34 BULLETIN 316, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
pounds. It is claimed by some that sawed blocks are better than 
split blocks. Sawing the blocks would cost about 50 cents per 100 
pieces. 
The price paid for willow for this purpose varies greatly. Some 
manufacturers are able to buy fairly good material for almost cord- 
wood prices. Others insist on higher class material and often pay 
several times as much for it, especially if it is brought from a distance. 
In Ohio 25 cents per block is paid for clear material averaging in 
size 5 by 5 by 16 inches. In Missouri fair material brings 50 cents 
a piece for pieces 6 by 6 inches by 4 feet and up. Fairly good wood 
may also be bought for $8 to $12 per cord. In Minnesota select wood 
brings $30 to $75 per thousand feet, board measure, or $15 to $30 
per cord. In New York the price ranges from 15 cents to $1.50 per 
stick, according to the size and quality. 
BASKETS. 
One of the most important commercial uses of willows at present 
is for willow furniture and baskets. For this purpose over 3,000,000 
pounds of peeled willow rods are used every year, approximately 
half of this amount being grown in this country. Willows so grown 
are more of a farm than a forest crop. As a forest crop, they would 
be termed a system of coppice on a one-year rotation. Occasionally 
they are grown both for basket making and to protect the land they 
occupy from the ravages of floods. The crop may thus be made to 
pay for the labor involved in the planting and the protection afforded 
is often of great value. The principal species used in basket-willow 
culture are American Green, Purple, Lemley, and Patent Lemley, 
and to a smaller extent the Caspian willow. All of these are Euro- 
pean species. Other European species such as the White Osier 
(Salix viminalis), which grow splendidly there, have not been suc- 
cessful in the United States. None of the native American species 
of willow are at present cultivated for basket-making purposes. 
Several species growing wild have, however, been used to a consid- 
erable extent locally. Chief among these species are the sandbar 
willow (Salix fluviatilis) and shiny willow (Salix lucida). The Forest 
Service is at present making a trial of the native species for basket- 
making purposes. Though it is too early to predict the outcome of 
these experiments, it can be said that a number of these species give 
evidence of being satisfactory basket willows. Further information 
in regard to basket-willow culture is contained in Farmers' Bulletin 
622, " Basket Willow Culture." 
POSTS. 
There are many species that make better posts than willow, but 
in treeless regions and even in the better timbered localities its value 
should not be overlooked. Well-seasoned posts of the black or white 
