] 32» 



The willows are valuable trees for timber or for economical 

 purposes. The willow, the sallow and the poplar being the re- 

 presentative of the order. The use of osier for wicker work, of 

 sallow for charcoal making, is well known. Excellent cricket 

 bats are made from the light wood of the salix alba ; arrows from 

 the aspen, (popular tremons) and various turnery ware. 



The name osier is given to several species of willow or salix, 

 u»ed in wicker work — chiefly baskets. Osieri difler from sallows 

 in their long, straight, flexible and tough twigs; thin, generally 

 sessile, (leaves with no foot stalks) germens and elongated style, 

 and stigmas. The osier forms a hardy, useful hedge lor excluding 

 boisterous winds, for preserving river banks. 



O^ers are divided into two classes. The first class is known 

 by its mealy or downy blunt leaves, while the other class has a 

 smootk and more green pointed leaf, much like that of a myrtle. 



The common Osier (Salix Viminalis — willow to bind loiiu.) 

 Any twig to bind with was called viminalis by Pliny. The com- 

 mon Osier is one of the most abundant species — is fond of moist 

 situations, banks of streams, meadows, &c. The twigs grow very 

 long, slender, round, polished and downy when young, and have 

 fijie silky hairs. The leaves have very short foot stalks, and so 

 may be termed sessile, grow almost upright, are about a span 

 long, and half an inch wide. 



There is a variety called the Velvet Osier, in which no external 

 difiference is perceptible, but the twigs are more pliant. There 

 are several species as well as varieties comprehended under the 

 name of Osiers. The silky-leaved Osier (Salix Smithiana) is 

 found growing in meadows and Osier grounds, the twigs of which 

 are so brittle that they are not fit for basket work. It is, there- 

 fore, important to cultivators of Osiers to distinguish very care- 

 fully between this and the Velvet Osier. 



The Auricled Osier (Salix Forbiana) is grown in the eastern 

 parts of England. Stem erect, bushy, upright, slender, smooth, 

 twigs very tough and flexible, of a greyish yellow color, not pur- 

 ple hue; it is highly esteemed, and much cultivated for the finest 

 basket work. 



