GROWING FIGS AT THE SOUTH.-CULTIVATION OF THE OSIER.—NO. a. 
45 
GROWING FIGS AT THE SOUTH. j 
A correspondent in Alabama inquires of us the 
method of drying figs for the market. He says that 
this delicious fruit grows spontaneously in his vi¬ 
cinity, and thinks that it may in future become a 
profitable article of culture. We give below the 
modes generally adopted in the south of Europe, 
and should feel obliged to any of our southern 
friends for such practical information on the sub¬ 
ject as may be in their power to impart. 
Those figs that are intended to be dried, are left 
on the tree till they are dead ripe, which is known 
by a drop of sweet liquid hanging from the eye. 
As soon as they are gathered, they are placed on 
wicker hurdles, in a dry, airy shed 3 and, when the 
dew is off, they are exposed every morning to the 
sun, during the hottest part of the day. In order 
to facilitate the progress of drying, the figs are oc¬ 
casionally flattened with the hand. In moist, dull 
weather, they are spread out in rooms warmed by 
stoves. When they are thoroughly dried, they are 
packed in layers, in rush baskets, or in boxes, al¬ 
ternately with straw and laurel leaves, and in this 
state they are sold to merchants, who afterwards 
assort them and pack them more carefully in boxes 
or drums. In some parts of France, figs are cured 
by first dipping them in a hot ley, made from the 
ashes of the fig tree, and then dried, the use of the 
ley being to harden their skins. 
CULTIVATION OF THE OSIER.—No. 1. 
The cultivation of the willow for the purposes 
of basket making, wicker work, &c., was practised 
by the Romans in a similar manner as it is through¬ 
out Europe and North America at the present day ; 
and it is a remarkable fact, that basket making of 
very elegant workmanship, was one of the few 
manufactures in which the ancient Britons excelled 
at the time their island was invaded by Julius 
Cagsar. A crop of osiers was considered so valua¬ 
ble in the time of Cato, that he ranked the willow 
field next in value to the vineyard and the garden. 
The culture of the willow for basket making was 
almost exclusively confined to continental Europe, 
particularly France, Holland, and Germany, until 
towards the close of the last century, whence Eng¬ 
land was principally supplied. In consequence of 
continued war between Great Britain and France, 
from 1793 to 1803, the London Society of Arts, di¬ 
recting their attention to the subject, have at various 
times, offered premiums for the encouragement of 
its growth; and in their “ Transactions” for 1801, 
1804, and 1805, as well as in previous and subse¬ 
quent volumes, will be found accounts of planta¬ 
tions being made for which premiums were award¬ 
ed. At present, extensive willow fields in Eng¬ 
land are in the fenny districts of the counties of 
Cambridge and Huntingdon 3 and perhaps, the 
largest plantation in the realm, is that of Mr. 
Adnam, near Reading. The principal English mar¬ 
ket for basket willows is London 3 but they are in 
demand, more or less, in every town in the country. 
In the United States, the cultivation Of the osier 
has never been carried to a great extent 3 yet, from 
the fact that large quantities of it are annually im¬ 
ported from Germany and France, it is believed by 
many that its culture may be attended with profit. 
We often read in the newspapers or journals of the 
! day, that small patches are frequently raised in 
' various parts of the country, and seemingly with 
success 3 but why this species of culture has never 
been more general, is beyond our means of know¬ 
ing. Among those who have published accounts 
of their experiments, are the late Judge Buel, and 
C. N. Bement, of Albany, Thomas Affleck, of 
Mississippi, and several gentlemen in the vicinity of 
Philadelphia and New York. 
The uses to which the osier may be applied are 
so varied, that it would be needless for us to at¬ 
tempt to enumerate them here. Being an aquatic 
plant, and of a rapid and vigorous growth, it is pe¬ 
culiarly fitted for planting on the banks of rivers 
and streams, for restraining their encroachments and 
retaining in its place the soil. The annual shoots, 
which are of different degrees of length, are used 
with, or without, their bark on, for all the different 
kinds of basket making, wicker work, &c. They 
may also be employed for binding up stalks, flax, 
and grain, instead of straw. The finer and smaller 
shoots may be used for tying up trees, shrubs, and 
vegetables, for the purpose of sending to market in 
bundles 3 for confining the branches of trees to 
walls, or espaliers 3 for tying up standard trees and 
shrubs into shape 3 for making skeleton frames on 
which to train plants in pots ; for tying bundles and 
packages 3 and for a thousand other purposes, 
which are familiar to every gardener, or will rea¬ 
dily occur to him in practice. 
Choice of Varieties .—Almost every species of 
willow may be cultivated as osiers 3 but some are 
greatly preferable to others. The first thing to be con¬ 
sidered in the culture of any variety, no matter for 
what purpose, is, to determine whether the male or 
the female plant is the more desirable kind for the 
object of the cultivator. There can be no doubt 
that the female of every species is the more vigo¬ 
rous growing plant; and, consequently, where 
timber, or coppice wood, hoops, or rods for the 
larger kinds of basket work, are the produce 
wanted, the female of the species ought to be 
preferred, however difficult it may be to procure 
plants the sex of which is known. On the other 
hand, when tough, yet delicate rods are required for" 
basket making, not only the finer growing varie-; 
ties, but the males of the species should be selected. 
The female plant may often be distinguished from 
the male by its stronger and more vigorous growth, 
by the darker or more .brilliant color of its bark, 
and its leaves being broader and of a larger size. 
It ought also to be borne in mind, as a general prin¬ 
ciple, that willows, to be of any use, either as 
basket rods, hoops, poles, or timber trees, must an¬ 
nually ripen their shoots 3 and that, in cold 
climates, this cannot be done where they are grown 
in soils which are abundantly supplied with water 
late in the season. Hence the colder the ch'mate, 
the drier should be the soil, on account of the 
necessity of perfectly ripening the wood. 
The most vigorous growing species adapted for 
basket making, is unquestionably the twiggy wil¬ 
low, or common osier (Salix viminalis ), and it is 
also the kind most generally cultivated for that pur¬ 
pose. It has no disadvantage, except that, in cold 
wet seasons, in a high latitude, and in a moist soil, 
it does not always ripen the points of its shoots. 
The other kinds which perfectly ripen the points of 
