THE WILLOW. 315 
propagated by layers. The male plant of the purple, the 
black, the yellow, and many other osiers, form very ornamen- 
tal small trees, which become particularly interesting from 
the gaiety and richness of their early blossoms, forming the 
harbingers of summer and the first food of the bee. 
The new American weeping willow, recently introduced, is 
spreading rapidly throughout Britain. Being a plant of very 
feeble growth, to exhibit it in its most attractive form it 
requires to be grafted on the top of a strong stem, such 
as that of S. caprea. Its long slender twigs then droop down 
with much elegance, and become agitated by the slightest 
impulse of wind, like the spray of a playing fountain. The 
value of this species is greatly enhanced by its being extremely 
hardy. <A drooping variety of the S. caprea has lately been 
discovered in the west of Scotland, and is now cultivated in 
nurseries under the name of the Kilmarnock Weeping Willow. 
