September 21, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
273 
an established stock will make a growth of 18 inches in the course of a 
single week. 
Under the most favourable circumstances the newly planted holt will 
be at maturity in three years, but as a general rule four or five years 
must elapse before its full development. 
A holt properly planted, kept clean, regularly filled up, and well 
managed will last from ten to fifteen years, the duration depending 
upon the sorts planted and various circumstances which affect the 
several kinds of Osiers in different ways. 
The Willows and Osiers usually grown in the Fen district are known 
locally by names indicative either of some characteristic of the tree or 
of the country from which it has come. The favourite sorts are :— 
Glibskins. —In some situations this kind is particularly liable to 
scab,” a disease to which reference is made later on. 
Black Mauls. — Small, but hard and tough, and consequently 
valuable. 
Green Sucklings, —A heavy cropper, but not liked by the basket 
maker. 
Welsh Osier. —This has a very bitter rind, which is disagreeable to 
all animals, and it is planted on the outsides of holts. 
Black Hollanders, Mottled Spaniards, Cane Osiers, and Dutch Red. 
A certain proportion of the coarse-growing Osiers may be grown, as 
the basket makers require some strong stout rods for uprights ; where 
they are not grown their place is supplied by leaving a portion of the 
holt to grow for two or three years. 
The cost of preparing and planting an Osier holt is variously 
estimated at from £14 to £23 an acre—the amount depending upon 
whether the land is trenched or ploughed and upon the preparatory 
cleaning which may be necessary. 
Taking an outside estimate, the items of expenditure would be as 
follows :— 
Fallowing.£4 0 0 an acre. 
Trenching. 8 0 0 „ 
Sets, 20,000 at 10s. per 1000 10 0 0 „ 
Planting . ... 10 0 ,, 
£23 0 0 
This is without any allowance for manure. 
On the other hand, if fallowing is not required and ploughing is 
resorted to, the cost would not exceed £14 an acre. 
The Osiers attain to their full growth by the middle of September, 
by which time the rods on established plants will have made a 
growth of 6 to 7 feet. Osiers and Sallows will make an average growth 
of 8 or 9 feet, and occasionally as much as 13 feet, in a single season. 
Cutting the rods commences with the new year if the holts are 
accessible. Sometimes, however, floods or other circumstances prevent 
the early cutting, and the process has to be postponed. It is, however, 
considered very desirable to cut before the sap rises, as the stocks bleed, 
and the new growth is less vigorous if the sap has risen before cutting. 
The rods are cut with a sharp hook, somewhat like a strong reaping 
hook ; a clean cut without splitting the rod is essentially necessary. As 
the rods are cut they are tied up by willow bands into bundles or 
“ bunches.” Each bunch has a girth of 45 inches (an English ell) at a 
distance of 1 foot from the butt end of the bunch. The “ ell band ” is 
secured in its place by attachment to another band, called the “ breech 
band," round the butt end. A third band is placed higher up. The 
cutting is paid for by the score bunches, the ordinary rate being 23. 6d. 
An average crop will be about 150 bunches, and a heavy crop will reach 
to 250. A green bunch will weigh 6 stones. The weight of rods per 
acre will range from 5 to 10 tons. 
It has already been observed that it is a great advantage if this 
bulky and heavy crop can be removed by water carriage. 
If the rods are to be peeled they are conveyed to the peeling yard 
and placed with their butt ends in water, where they remain until the 
rise of sap makes the peel separate easily from the stick. Sometimes 
after the rods are cut they will dry from exposure to the air, and in 
that case they are put in a heap, watered, covered and sweated, or 
“ couched ” as it is called. If the rods in the pits get too advanced in 
growth before peeling the difficulty of peeling is increased, and the rods 
are damaged. The work of peeling begins as soon as any of the rods 
are fit. It is chiefly done by women, who draw the rods through a 
“ break ” or “ cleave,” which divides the bark into strips, which are 
removed by the hand. The children of the peelers assist in this latter 
operation. 
As the rods are peeled they are sorted into three grades—" large,” 
■“ Middlesboro,” and “ small ” rods, according to their size and length. 
They are then exposed to the air for a short time on racks, or reared 
against hedges or walls. When dry they are tied up in bunches of the 
same dimensions as before, and stored away in sheds. 
Rods which are adapted for the purpose, and which are, in conse¬ 
quence, most valuable, are subjected to another process known as 
“ skeining.” This is the longitudinal division of the rod by splitting it 
into equal parts. The thick end of the rod is nicked with a knife, 
dividing the circle into three sectors. A triple wedge is then inserted, 
and the rod is drawn rapidly through the hand. The split canes are 
then drawn twice under a knife fixed to a gauge to remove the outer 
ring and inner angle, and the cane is reduced to a flat thin strip of 
equal thickness. These “ skeins ” are used for weaving sieve and riddle 
bottoms, and for making basket handles and similar articles. Green rods 
are “ skeined ” by the same process for making eel grigs and hives, 
(To be continue!,) 
CODONOPSIS (GLOSSOCOMIA) OVATA. 
The plant represented in the engraving (fig. 39) was introduced 
under the name of Glossocomia, but which has been superseded by 
that of Codonopsis in the “Genera Plantarum.” It is easily culti¬ 
vated after the seedling stage has been passed, a good plan being to sow 
the seed in pots in a heated frame, pricking out the young plants as 
soon as they are large enough in boxes or pans, planting them out the 
following spring, but guard against breaking the very brittle roots. 
The choice of position will be the next consideration ; the sunniest 
and most exposed that can be selected will be the best, planting them 
6 inches apart, and the roots must not be disturbed by digging. The 
flowers are large, as may be seen, but are best viewed at a distance, the 
■•5 fig. 39.— codonopsis (glossocomia) OVATA. 
odour being anything but "agreeable, and resembling somewhat that 
of the Aristolochia ; the colours inside the flowers are very pretty and 
curiously blended. This is one of the few flowers, we believe, that 
are self-fertilising, that process being accomplished before the flower 
opens by a curious movement'of the anthers. It ripens seeds freely, 
and is readily increased by that means. It is a native of Northern 
India, and flowers during the summer. 
HORTICULTURAL SHOWS. 
EDINBURGH.— September 13th and 14th. 
The autumn Show held annually in connection with the Royal 
Caledonian Horticultural Society took place on the above dates. The 
exhibits were numerous though not so much so as in previous years, 
this being more especially noticeable in the classes for Grapes. Apples 
were as a whole the best feature of the exhibition, though vegetables 
were well shown. Amongst these latter Onions were exceedingly good. 
The arrangements of the Show were not praiseworthy in any way, the 
utmost confusion prevailing. The judges had much difificulty in finding 
the classes, and the work of reporting was rendered arduous ; in fact it 
was found impossible owing to the manner in which the exhibits were 
