164 SALICACE^E. 



and presenting the appearance of a wide-spreading tree, 

 the stem seldom reaching to any great height before it 

 divaricates, and throws out great limbs which form the 

 head. In exposed and upland situations it is unable, 

 when planted singly, to resist the force of the prevailing 

 winds, and in consequence generally deviates more or less 

 from the perpendicular, and is liable, in heavy storms 

 of wind, to have its limbs broken or torn from the stem. 



The wood of the Salix alba is similar in texture and 

 quality to that of Busselliana, and adapted for like pur- 

 poses, making excellent sheathing for stone carts, barrows, 

 &c, and when grown in mass, or in company with other 

 trees, affords clean and durable joists and rafters for build- 

 ings ; it is also used in mill- work, and by the turner and 

 cooper. At a younger age, or as a coppice wood, it 

 produces hoops, light handles for hay-rakes, hoes, and 

 other implements, and the twigs are used in basket-making 

 and other wicker-work. Willow-wood is also used when 

 split into fine lamina, to weave or work into light hats 

 and bonnets, and the woven material is the foundation 

 upon which the light silk hats, now so generally in use, 

 are moulded. 



Its bark contains a large portion of tannin, but is not 

 in great demand or appreciated by the tanner as it would 

 seem to deserve, nor is it used to nearly the same extent 

 in England as it is in other parts of the north of Europe. 



In Sweden, and other high latitudes, where the seasons 

 are uncertain, and scarcity is often felt, in consequence 

 of the failure or imperfect ripening of the corn crops, the 

 inner bark of this species, as well as that of the Scotch 

 fir (Pinus si/hestris), is frequently made into a bread, 

 being first dried, then ground into a fine flour, and mixed 

 with a certain proportion of oatmeal. Loudon informs 



