timber of old stems is admirably suited to many 
kinds of turnery; and the wood of the branches 
and of young stems is employed principally for 
hurdles and fuel. One variety of this species has 
long leaves ending in acute points; and another, 
called the striped sallow, has smooth leaves beau- 
tifully striped with white. 
The Bedford, Dishley, Huntingdon, or Russel 
willow, Salix Russelliana, grows wild in the 
swampy grounds of some parts of England ; and 
was first introduced to notice as a tree deserving 
of cultivation by the late Duke of Bedford; and 
has been found, on fair and ample trial, to be 
more profitable for at once its timber, its bark, 
and its rapid or economical habits of growth than 
any other tree-willow hitherto cultivated. It 
| also possesses considerable claim to rank as an 
| ornamental tree; and it has eminent adaptations 
for protecting the sides of streams, and defend- 
ing their banks from encroachment. It has often 
been most injuriously confounded with the crack 
willow; though it exhibits almost a perfect con- 
trast to that species in the aggregate of econo- 
mical value, and can readily be distinguished from 
it by some of its most obvious characters. It is 
far handsomer, and has a lighter or brighter hue, 
and attains a far greater height and a far larger 
buik; for it easily and commonly rises to the 
altitude of 40 feet, and is capable of acquiring 
the greatest girth. Its branches are long, straight, 
slender, cylindrical, flexible, very tough, smooth, 
and polished, and have none of the angularity in 
their insertion which those of the crack willow 
have, and may always be readily recognised from 
| these when stripped of their foliage ; its leaves 
are lanceolate, tapering at both ends, serrated all 
round, and very smooth,—and they have a much 
longer footstalk than those of the crack willow, 
as well as a different shape; and its flowers ap- 
| pear in Apriland May. The bark is very rich 
in both tannin and salicin ; and therefore is emi- 
nently suitable for both the tanner and the phy- 
sician. The timber possesses a high degree of 
at once lightness, toughness, and durability ; and 
when newly cut is easily made to bend to any 
curvature ; and when very old, in such situations 
as the cuppling of tolerably well constructed 
houses, is almost as hard as bone, very light, and 
still quite fresh ; and it is well suited for boat- 
building and for many other uses. ‘This valuable 
tree thrives best over a moist subsoil or near 
water. | 
The shining or hermaphrodite willow, Salix 
hermaphroditica, inhabits the banks of rivers in 
some parts of Britain, and in some parts of nor- 
thern Europe. But it is a comparatively rare 
species; and is regarded by some botanists as 
merely a variety of the pentandrous willow. It 
|| commonly attains a height of 15 or 20 feet, and 
has a tree-like habit and an ornamental appear- 
ance. Its branches are numerous, erect, and 
flexible, and are clothed with a greyish bark ; its 
WILLOW. 
(23 
at the base, and green on both surfaces; and its 
flowers grow in long, narrow, loose catkins, and 
appear from March till June. This species is 
planted by the basket-makers to mix with other. 
kinds for their different sorts of work. 
The herbaceous willow, Salix herbacea, inhabits 
the mountains of various parts of Britain. It is 
a curious and striking contrast to the tree wil- 
lows; for it isso small that six plants of it, roots, 
stem, leaves, and flower, may be placed between 
two leaves of aduodecimo volume. It commonly 
attains a height of about 5 or 6 inches, and 
blooms in June. But a variety of it found in 
Sunderland, or at least a plant possessing all its 
characters except size, commonly attains a height 
of about two feet. The species, however, both in 
its normal form and in this variety, is herbaceous 
principally in mere name and appearance, and 
has sufficient ligneousness to claim rank among 
undershrubs. 
The brown willow, Salix fusca, inhabits moist 
heaths in various parts of Britain. It is a small, 
deciduous, ornamental shrub, commonly about 2 
feet in height, having villous leaves, and bloom- 
ing in May. Five varieties of it, all very distinct 
in character from the normal plant and from one 
another, and some of them remarkable for pecu- 
liarity of habitat, also grow wild in Britain. The 
prostrate, S. f. prostrata, is a creeper or procum- 
bent of about a foot in height, inhabiting moist 
mountainous pastures; the stinking, S. f. fetida, 
is a small-leaved creeper or procumbent of about 
18 inches in height, inhabiting moist heaths; the 
creeping, S. f. repens, is a creeper of about 2 feet 
in height, inhabiting sandy heaths; the silvery, 
S. f. argentea, is a creeper or procumbent of about 
4 feet in height, inhabiting sandy shores; and 
the trailing, S. f. encubacea, is a somewhat erect 
plant of about 4 fect in height, inhabiting sandy 
shores. 
Hoffmann’s willow, S. Hoffmanniana, is a tim- 
ber tree of commonly about 30 feet in height, 
nearly allied to the triandrous willow, blooming 
in May, and inhabiting the river banks of Bri- | 
tain.—The lance-leaved willow, S. lanceolata, is a 
timber tree of about the same height as the pre- 
ceding, blooming in April and May, and inhabit- | 
ing the meadowy grounds of some parts of Eng- 
land.—The blackish broad -leaved willow, S. ni- 
gricans, is a large bushy plant, of commonly 
about 10 feet in height, blooming in April, and 
inhabiting the osier holts of England.—The shin- 
ing willow, S. nitens, is a large shrub, commonly 
about 10 feet high, blooming in April, and inha- 
biting some of the mountains of Scotland.—The 
deceptive willow, S. decipiens, is a shrub of com- | 
monly about 8 feet high, blooming in May, and 
inhabiting the woods of some parts of England. 
— Bover’s willow, S. Boveriana, is a bush of 
commonly about 8 feet in height, blooming in 
May, and inhabiting some of the mountains of 
Scotland.—Davall’s willow, S. Davalliana, is a | 
- leaves are ovate-lanceolate, acute, serrated, eared ; shrub of commonly about 6 feet in height, bloom- | 
a! 
