1764 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



character to separate it from S. alba, except " that the under side of the leaves loses 

 at an early period most of the silky hairs." However, he went on to say : " Its 

 qualities are of the highest importance. The superior value of the wood and bark, 

 the rapid growth as well as handsome aspect of the tree, its silvery blue colour, 

 its easy propagation and culture, in dry as well as wet situations, all render it so 

 superior to our common white willow, that a cultivator might justly think lightly of 

 any one who should tell him that there was no difference between them." He states 

 that a cutting planted in Norfolk " became in ten years a tree 35 ft. high and 5 ft. 

 2 in. in girth, which is a rapidity of growth beyond all comparison with the common 

 white willow." Succeeding botanists have applied the name ccerulea to pendulous 

 slow-growing trees, of which the foliage is bluish white beneath ; but I consider 

 that Smith distinctly described the quick -growing pyramidal tree which is now 

 recognised by cultivators as the true cricket-bat willow ; and his specimen of S. 

 ccerulea in the herbarium of the Linnean Society, London, is undoubtedly this tree. 



Apparently no staminate tree ^ of S. ccerulea exists ; and Smith knew it only as 

 a female tree. 



The origin of S. ccerulea is obscure ; but it appears to be confined to the eastern 

 counties of England, where it has been known ^ since 1804 at least. Bean,^ relying 

 upon Shaw, states that it is only found at the present time in Essex, Hertford, and 

 Suffolk ; but it undoubtedly occurs also in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire ; and is said 

 to have been formerly a rare tree in Kent and Surrey. Dealers restrict their 

 purchases to the eastern counties, and have not yet ever found any suitable willow 

 for making bats in other parts of Britain or on the Continent. It is probable, 

 however, that 5". ccerulea, when planted in other parts of the British Isles, will prove 

 satisfactory, as there is no reason for believing that the peculiar qualities of the wood 

 of this tree are dependent upon the climatic conditions of the eastern counties. 



Mr. J. A. Campbell, who planted in 1904 about 150 trees of S. ccerulea at 

 Arduaine, Lochgilphead, Argyllshire, has received a favourable report * from Mr. D. 

 J. Carter, willow-dealer at Waltham Cross. One of these trees, which was cut 

 down in 191 2, when it was 6 in. in diameter, would, if it had been large enough for 

 making bats, have fetched the normal price. This tree was too small to give a 

 certain result ; but judging from Mr. Carter's report, S. ccerulea, grown in the west of 

 Scotland, where the rainfall is 60 inches annually, apparently retains the qualities 

 which render its timber so valuable in East Anglia, where the climate is dry and 

 sunny, and the mean summer temperature much higher than in the west.^ 



Loudon identified 5". ccerulea with the upland or red-twigged willow of Pontey " ; 



1 Forbes, Sal. Woburn. 273, t. 137 (1829), describes as i'. ccerulea, a male tree, which is doubtless a form of .S. viridis. 



2 Smith, Fl. Brit. iii. 1072 (1804), refers to it as a bluish, quick-growing variety of 5. alba. 



3 Kew Bulletin, 1907, p. 313. * Cf. Bean, in Kew Bulletin, 1912, p. 205. 



6 Notwithstanding the above statement, I should hesitate to advise the planting of this willow in any part of Scotland or 

 the west of England, until it has been proved by actual sale that the timber is of equal value to that grown in the eastern 

 counties. Even supposing that it should prove to have the same qualities when large enough, it is not easy to convince leading 

 manufacturers that their reputation is worth risking ; and though eminent cricketers whom I have consulted do not seem to 

 judge bats so much by the appearance of their wood, as by their balance, handle, and weight, they would rather pay a high 

 price for a bat which is guaranteed by the maker than use a substitute whose durability and driving powers are more or less un- 

 certain. — H. J. E. 



8 Profitable Planter, 72 (1814). Sang, Nicol's Planter's Kalendar, 68 (1812), says that the red-twigged willow "forms 

 a large tree and lias a fine silvery foliage ; it is probably the same as the upland willow of Mr. Pontey." 



