1468
ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.
clean off: were a part of these small shoots allowed to remain, they mightproduce a crop of twigs fit for wickerwork, but by no means adapted forhoops. It is better to have a few good growths for that purpose, than aprofusion of inferior ones. At no period should any one stool be allowedto bear many shoots, otherwise they will be small and worthless. Everymanager of willows has it in his power to increase or diminish the number ofshoots on the plants under his carej for, if he take off the shoots clean by thestem of the plant, in spring, the number of shoots will be proportionallydiminished in the following season.” {Plant.. Kal., p. 533.) Rods for hoopsmay be cut at the end of the second or third year’s growth, according to thesize of the hoops wanted. In poor soil, or in plantations nearly worn out,the rods will require three years’ growth to enable them to attain their propersize. “ The proper season for cutting willow rods intended for hoops isany time during the month of November, immediately after the leaves havedropped. The cut should be made to within two or three buds of the placewhence the shoot issued ; and it should be in a sloping direction, at the backof the uppermost bud left on the bottom of the shoot on the stool. In cut-ting hoop willows from the stools, the swell at the bottom of the shoot onlyshould be left. This part is amply furnished with proper buds, to serve asoutlets for the rising sap ; so that it is unnecessary to leave so much at thebottom of those as is necessary in the case of basket willows, especially as fewershoots are required in the present case.” {Ibid., p.534.) We agree with Sang inbeing “ decidedly hostile to the barbarous” manner in which coopers frequentlycut hoops from the stools. Under the idea of preventing the hoops from beingsplit, they hack the rods off by cutting downwards with a hand-bill; “ andthus the under part left upon the stool is split into many pieces, to themanifest injury of the plant.” {Ibid.) The duration of willow plantationsgrown for the hoops is considerably longer than when they-are grown forbasket-making; because, in consequence of the stronger shoots, and of theirremaining on the stools two or three years, greater strength is thrown intothe root.
The Culture of Willows for Basket-Pods. Almost all the species of willowsmay be grown for this purpose; but some are greatly preferable to others.The most vigorous-growing basket willow is, unquestionably, S. viminiilis;and it ijs also the sort most generally’ cultivated for that purpose. It hasno disadvantage that we are aware of, except that in cold wet seasons, andin a moist soil, it does not always ripen the points of its shoots. S. rubra,S. Forbyaiitf, S. declpiens, and S. stipularis are excellent species, of lessvigorous growth than S. viminalis, which ripen the points of their shootsperfectly in most seasons. The best of these is, perhaps, S. Forby ana. S.triandra is nearly as vigorous as S. viminalis. S. ifelix, S. vitellma,and S. purpurea are very desirable species, where small tough rods are re-quired. Various other sorts might be mentioned ; but these we consider as byfar the most valuable. The soil for basket willows ought to be deep, welldrained, and thoroughly' prepared ; and the situation ought to be low, level,and naturally moist; and, if there is a command of water for irrigation, somuch the better. “ There are few soils,” Sang observes, “ that will not bearwillows; yet some situations are very unfit for them. Dry and exposedgrounds, peat moss, and land covered with standing water, or a quagmire, arenot at all suitable. Hollows, the soil of which is composed of rich, soft,earthy particles, and which can be laid dry, are the most eligible for convertinginto osieries; and, if such can be occasionally soaked with water during thedry months in summer, the situation may be considered perfect. Completelydraining the site of a basket willow plantation is the first step towards itsformation, and the foundation of its prosperity, and, consequently, of theprofit to be derived from it. Drains, in any soil which is to be occupiedwith a permanent crop of trees, should be constructed upon principles ojdurability. If the drains be what are called rubble drains, the interstices willsoon be filled up with the fibres of the willow roots, which will creep do' vn