THE OSIER. 



OW many picturesque scenes of country life centre round 

 the growing of the Osiers ! There is the coppicing of 

 the "rod" beds in spring or autumn, the loading of 

 the punts on the still stream, the stacking in the yards. 

 Best of all is the peeling of the withies which takes place in the 

 summer time. The yard by the river-side is filled with withy 

 bundles ; the longer rods are stacked and carefully thatched, others 

 are set up in rows with their butt ends in trenches full of water. 

 These last are gemmed all over with fresh young leaves — so persistent 

 is the sap of life in the arteries — even though they may have been 

 first put out into the trenches the previous autumn, while the water 

 holds the reflection of their red stems. In the foreground of the 

 picture are the women and children hard at work at the peeling. 



