Willows and t heir Cultivation. 
245 
The numerous railway cuttings also offer themselves for 
experiment. They might, I think, be turned to profitable 
account by being planted up with Willows, especially the lower 
portions of the cuttings lying nearest the level of the railway 
track, as in such a situation there is moisture sufficient to insure 
all conditions needed for healthy permanence and vigorous 
growth. Then there are screens for divisional fences in fruit 
gardens and vegetable beds needing shelter, the margins of 
streams and watercourses to prevent subsidence of the banks in 
waterways, besides other purposes, places, and positions which 
will readily suggest themselves. 
The essential condition wherever willow-growing is carried 
on, and for whatever purpose it may be followed, is due atten- 
tion and care — keeping the plants clean and the ground in good 
condition, sticking in rods to take the place of failures, and 
keeping down the growth of the shoots, with due regard to 
regularity and order. Where only small patches are to be utilised 
it is better to plant for stakes or poles rather than to grow for 
basket rods. 
Planting may be safely carried out when the ground is clear 
from frost at any time from November to March, or even early 
April. Different growers select different periods as the best 
for their purpose, but it is generally agreed that one time is 
about as good as another, provided it is not before the sap 
has settled in the autumn, or after it has risen in the spring. 
There are possible reasons why the autumn may be considered 
as possessing advantages over spring, but either season will be 
found perfectly safe under ordinarily favourable conditions. 
Insect Pests of Willows. 
Nothing has been yet said as to the diseases of the Willow, 
nor yet as to insect and other pests. It is probably best that 
each case of infestation or attack should be considered separately 
at the time, and with actual specimens before one. It is difficult 
to say where to begin, and more difficult to determine where to 
leave off, when dealing with a subject so wide. In the case of 
Salix caprea , for instance, no less than seventy-five species of 
lepidopterous larvae are known to feed upon the leaves and wood 
of this species alone. Some of the caterpillars feed upon the 
leaves ; in other instances the larvae are found in the wood, 
as is the case with the larvae of the Clearwing Moth, Trochilium 
crabroniformis. The Coleoptera infesting the Willows are more 
general feeders. The large green Musk Beetle, Aromia moschata, 
is foupd ip the wood and op the leaves, The small blackish 
