Nebraska advertiser. [volume] (Brownville, Nemaha County, N.T. [Neb.]) 1856-1882, 1862-08-23
GraY or POWder WiH0w.

1nen the question arises how car
that be remedied 2 We have been try
E ing. experiments for ths last twenty year
with locust and some other kinds of trees
but with no satisfactory results.
"Now propose that we try the Gray
or Power Willow. Il is more easily
produced than any Of the kinds hereto.
fore tried, is better adaps9d 10 all local..
!, ties, is, a more rapid grower, is more
beautiful, will not breed or harbor yer.
min, viii not spread by suckers, and
lastly is equal in value 10 any other fusi
gTDl0er that has been tried, and I think
superior. AL that is necessary is %
stick strips of the willow ia the ground,
and it will grow, and that rapidly. Il is
best adapted in its habits 10 low and wet
grounds, but will grow In any kind of
soil. Odt of one thousand slips there is
no need of loosing any they aH grow.--
| Slips one foot long, stuck half way into
the ground, will grow in three years
/ from fifteen to twenty feet high, and at
the end of seven to ten years will be
large enough to cut into three rail cuts,
the first making four rails, the second,
two, and the last one is a pole. The
cutting of it down does not DESTROY it,
but only infusesa more rapid and vIgor-
Gus second growth. When once the
ground is set with it, it Is a permanent
| thing. 1t matters not how often it is cut
off, 1t continues to throw up new shoots.
Then there is no kind Of wood with which
l am acquainted that splits with so much
ease, and so straightly. as this willow
The rails are easily handled because the
wood is light; and they will laft, If kept
off the ground, thirty or forty gears
There is no decay 70 them when kept OH
the ground. The bleaching of The rams
and vicissilndes Of weather VIII grada |
ally lesson them in size, and hey viii |
eventually become TOO small for service
as rails, but not until they haze serUed out
their full time. When It comes in con-
tact with the ground is not hardy wood.
1t is also valuable for protection. shelter,
or screen for vines; also for boards,
shingles and fuel. 1t is quite equal. /
am told, to oany Of the light woods for fuel.
It is astonishing on what a small
amount of ground enough willows can be
grown to build and keep up the fences of
farm, and at the same time supply the
house with fuel. In many parts of
Europe they grow it for fuel, putting it (
in on the lines between tracts cgsaed by
different persons, and in low and maTshy
places. 1t is the first thing to throw out
its beautiful green leaves in the spring
and is the last to part with them in au-
tum or early winter. The tree grows
straight, and limbs are upright; does not
spread about like many other trees, but
is really thing of beauty. From my
earliest boyhood it has been familiar to
me, and never look upon it but with
renewed pleasure.
hope the farmers of Mclean, and all
the prairie regions of The West may be
induced to grow the Willow, and thereby
beautify their homes. K. H. FELL"
"EDs. PRAIRIE FARMER Since the
meeting of the Horticultural Society,
am almost daily in receipt of inquiries
relating to the Gray Willow. In the
spring Of 1S45, obtained a cutting of it
from John Moore, nurseryman at Madi-
sonville, near Cincinnati. It was planted |
on the bank of an old sod fence, and has
never since received any cultivation.
Currant cuttings planted near it the |
year before, receiving the same neglect,
are now no larger than four year old /
plants which have been well cultivated /
The Willow. a foot from the ground, |
measures over one hundred inches IN cir
conference. Several years since, struck
with its rapid growth, ! planted guam
tity of it in an orchard screen, at the |
time supposing, as most of our people |
have, that the timber was of very little |
value. Since hearing the evidence of |
Mr.. Fell at the Horticultural meeting, as /
to the value of the timber for rails, am |
fully satisfied that it is the most valuable !
tree we have for replacing our Locust
groves SeiIig killed by The bgrer, AID ter
giving new impulse to timber planting
on the prairies-the great need Of he
prairie country.
"Wigh the same cultivation It grows i
fifty per cent more rapidly than the cot
tonwood, splits freely, is moi injured to
my knowledge by any insect, nor liable |
to be browsed by stock. 1t tsprouts freely
from the stump, though do not remem-
Der to have ever seen sucker from the
root
"a limb an inch and half in diameter
was cut off last spring; the stub threw
out five main branches, which grew from
eight to eleven feet in length. besides a
number of smaller limbs. With care In
cutting of all but one shoot, Ihope to be !
able to show az our Horticultural and
Agricultural Fairs next fall, a growth of
the present year from fifteen to twenty
feet in length.
"Cuttings eight inches long set three.
fourths their length in the ground. dirt
pressed firmly around the lower end, are
certain to grow. Let the rows run Dorth /
and south. say five to six feet apart. two
or three feet in the row, cultivate three
years. The fourth year alternate plants
can be cut out for rails, and in two years T
more the balance can BE eat, as the shoots
from tbe first cutting Will occaPy he
ground.
An excellent fence can be made 81
setting plants NJ q Proper distance apart
for posts; when SIX inches in diameter