OSIER WILLOWS. 247 
be obtained. The bark of some species is used for tanning 
leather. The slender tough twigs are used extensively for bas- 
ket making and tying. They are often cultivated solely for this 
purpose. The wood of the Willow is not very valuable, but it 
is used for light fuel, for charcoal to be used in the manufacture 
of gunpowder and artists’ charcoal, and that of some kinds for 
timber in a limited way, as hoops for kegs and barrels and for 
artificial limbs. Some kinds are also planted largely for holding 
the banks of streams and for windbreaks. For ornamental plant- 
ing some kinds are used that are very pretty in flower and foliage, 
which quality, taken in connection with the ease with which they 
are propagated, their hardiness and the rapidity with which they 
grow, have made them largely used. Although most of the wil- 
lows flourish best when they have abundant moisture at their 
roots, many of them will stand well on any land good enough for 
corn, and a few kinds, such as the White Willow, are among the 
hardiest kind we have for prairie planting. 
Osier Willows is a term that is applied to a variety of wil- 
lows which are grown for their twigs, which are used for basket 
making. The plantations made for this purpose are termed osier 
holts. The growing of osiers has not been carried on to any 
great extent in this country, but they are generally imported. 
At Syracuse, N. Y., and near a few other large cities here, it has 
reached a considerable degree of development. A large amount 
of these osiers are imported into this country each year, and an 
immense amount of willow basket material is used. The price 
paid for the rods, when of a proper length and in good condition, 
is about fifteen dollars a ton, green. The yield per acre around 
Syracuse, N. Y., is about four tons of green rods, but occa- 
sionally as high as eight tons has been obtained. Dried peeled 
rods are worth somewhere about sixty dollars per ton. In order 
to facilitate peeling, which in this case is termed stripping, the 
rods are steamed until the bark comes off easily. These are not 
as white, however, as those which are sap-peeled in the spring, 
but the latter are not as durable as steam-peeled rods. 
The best soil for the growing of basket willows is a deep, 
sandy soil, drained yet moist. If water for irrigation can be 
commanded, so much the better, but the basket willows will 
prosper on even rather dry soil of good quality, but do not grow 
