The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1882-05-11
The Willow as a Timber-Tree,

I
And there are some trees which are
deserving of more attention than hasyet
been given them in this country The
willows, for instance. have seldom been
cultivated in a large way; and yet there
are few trees so easily grown, or which
will pay better for cultivation. They
adapt themselves to wide range of soil
and climate. They grow on high ground
and ON gravelly soils not less than by the
sides OF streams, where we most COM
monty see them. They are of rapid
growth and yield large return. The
osier-willow is specially useful, we know,
for the manufacture of baskets, chairs,
and other articles of furniture, and we
import it to the extent of $4,000, 900 an
nually, when we might produce it easily
IN almost any part of our country We
hardly think of the willow as timber
tree or for the production of lumber, but
only as yielding cheap, poor sort of
fuel. But in England the wood is great
~ priced for many purposes. While it
is light it is also tough; it does not break
into slivers. Hardly any wood is so good,
therefore, for the Innings of carts and
wagons used in drawing stone or other
eAht iiSStfy llCICS- 1t lusthCS IN-
cellent charcoal, especially for the man.
ufacture of gunpowder. It bears ex-
posure to the weather, and boards made
OF 1t are very serviceable for fences.
Some species of it are admirable for use
as live fence or hedge. On account of
its comparative incombustibilitv, the
willow is eminently useful for the floors
of buildings designed to be tre-proof.
1t grows to large size and furnishes
great amount of lumber. There is
white willow growing in Stockbridge,
Mass, which, at four feet from the
ground, measures twenty-five feetin cir
cumference, and extends its branches
fifty feet in every direction. Tradition
says it was brought from Connecticut in
1897, by a traveller, who used it as a
riding-switch. Hon. Jesse w. Fell, in
giving an account of experiments in
tree-planting, on an extensive scale, in
Illinois, says: .'Were | called upon to
designate one tree which, more than all
others, l would recommend for general
planting, | would say unhesitatingly it
should be the white willow" Professor
Brewer says: ''In England, where it is
often sixty or seventy feet high in twen-
y years lHeTe IS no NOOQ IN greater de- |
mand than good willow 1t is light,
very tough, soft, takes good finish, viii
bear more pounding and knocks than
any other wood grown there, and hence
It's use for cricket-bats, for floats TO pad !
dle-wheels of steamers, and brake-b blocks |
on ears. 1t is used extensively for turn |
ing, planking coasting-vessels, furniture,
ox-yokes, wooden legs, shoe-lasts, etc.
Fuller says, 1T groweth incredibly fast
it being byword that the profit bv
willows will buy the owners horse be-
fore that by other trees will pay for the
saddle" The basket-willow, well cul-
tivated, will yield net income of $3.50
q year to the acre. On the whole, there
fore, it would seem that the various
kinds of willow, the economic value of
which has been hitherto entirely over
ooked in our country, are eminently
deserving of attention, and will amply |
'eward those whoculiivatet them. From,
y ~ ii. Egteston, IN Popular Science
Monthly.