.... - . 
78 THE CULTIVATOR. Nabob. 
of one dollar and fifty cents for the cuttings of the 
four rows of one year’s growth. I refused the of¬ 
fer, for the purpose ©fusing them to set out a new 
and more extended plantation. The following 
spring the same German paid me four dollars for 
the cuttings of the four rows y and the spring after 
I sold them for nine dollars. 
Accordingly, in the spring of 1845, I caused an 
acre and a quarter of a rather moist soil, too wet 
for the finer grasses, to he carefully turned over 
with the plow, and then thoroughly harrowed. It 
was then laid out in rows three feet apart, and set 
with cuttings of willow about eight inches long, 
one foot asunder in the rows. It took about 12,000 
cuttings, some of which were quite small, which 
rendered the growth the first year quite diminu¬ 
tive. The growth of the sprouts the second year 
varied from three to five feet high. I sold the se¬ 
cond year for $20; the third year for $4'0; the 
fourth year for $60, which in reality was only 
about half their value. 
The Osier, like all the willows, delights in a 
moist soil, and they are usually cultivated in such 
situations, and often form the outside boundary of | 
wet meadows, being planted along the ditches that 
are made to drain off the surplus waters. Thus 
they occupy space of little value, hut well calcu¬ 
lated to make them a great profit, by their abun¬ 
dant shoots. It is a matter of astonishment when 
such quantities of articles of this description are 
annually imported, that Americans, proverbial for 
their industry, zeal, and independent spirit, should 
have thus long neglected to form plantations fully 
adequate to meet.the demand. 
The Osier differs from other willows, in its long, 
straight, flexible and tough twigs, or sprouts. 
The species most esteemed by basket makers, 
is the Salix Vermin al is; or European Green 
Willow. It is of quick growth, and the shoots 
grow amazingly long and strong in one year 
from the shoots, which characteristic renders it 
very useful for basket making. The leaves are 
long and narrow, of a bluish green on the upper, 
and hoary on the under surface. This is the vari¬ 
ety I cultivated, and of all others is best calcula¬ 
ted for baskets and covering bottles, &c. An 
acre of this, properly planted upon “suitable soil, 
will yield, at the least calculation, from one and a 
half to two tons weight to the acre. 
Mr. Haynes says, in his communication, that 
from two acres the net proceeds, after paying all 
expenses, was $388.75. 
The Osier Willow is worthy a place on every 
farm, because it takes up but little room, and’ 
flourishes best on ground too wet for general cul¬ 
tivation ; requires very little care after the second 
year, and furnishes the best materials for baskets, 
which are indispensable on every farm. It forms 
a hardy and useful hedge for excluding boisterous 
winds, and as it flourishes best in moist soils, or 
wet situations—is frequently planted with a view 
to prevent hanks of rivers and dams from being 
washed away by the force of the currents. 
The art of fabricating baskets from them for 
farm purposes, is easily acquired by any ordinary 
hand. and may he practiced in evenings and stormy 
days in the winter,' with little or trifling expense. 
A well made basket of this willow is actually 
worth three or four made of ash splints. To give 
them firmness and durability, a good rim, ribs, 
and handle of oak, hickory, or other subsnntial 
wood, are necessary. 
To conclude, I would beg leave to say, I have 
no cuttings for sale myself, nor am I in any way- 
concerned in the sale of them, but refer to A. L. 
Jordan,.Esq., New-Tork p John Boverfdge, Esq., 
and Dr. Charles W. Grant, of Newburgh., and 
Martin J. Blessing, Three Hills Farm, near Alba¬ 
ny. Albany , Jan. 24, 1853. 
A full answer to the inquiries of Mr. Wyhkoop, 
respecting the culture of the Osier Willow, would 
require a lengthy article. Loudon’s Arboretum 
gives a very full description of the mode of cul¬ 
ture. To answer him briefly, I would say: A wet 
soil is most suitable, but it must be drained. His 
overflowed meadow, (I have tried it,> will not an¬ 
swer at all. They must be cut in the fall always,, 
and planted in the months of November, March, 
or April; 10.000 to 14,000 cuttings plant an acre. 
The cuttings are one foot long, and merely stuck 
nine inches in the ground' Ill’s Irishman’s story 
is rather tall j. my best shoots this year are nine 
feet. The profits of the culture are very great, 
the cultivation easy, and the demand increasing. I 
sold the willow, on one-fourth of an acre, for five 
years, doing nothing to them, for forty dollars a 
year, and made a bad bargain. I will be happy to 
answer any further Inquiries from any of your cor¬ 
respondents, and can furnish some cuttings in 
March, or whenever the snow disappears, at fjv, 
dollars per thousand. W. H. Denning. Fish- 
kill Landing, N. Y., Jan. 17, 1853. 
Pigeon Weed—Draining. 
Mr. Tucker — I wrote you some two years ago, 
that I thought I had made • a discovery whereby 
pigeon weed. „or red root, could be exterminated 
from the earth, viz; by planting corn two seasons 
in succession on the same, field. I have followed 
up the plan, and find it to answer the purpose ef¬ 
fectually. You can tell my brother 'farmers, that 
they can get rid of that pest of the wheat grower, 
by following my plan. If they don’t, let us hear 
of it through vour paper; but I know it will an¬ 
swer; yet strange as it may appear, no other two 
summer crops will kill it all, I have tried .both 
barley and oats twice in succession, but Indian 
corn and potatoes will; but the latter crop would 
not answer to cultivate extensively on our stiff 
soils, hut the former will, 
A word or two about draining. A year ago 
last fall. I drained some three acres of wet swale; 
planted an acre of it with potatoes last May. They 
were a great crop, and not a pot a toe. rotted. I 
was in feeble health when taken up, and. was not 
in the field then, but on observing -to.one of my 
men the other day, that from the number of pits, 
they must have been a great crop; he then told 
me he measured 20 rods, then dug the potatoes 
and measured, and got 50 bushels, good measure. 
T have 45 acres of wheat growing on land I drained 
the last two years. I think it will be a very great 
crop. If health allow, I will drain 25 acres next 
spring, which I think will be the last of my drain¬ 
ing. I have now all of 25 miles of drains. My 
son-in-law, Mr. Swan: who owns 340 acres of the 
Rose Hill farm adjoining mine, laid last year, 
(1852) 72.400 tile, making 17 miles of drains, 
which has already improved the appearance of the 
land very much. He had laid in 1851, 16,000 
tiles, and has how drained about 200 acres of his 
farm in a thorough manner. Many commenced 
