34 
The East Anglian Timber Willow. 
presumption is that the advertisement had been inserted by 
interested parties for the purpose of deceiving owners as to 
the now rapidly rising price of their property. 
The demand for this timber is quickly increasing. An 
article in the Royal Kew Gardens Bulletin (No. 105, September, 
1895) stated that the supply was then falling off and that 
several inquiries had been made. For instance, Mr. A. Dye, 
a cricket bat maker of Sydney, New South Wales, had 
Written 
“ 1 have experienced great difficulty in obtaining the particular kind of 
willow required in my business, viz., Salix alba. I have repeatedly ordered 
white willow from various firms in England, and have never yet received the 
right stuff. I now feel certain they do not know where to obtain it.” 
A firm of timber merchants in the City also wrote that they 
found that the demand for white willow T was so great that 
there was considerable difficulty in procuring any. 
There is no doubt that in East Anglia, and probably the 
whole of England, all large trees have iioav been sold, except 
those kept by landowners for ornamental purposes. It has 
been the custom for some years past for all bat makers to send 
out, yearly, agents to hunt the country and pay approximately 
5s. per foot for any good trees they can find. This deficiency 
of supply was only recognised by landowners some fifteen 
years since, and a considerable number of trees have been 
planted since that date ; but as most of these trees would 
scarcely be saleable for some ten years or so, the price will 
probably rise very considerably. Bat makers have, indeed, 
imported willow timber from Holland,. Canada, and elsewhere ; 
but they seem to have quite decided that it is valueless for 
their purpose. 
It is said that the failure of the willow in Australia is due 
to climate ; the extremes of cold and heat, especially the latter,, 
make the timber so dry and deficient in toughness as to bo 
unsaleable for cricket bats. But this would hot account for 
the failure of the tree in Holland, where the climate is like 
our own and the soil apparently well adapted to it. 
It seems clear, therefore, that for the next ten years or so, 
at any rate, the planting of the Salix viridis , or perhaps the 
true alba , if such could be found, would produce a good 
rental ; but it must be remembered that although the demand 
for cricket bats is very great, and is increasing, it is quite 
possible that the price, after rising to 10s. per foot, may drop 
to 2s., or even to the unremunerative price of white poplar. 
E. R. Pratt. 
Ryston Hall, 
Downham, Norfolk. 
