26 The East Anglian Timber Willow. 
thinned, leaving five feet square to each tree ; and, at the end of 
forty years, an acre so planted would be worth 1,500Z. This 
plan has some merits, but four years should be sufficient before 
thinning, as the plants should then be about sixteen feet high. 
Planting. 
We have agreed that in order to obtain a willow tree the 
best plan is to plant a 20-ft. set, but there may be various 
conditions which may make some difference in our decision. 
For nursery purposes, sets 4 in. in and 1 in. out of the ground 
may be sufficient. Should it be desired to plant a piece of 
clean arable land, sets 4 ft. out of the ground and 1-| ft. 
underground would be sufficient. If the ground is already 
covered with rank undergrowth, 20-ft. sets would be desirable, 
and these should be planted not more than 3 yards apart so 
as sooner to form an overhead canopy which would kill 
the undergrowth and thus allow the roots more food. After 
thinning out, the trees (or their tops only) can be planted 
again elsewhere. 
The distance we should place our sets apart may be defined as 
half to one-third the length of the set. The further apart, the 
greater labour in rubbing off the incipient shoots in the first 
two years ; the closer together, the less air to encourage their 
growth. As soon as the overhead canopy is formed, the trees 
can be drawn up to the height desired, and then thinned, and 
the thinning continued till the trees are increasing satisfactorily 
in girth. 
The depth the sets should be planted depends upon the 
tenacity of the soil, since if the set is not stamped round and 
firmly planted, the wind will cause it to sway round and break 
off the young rootlets, which are too feeble to hold it upright. 
The depth also depends on the nature of the soil ; should the 
subsoil be good, the sets should be so deep as to allow the roots 
to reach it easily. 
It must be remembered that each set has so much vitality 
on being planted, and we must obtain as much as we can 
by choosing pollard sets and steeping them before planting. 
Such sets may be thin and tall, but if the vitality is less, the 
sets must be shorter and thicker to ensure enough sap to keep 
them alive the first year. When the vitality is deficient, it 
is clearly seen by the death of the top ; the sap rising up 
only part of the way, as seen by the side shoots ; or in some 
cases the tree entirely dies above ground and shoots up from 
the ground level. There seems to be no limit as to the 
thickness of a set, which may be as thick as a gate post, and 
thus have the more vitality, providing its length out of 
the ground is proportionately reduced. 
