Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-07-19
THE BASKET WILLOWS,

Tho Bureau Of Forestry, United
states Department Of Agriculture
suggests a new method or growing will
lows that win yield a better grade and
increased production per acre.
The culture and manufacture of basket
willow have not attained in the United
States the degree OF perfection and profit
that mark the industry in Europe, This
is for several reasons. the most important
being the relative compensation OF labor
and the failure OF the American grower
TO adopt the most improved methods
The growing, harvesting, care and
manufacture Of willow require manual
labor wholly unassisted by machinery
The cheap labor OF Europe mas grown
willow and woven IL into baskets at a
profit impossible with US and our better
paid labor American ingenuity has Stlll
further complicated the issue BY pro-
ducing cheap split wood basket to take
the place Of the more expensive and
durable willow. Thus an Industry OF
good possibilities Is languishing
The Bureau of Forestry has taken up
the matter ana given 1t "A careful study
rs expert has thoroughly investigated
the methods Of culture ana manufacture
both In this country and In England,
Germany and Hollard. In addition,
the Bureau has established willow
plantation on the departments expert.
ia IL.
where the best species OF basket willows
were set out on different soils and spaced
In accordance with different methods of
planting. The results OF this research
VIII shortly he made known by the bu-
reau In a bulletin entitled. "The Basket
Willow
The bureaus purpose was to discover
means Of reducing the cost OF the raw
product peeled and unpeelod willow
rods and also Of improving the quality.
This has been definitely ascertaned. ii
Is entirely matter Of properly regulating
the distance between the sets In planting
care In cutting the crop Of rods and IN
selecting better species and strains Of
willow. Tie custom has been to plant
IN rows 8 feet apart, spacing a foot In
the rows between the sets A far better
plan Is 10 put the rows only ~ Inches
apart and reduce the distance between
the sets TO o inches. When this is done
and the crop Is cut close 10 the ground
the rods will be longer and less branChy
the plants longer lived, and the yield per
acre much greater The initial cost Is
slightly higher than under existing
methods. but this Is more than Offset 10y
the increased returns, AZ present an
average production OF six tons OF green
rods per acre If exceptional, by the
method now advocated by the bureau
eight or more tons per acre Of better rods
can be produced When to improved
methods OF culture the advantages from
choice Of better European varieties Of
willows for planting are added, the re-
suit will be u marked reduction In the
price OF the raw material and a distinct
bettermcnt of the condition OF both the
producer and manufactures.
The growing OF basket willows was In
PRODUCED into the United States some
sixty years ago by German basket
makers, who settled in western New
York and Pennsylvania. They first at
tempted to use wild willows. but soon
abandoned these as impractlcable and
imported the purple or Welsh willow.
They grew the rods and the manufacture
into baskets was made profitable BY
whole families engaging In the weaving
Their product has always been a cheap
variety Of basket, since thoy use steam
In peeling the rods, which gives them an
undesirable dark color. When the in
dGAtry was extended farther west and
down TO the Baltimore district Mary
land. hand-peeled rods were used and
a much higher grade basket manufao-