32 BULLETIN 316, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



to a mill with great economy. The willow could be mixed with long- 

 leaf pine, which has very long fibers and which is coming into use in 

 the South for pulp. 



Should willow become important in that region for pulp, black 

 willow on the Mississippi bottoms offers ideal conditions for prac- 

 ticing forest management. The tree grows rapidly in dense natural 

 stands and reproduces abundantly by seed or sprouts. The bottom 

 lands are low priced and highly fertile, the growing season is long, 

 transportation is cheap, and logging conditions excellent. 



ARTIFICIAL LIMBS. 



It is estimated that there are now in this country nearly 200 manu- 

 facturers of artificial limbs. The first artificial leg, other than the 

 ordinary wooden pegs, is said to have been made in London by a 

 man named Cork in the early part of the nineteenth century. 

 Although very imperfect, this device was a great improvement over 

 the old peg. The early name of "cork legs" was continued, and in 

 time the public began to think that these legs were made of cork. 

 The materials most commonly used are wood, leather, aluminum, 

 fiber, or papier-mache for the major parts and rubber and felt for 

 the minor parts. The majority of manufacturers use some wood, 

 usually willow. Of the species used the following are most common: 

 White, yellow, crack, black, and peachleaf willows. In New York 

 the yellow willow is the most commonly used, although both the white 

 and crack willow are used occasionally. In the Lake States the white 

 and crack willows are used the most, and are about equal in impor- 

 tance. The consumption of willow wood for this purpose offers to 

 the enterprising farmer situated near a city a means of selling a por- 

 tion of good willow trees at a fair price. 



TRADE NAMES FOE SPECIES USED BY MANUFACTURERS. 



The name "white willow' ' is usually applied to the sap wood of 

 any willow and does not in the trade necessarily indicate the regular 

 white willow, although it may. In Minnesota the crack willow is 

 called white willow, as is also Salix amygdaloides , a common wild 

 willow of that region, which is, however, seldom used. The wood 

 called "white willow" in Minnesota is tough, full of knots, and hard 

 to work. The wild willow, when it is used, generally goes into some 

 part that does not come in contact with the body. It is considered 

 heavier, more porous, and stronger than the wood called "red wil- 

 low." The white willow of Missouri is Salix amygdaloides and is also 

 known to the trade as swamp willow. The so-called imported 

 English willow is all grown in the United States, but is doubtless 

 from the species Salix alba, which is the English white willow. The 

 Pennsylvania red willow of the trade is also Salix alba, and in this 

 region the wood seems to be more reddish than farther west. 



