March, 1911 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS ili 
pectation he waited for the remarkable 
crop he was going to produce, but the 
harvest showed him the danger of using 
cuttings not suited to his soil and climatic 
conditions. There are about ninety dif- 
ferent varieties and hybrids of basket- 
willows that are successfully grown in 
Europe. In this country there are but 
four kinds that are yielding good returns, 
and only one of those is especially well 
suited to the lake States. Not a single 
variety has been found that can be grown 
successfully in the southern States. 
The desired improvement should be 
brought about by continually selecting 
certain rods from normal stools of a vari- 
ety that is most likely to yield to judi- 
cious treatment. To develop or to accen- 
tuate a specific quality which the bulk of 
rods are now lacking is the most impor- 
tant consideration for the American wil- 
low culturists. Slender, cylindrical, flex- 
ible, and tough rods are sought by the 
best basket makers, and so long as the 
American farmer is unable to raise a 
sufficient quantity of this sort, the manu- 
facturers will buy their raw material in 
Europe. Consequently, the domestic rods 
will sell at a very low figure. Better 
strains of willows for local use will have 
to be developed, just as certain strains 
of farm crops have come to be recognized 
as suitable for local use. Because of the 
future importance of the industry and the 
strength of foreign competition, a rapid 
development in the quality of American 
grown rods is essential. .This much-de- 
sired improvement of the basket-willow 
in the United States can be brought about 
by continually selecting cuttings from 
the shoots having the desired qualities. 
Since such strains are not as a rule sus- 
ceptible to general adoption, it will be 
necessary to develop different ones for 
different localities. 
In certain portions of Pennsylvania, 
Maryland, Ohio, and Kentucky, the 
American green willow is seriously af- 
fected with a willow rust which destroys 
the leaves prematurely, and consequently 
the shoots die. This disease was first dis- 
covered in Maryland and Pennsylvania, 
and later it appeared in Ohio, and now 
is reported from Kentucky. A _ wide- 
awake farmer in the last State ob- 
served that a certain strain of American 
green is very rarely affected by this rust. 
He concluded at once that this is an im- 
mune variety, which he is now _ success- 
fully raising. This rust seriously affects 
the character and value of the rods. If 
the rods are not killed outright, they 
usually become so brittle near the top 
that the basket maker is unable to use 
them. 
Farmers who wish to start a plantation 
of basket-willows should not buy a large 
number of cuttings by faith. There are 
nurseries springing up here and _ there, 
and the proprietors claim that they can 
furnish cuttings of all the best varieties 
known to willow culturists. The fact is 
that some of these nurserymen do not 
know the correct names of the willows 
they have for sale, nor do they know for 
what localties their varieties are best 
suited. Unless the farmer can buy se- 
lected cuttings from his neighbor, he is 
likely to be at the mercy of the dealer 
living at a distance, since he may not see 
the stock until it arrives on his farm. Al- 
though basket-willow breeding cannot be 
followed in the scientific sense by the 
farmer, selecting cuttings from the shoots 
on the stump and propagating them is a 
simple matter, and can be practiced by 
any farmer. Testing certain strains, con- 
tinuing the best kinds, and discarding the 
Madam— 
No matter what you have decided to 
serve for luncheon or dinner, do not 
fail to add Nabisco Sugar Wafers for 
dessert. 
These dessert confections are so 
tempting and inviting that they not 
q} 
only make a good meal better, but 
ofttimes save a poor one. 
Always fresh and delightful in flavor. 
In ten-cent tins 
' Also in twenty-five cent tins 
CHOCOLATE TOKENS —similar to NABISCO, 
but with a delicious outer shell of rich chocolate. 
NATIONAL BISCUIT COMPANY 
VERY interesting pamphlet just issued by us on the Pergola can be had free on request. Ask 
for Catalogue A-27 
Hartmann-Sanders Co. waeeN 
EXCLUSIVE MANUFACTURERS OF 
Koll’s Patent Lock Joint Columns 
Suitable for 
Pergolas, Porches or Interior Use 
ELSTON and WEBSTER AVES. 
CHICAGO, ILL. 
Eastern Office: 
1123 Broadway, New York City 
Our illustration shows the attractive effect that can be 
obtained by adopting pergola treatment for your garage. 
This adds but very little to the cost of the building and 
makes it an attractive feature of your Yeneral landscape 
scheme instead of an eyesore, as it frequently is. 
Vf E also publish Catalogues A-29 of SUN DIALS and A-40 of WOOD COLUMNS. 
