The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-22
basket willows.

aDle returns IN various ways CiAO u eA4~SN
is in the growing of basket willows, says
NJ G. Kalns in Farmers Reviews. The
first thing necessary for this crop Is 10
drain the land. Willows will do well upon
almost any soil and in almost any situa-
ton They do best, however, upon deep
sandy loans in low situations where the
air drainage as well as the land drainage
is good. Thus the banks of stream or
the islands in 1t are superior to land no.
lows which, in their turn, If not subject
TO late spring frosts, are better than high
err ground. The land in these situations IS
generally well supplied with plant food,
is rich in humus and naturally well sup
Piled with moisture. But this last must not
be over-estimated. The situation must be
such that the stems will ripen, otherwise
they will be useless for wickerwork or
hoop-poles. Where the soil is abundanty
supplied with water during the latter part
of the summer, particularly in the north,
maturity cannot be counted upon. As a
rule the colder the climate The dryer should
be the SOL after jury in orGer that the
growth may rpen up well. In general,
however, moist soils and situations that
cannot otherwise be advantageously en-
ployed should be selected for osier holts,
as basket willow plantations are called.
The preparation of the soil differs in no
respect from the preparation for cereal
crop, but fitted it must be If any returns
are to be obtained. If planted primarily to
check the washing effect of floods, how
ever, no preparation viii be necessary, in
fact, such is often impossible. But for
growing hoop-poles and basket wands the
land should be plowed and narrowed deep
ly, as deeply as the soil will permit.
AS to fertilizers lime must be avoided,
since it causes canker-like spots upon the
wands which are thus rendered more or
less brittle at these places. heterogeneous
food is generally in good supply upon low
grounds such as should be chosen for this
crop, so none need be applied. Occasion
ally, however, applications of stable ma
nure will be found of service more partic>
ular.y after the ground has been cropped
for some years 1t is a S a general rule too
expensive to apply this fertilizer after the
land is once planted, because il must near
ly always be carried upon the ground by
hand If given during the growing season,
the plants being so close together that the
employment Of wagons might injure the
| closely-set shallow-rooted plants Pot
ash and phosphoric acid are very useful
! and must be used rather freely in the oder
Plantations.
The cuttings, which vary in length ac-
cording to the soil from 1916 inches and
which are always taken from the lower
end of the switch on account of its bet
ter quality may be set either i'm the spring
or in the autumn, the land being prepared
for the former in the foil, and for the lat
ter in late spring or early summer, and in
the latter cases kept fallow. In autumn
setting the cuttings are planted at once;
in spring they should be taken some weeks
prior to the bursting of the buds and kept
in cold water until the land is ready for
p4anung them. Plant as early in the
spring as possible, since the chances of
success in getting the cuttings to start
are the greater as the spring growth is
less advanced.
The cuttings should be planted full
depth in all ordinary soils, but in heavy
ana caky lands two or three buds should
be left above ground until after they have
grown an inch or two They should then
be covered with earth. Two methods are
followed in plantations. In one the cut
tings are set four inches asunder in rows
twenty inches apart and should the stand
become too thick each alternate plant is
grubbed out. This plant gets rid of weeds
and keeps the soil moist by the dense
shade 1t insures. Little or no cl1ltiva-
ton can be given after the first few weeks
under this plan. BY the other method the
distances are twelve inches in the row
and rows thirty-siX inches between rows
IN winch the cuttings are buried an inch
below the surface, so that the wands shall
rise straight from the ground without anv
bend or angle at the bottom. This plan
allows of annual cultivation and the an
pheation OF manure from wagons. 1t de-
maHds only about 1900 plants to the
acre whereas the former requires several
times as many. If good variety be not
planted the enterprise will be doomed to
fail. OF the enormous number of varie
ties of willows there are only a few that
are of value in wicker work and these are
practically all of European origin or So
lection. The requirements for first-cIass
willows for wicker work are that the rods
shaIl be slender unbranched, soft, pliable.
and, when peeled, be white with closed
eyes and large pith. The stock mnst he
capable of producing for a large number
of years The bitter purple osier, one of
the european sorts, is at present the most
grown IN this country, but Is not wholly
satisfactory in the Southern states.
cultivation is praeticed the same as for
small fruit crops, the object being to keen
the ground clean and TO conserve the
moisture in it, During the first year how
ever it should be delayed until tbe Nil
ule Oh June, so that the cuttings may be-
come established. Two other cultivattons
are all that are necessary the first year
| cultivation should never be mora tbon
two inches deep. Whether the nlantation
I
produces anything of value or nor d,,rine,
the nrst year, cutting must not be neglect.
ed. for If the plants be not cut the rods
VIII tend to branch, and will thus produce
poor material not only the second season
but for many seasons thereafter from
having injured the productive Qualities Of
the plants root. The rods should be cut
the second and third years. also whom
good crops may be expected. If there he
a good market for hoop poles the rods
may be allowed to grow from two TO four
seasons at time after the fourth wear
from planting. If alternate CROPS of has
ket wands and of hoop poles be gathered
the plantation should, under good mar
| agement, last from twenty to thirty vears
and where only basket willows are desira5
and cut, from ten to fifteen A sign ~
deterioration is slim wauds of insuficiaut
lengths. From Nov. l to March is az
harvest season. The wands are aIvs,,s
cut with a sharp knife as near 10 H.
ground as possible. They are tied in hun
dies about two and half feet in oircu,,
ference and either set UP until dry enonot,
to stack until wanted for stear,inar -
\ GNa ta1a