553 



Willows and their Cultivation. 



[OCT., 



to give estimates for the probable yield for the first three 

 years. 



In estimates of this sort very great variations are possible 

 in the cost of labour, rents and rates, and, what is of even 

 greater importance, in the cost of the cuttings. These are 

 purchasable at from ios. to 20s. per 1,000, and the number 

 required may vary from 24,500 per acre if planted 16 in. by 

 16 in. to only 4,840 when set out for the purpose of growing 

 sticks. The following particulars should, however, enable 

 any intending grower to estimate, approximately, the cost 

 to him, according to local conditions. The figures for cut- 

 tings refer to selected healthy cuttings about 12 in. long, true 

 to name, and of the best varieties of Triandra, costing 15s. 

 per 1,000 at the growers. 





£ 



S: 



d. 



Ploughing old turf, per acre ... 



... 4 



O 



0 



19,360 cuttings, including carriage 



... 15 



O 



0 



Planting, if let by the piece ... 



1 



5 



0 



First year, hoeing four times over 



2 



10 



0 



Rent and Rates ... 



1 



15 



0 



Cutting and carrying off 



1 



0 



0 



Add interest on outlay of ,£25 lOs. ... 



1 



5 



0 



Total 



£26 



15 



0 



The returns to be set against that expenditure vary very 

 much, and are dependent on the season. Some land planted 

 at Barrow, Leicestershire, in the spring of 1910, with Black 

 Maul, Black Germans, Mottled Spaniards, and Long Skins, 

 produced two tons to the acre, and these were sold at 

 £<\ 2S. 6d. per ton on the ground, whilst the writers know 

 of another case in which many acres were planted the follow- 

 ing spring, and, owing to the very hot and dry summer, the 

 crop did not pay for cutting. This is the usual risk experi- 

 enced by those who follow agricultural pursuits, but it may 

 be desirable to state that whilst willow-growing is indisput- 

 ably a profitable undertaking, it is nevertheless more or less 

 risky in the first year. When the heads are once established 

 they go on yielding for many years.* 



* The above figures deal exclusively with the crop when sold as green. For 

 growers who prefer to buff or whiten their rods — operations that yield a satisfactory 

 return for labour involved and capital employed — full details will be supplied in 

 a subsequent article dealing with white and buff peeling. 



