64 
WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND TREES. 
flower bearing two stamens (occasionally three, four, or five). 
The female catkin is more slender, the flowers each containing a 
smooth ovary, ending in a short style that divides into two curved 
stigmas. The catkins appear in April or May. Although, like 
most of the Willows, this species is fond of cold, wet soil in low 
Crack Willow. 
situations, it is not restricted to the plains. In Northumberland 
it is found at 1300 feet above the sea. Its northward range 
extends as far as Ross-shire, but it is a doubtful native in both 
Scotland and Ireland. 
The Bedford Willow (S. rnsselliatia) is believed to be a hybrid 
between S.fragilis and S. alba. It grows to a height of fifty 
feet, with a girth of twelve feet. The leaves are more slender 
