132 



Tin: IMIACTICAL GARDENER. 



riuiinalis) ; tlie green osier {Salix rubra); the eared willow 

 {Salid' sfipuhiris) ; the basket willow (Salix forbz/ana) ; and 

 the velvet osier {Salix woUissima) : these are valuable wil- 

 lows, and in most situations will pay better than any other 

 plant. The t\7o-ycar-old shoots of the second and last sorts 

 are valued by the basket-maker ; and those of one year's growth 

 of the others are in equal request. They are all propagated 

 by cuttings which root freely, and plantations of them are 

 often formed in this manner : Willows are generally planted 

 by being pushed into the ground by the hand, which must be 

 well defended by a i)iece of strong leather ; but sometimes in 

 pushing in the cutting, the bark is pressed off. In order to 

 prevent this, it is better to use a common dibble, shod with 

 iron, and have them planted by it like ordinary planting in 

 the nursery. Where the ground is any way hard, or where 

 there is a danger of pushing off the bark, they should be 

 planted so as to leave five or six inches above ground, that 

 when it may become necessary the top of the stools may be 

 cut oir, in order to renovate them. This may ha})pen to be 

 in ten or twelve years after jdanting, and the practice will be 

 found of considerable advantage. It is a matter of indiflerence 

 whether cuttings be planted in a sloping or perpendicular 

 position. 



Having noticed the propagation of the useful forest-trees cul- 

 tivated in this country, with a view to profit as well as orna- 

 ment, we will now proceed to notice the various methods of 

 propagating such as are planted for ornament alone, or do not 

 attain a size, under ordinary circumstances, in this country, to 

 warrant their admission into the forest. 



Yew. — {Taxtis Baccata.) 



The yew is a native of many parts both of England and 

 Scotland, but particularly the former, and is a tree of great 

 longevity and hardihood. It is most generally found in sta- 

 ture little other than a large shrub, but, as Sang justly ob- 

 serves, — *' Whoever has seen that at Tortingale, and those at 

 Kincardine in Perthshire, and al llimley Hall in Statlbrdshire, 

 will allow an aged yew to be a very picturesque tree." The 



