WILLOW. 253 
ored midrib. Stipules often one-half inch broad, on vigorous 
shoots, but scarcely appearing on the weaker branches. Catkins 
appear with the leaves; stamens five to nine, distinct. A small 
tree, occasionally seventy feet high. 
Distribution.—Along lakes and streams. Quebec to the valley 
of the Upper Saskatchewan river and Oregon, south to Ohio, 
Missouri and Texas. Common in Minnesota. 
Propagation.—By cuttings. Seedlings can generally be gath- 
ered. 
Propertics of Wood.—Light, soft, weak, close grained, light 
brown with thick whitish sapwood. Specific gravity, 0.4500; 
weight of a cubic foot, 28.10 pounds. 
Uses.—The Almondleaf Willow is not as desirable as several 
other willows for cultivation, but in suitable locations makes a 
very pretty tree. The wood is used for fuel. 
Salix alba. White Willow. 
Leaves lanceolate, taper pointed and tapering to the petiole, 
serrate with thickened teeth, sifky on both sides when young, 
less so and pale or glaucous beneath when mature; stipules 
deciduous. Flowers appear in May, with the leaves at the ends 
of leafy lateral shoots of the season; stamens two. Fruit 
matures in June. Tree sometimes attains a height of eighty feet, 
with a trunk three or four feet in diameter, and ascending 
branches. 
Distribution.—Native of Northern Europe and Asia, but was 
early brought to this country, and has become naturalized from 
the valley of the St. Lawrence to the Potomac. There are many 
varieties, and probably many hybrids of this with the American 
and European species. The form of the White Willow com- 
monly used for windbreaks on our prairies has been considered 
by some as a hybrid between S. fragilis and S. alba, and by others 
as but a variety of S. alba. The pistillate tree is most commonly 
met with here. 
Propagation—It can be propagated easily from cuttings of 
large or small size. In growing this tree for windbreaks some 
planters prefer to use poles instead of common cuttings, laying 
them in furrows in the prepared soil, where they are all covered 
