51 



the leaves are first allowed to wilt a little and planted two feet 

 apart along furrows, stable manure is packed at their base and 

 then, with a hoe, the earth is drawn around them. They begin 

 bearing in about four years. 



THE WEEPING WILLOW (Salix Babylonica, Tournefort, S. 

 pendula, Moench). North China. One of the quickest growing 

 and most easily reared of all shade trees. Pasture animals browse 

 on the young foliage. The tree is important for consolidating riyer 

 banks, a powerful scavenger of back yards, but apt to undermine 

 masonry and to get into cisterns. 



THE BITTER WILLOW. S.purpurea, Linne), Europe, Northern 

 and Western Asia, one of the osiers. In deep, moist soil, not 

 readily otherwise utilised, it will yield annually per acre four to five 

 tons of the best rods, qualified for the finest work. Impenetrable, 

 not readily inflammable ; screens as much as 25 feet high can be 

 reared from it in five years. This species is not touched by cattle. 

 For hedges, cuttings are planted only half a foot apart, and must 

 be entirely pushed into the ground. To obtain additional strength, 

 the shoots can be interwoven. Grows well on light soil or warp- 

 land, and will grow fairly well on gravelly soil, but not on clay. 

 No basket willow will thrive in stagnant water, humid places should 

 therefore be drained. The cutting of the shoots is done close to the 

 ground after the fall of the leaves. The accidental introduction from 

 abroad of destructive saw-flies (particularly Nematus ventralis), 

 which prey also on the currant and gooseberry bushes, should be 

 guarded against. 



THE COMMON OSIER (S. viminalis, Linne), Europe, Norther* 

 and Western Asia. Height, to 30 feet. The best of basket 

 willows for banks subject to occasional inundations. A vigorous 

 grower, very hardy, likes to be fed by deposits of floods or by irri- 

 gation and disposes readily of sewage. One of the best for wicker- 

 work and hoops. One of the best willows for copses and hedges, 

 very quick growth and foliage giving deep umbrage. 



In all cases proper attention should be bestowed on the live 

 hedge, more especially during the early period of the growth of the 

 trees which should be pruned and trimmed periodically to secure a 

 close base growth. Nothing looks more unsightly and is less 

 efficacious than a badly kept live fence. 



FENCING-. 



In the first edition of this Handbook, Mr. L. L. Cowen (late 

 secretary to the Bureau of Agriculture) thus summarised the 

 question of fencing: 



" This Handbook is intended as much as a guide to the new- 

 comer as to those already settled upon the land, and it would not 



