34 BULLETIN 316, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



pounds. It is claimed by some that sawed blocks are better than 

 split blocks. Sawing the blocks would cost about 50 cents per 100 

 pieces. 



The price paid for willow for this purpose varies greatly. Some 

 manufacturers are able to buy fairly good material for almost cord- 

 wood prices. Others insist on higher class material and often pay 

 several times as much for it, especially if it is brought from a* distance. 

 In Ohio 25 cents per block is paid for clear material averaging in 

 size 5 by 5 by 16 inches. In Missouri fair material brings 50 cents 

 a piece for pieces 6 by 6 inches by 4 feet and up. Fairly good wood 

 may also be bought for $8 to $12 per cord. In Minnesota select wood 

 brings $30 to $75 per thousand feet, board measure, or $15 to $30 

 per cord. In New York the price ranges from 15 cents to $1.50 per 

 stick, according to the size and quality. 



BASKETS. 



One of the most important commercial uses of willows at present 

 is for willow furniture and baskets. For this purpose over 3,000,000 

 pounds of peeled willow rods are used every year, approximately 

 half of this amount being grown in this country. Willows so grown 

 are more of a farm than a forest crop. As a forest crop, they would 

 be termed a system of coppice on a one-year rotation. Occasionally 

 they are grown both for basket making and to protect the land they 

 occupy from the ravages of floods. The crop may thus be made to 

 pay for the labor involved in the planting and the protection afforded 

 is often of great value. The principal species used in basket-willow 

 culture are American Green, Purple, Lemley, and Patent Lemley, 

 and to a smaller extent the Caspian willow. All of these are Euro- 

 pean species. Other European species such as the White Osier 

 (Salix viminalis), which grow splendidly there, have not been suc- 

 cessful in the United States. None of the native American species 

 of willow are at present cultivated for basket-making purposes. 

 Several species growing wild have, however, been used to a consid- 

 erable extent locally. Chief among these species are the sandbar 

 willow (Salix fluviatilis) and shiny willow (Salix lucida). The Forest 

 Service is at present making a trial of the native species, for basket- 

 making purposes. Though it is too early to predict the outcome of 

 these experiments, it can be said that a number of these species give 

 evidence of being satisfactory basket willows. Further information 

 in regard to basket-willow culture is contained in Farmers' Bulletin 

 622, "Basket Willow Culture." 



POSTS. 



There are many species that make better posts than willow, but 

 in treeless regions and even in the better timbered localities its value 

 should not be overlooked. Well-seasoned posts of the black or white 



