1 58 salicace^e. 



enormous limbs branch out and form a lofty and wide- 

 extended head. 



The Bedford Willow appears formerly to have been 

 confounded with the Sal.fragilis, or considered as a variety 

 of that species, and it was not till the commencement 

 of the present century that its distinctive characters were 

 pointed out, and the appropriate name of Husselliana 

 given to it, the late Francis, Duke of Bedford having 

 been the first to bring it into notice, and point out the 

 valuable properties it possesses as a timber tree. 



The wood of the Bedford Willow is of a quality fully 

 equal to that of Sal. alba, being tough, elastic, and dura- 

 ble, though perhaps not more so than that of Sal. fragilis, 

 which species, however, it generally exceeds in scantling, 

 when grown together upon ground of the same quality. 

 It forms strong and durable joists and main timbers for 

 buildings, and makes an excellent flooring for manufac- 

 tories, &c, not splitting by any sudden shock, and, like 

 the wood of the poplars, being of slow combustion and 

 difficult to set on fire. Its tough and strong lateral adhe- 

 sion makes it an excellent lining for stone carts and 

 barrows, and, in the neighbourhood of stone and lime 

 quarries, we have known the wood of this and the White 

 Willow to sell at as high a price as five shillings per cubic 

 foot. 



It thrives and attains its greatest developement in a 

 moist soil of good quality, but not where water is stagnant. 

 It also produces good timber and of a tolerable scantling 

 upon inferior and clayey soils, and is by no means of a 

 tender or delicate constitution. It is, therefore, a pro- 

 fitable tree to plant upon exposed uplands in company 

 with Sal. alba, Sal. fragilis, and other trees, and we 

 strongly recommend it as certain to make a speedy and 



