22 



the remainder being imported from Great Britain, France, 

 Holland, and Belgium, at an annual cost of five millions of 

 dollars. The osier proper, the product of Salix viminalis and 

 its allies, can be grown without trouble in any wet, undrained 

 soil, capable of producing little else of value ; but the better 

 sorts of basket willow are only successfully produced with 

 careful cultivation on rich, well-drained soil. Under such 

 conditions it is a profitable crop, capable of netting at least 

 SloO a year to the acre, and well worth the attention of our 

 farmers." The experiment of raising willows is worth trying, 

 though I do not anticipate so large profits as Professor Sar- 

 gent promises. 



For the reclamation of our pastures and waste lands aban- 

 doned to hard-hack, sumac, and other worthless brush, the 

 European larch deserves to become a favorite. A native of 

 the Alps, Apennines, of the Tyrol and Carpathian Mountains, 

 it is a very hardy tree, and at home in a variety of well- 

 drained soils, especially on rough, rocky, or gravelly ground, 

 and the most rugged ravines. There are in our State large 

 tracts of bleak hill-sides and mountain declivities or summits, 

 now practically worthless, where the larch, thickly planted, 

 would soon choke out brush, weeds, and grasses. As an orna- 

 mental tree it grows finely even in deep and rich loam, but its 

 extraordinary qualities for timber may be impaired when 

 grown on the rich prairies of the West or the best lands of 

 the East. When raised under right conditions it combines 

 the two qualities of rapidity of growth and durability of wood 

 more than any other tree. This wood was in high favor with 

 the Romans for the building of ships and bridges. Julius 

 Caesar spoke strongly of its strength and durability. 



Last summer I heard a lumber-man in Venice say that its 

 durability was amply attested there, as most of the houses of 

 the city are built upon larch piles, many of which, though in 

 use for centuries, show no signs of decay. In a large Doge's 

 palace, now used as a hotel, he showed me some very ancient 

 larch window-casings which are still sound. For gondola 

 posts in the canals adjoining the houses the larch is preferred. 

 In wharves and many other positions in England where there 



