The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-08-09
Willow and Its Uses.

Inc Willow OF commerce used Tor
making baskets and other willow ware
is cultivated like corn or beans, or any
other agricultural product, and the
common willow, which grows in a wild
state upon wet land i'm various parts of
the world, cannot be made TO supply
the place of the cultivated article, as ii
rarely possesses the requisite smooth
ness Of surface, elasticity and tack of
pith. The cultivated willows, or
"osiers," as they are technically de-
nominated, are not necessarily grown
upon wet land. The field where they
are TO be planted is as thoroughly pre-
pared as for any other crop. The
planting is done by setting twigs of
willow in the ground in rows sixteen
to twenty inches apart, the distance be-
tween the twigs in the same row being
eight to twelve inches.
The crops of the first and second years
are not very valuable, though the shoots
are carefully cut to prevent injury to
the crop of the third year, which is ex-
pected to pay all the expenses, with the
rent, taxes, etc, of establishing the
plantation. The field may be kept in
willows ten or twelve years, at the end
of which time the roots are ploughed or
grubbed ont, and the land is given to
some other crop. The land must be all
the time kept clean of weeds, and if it
shows signs of exhaustion manure
must be applied. The willows are cut
in the autumn as soon as the leaves fall,
and if they are to be ''peeled white"
they are done up in bundles with their
butts in six or eight inches of water, in
which they remain until the following
spring, when, as growth begins, the
bark peels off readily. If the Osiers are
to be "peeled buff" they are bundled
and dried and are subsequently peeled
by being boiled or steamed and then
drawn through machine made for the
purpose. The baskets made from the
buff are said to be much firmer than
those made from the white rods.
There are several manufacturers of
willow ware in Boston, and large
in New York and other cities, and they
would certainly be willing to purchase
American willow if it could be obtained
of as good quality and at the same price
as the imported article. But, although
there is duty of thirty per cent. upon
imported willow, it is doubtful whether
a person located as far West as Spring |
field, Illinois, could at the present time
raise osiers and deliver them here as
low as they are delivered here from Eu-
rOpean countries. They are quite
bulky articles, and the freight charges |
upon them over seven or eight hundred |
miles of railroad would be quite heavy. |
Osiers are sold here at an average of |
nine to eleven cents per pound, and |
some of the poorest qualities can be |
purchased at from five to seven cents |
per pound. The labor employed in |
raising them is usually very cheap, |
lnuCn CutdpcT llldil Cdll dL lJIcStlI Dc |
obtained in this country, and the freight |
on them across the ocean is also very |
low. There is no doubt, however, that |
they can be made quite profitable crop |
in almost any section of the country, if |
in the vicinity where
they are raised; and, as labor is now
much lower than formerly, it is safe to
predict thai in the future greater
Of the willow manufactured
in the country will be raised here. In
deed, it is to be regretted that more
has not already been paid to
the subject by agriculturists. Willows
are quite an important crop in Great
Britain, and it is estimated that there
are, in that country and Ireland, be-
tween 5000 and 1000 acres in cultivation.
France and Belgium produce large
quantities of excellent osiers, and many
tons of the cOarser kinds are exported
from Holland. Commercial Bulletin.