The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1909-09-18
PROFITS IN BASKET WILLOW
American Soil Well Adapted to the Plan ana w'oe
Onnortunties for Articles Made From 1T.

good basket willow possesses VIZ
following characteristics. % Abh-
ity TO yield an annual and uniformly
paying crop of rods; CD ncxibility' co
productivcncss-l, c, many shoots 10
each stool; (4) slender and branchless
rods; (5) smooth and white wood after
peeling
Cuttings for paintings should be-
made from one ycar-old shoots. 1he
length of the slips Is regulated by the
condition of the soil The richer the
soil Is the shorter the cuttings may be
Generally they are made eight inches
long for moist. rich soil, and tweNe
inches for dry. sandy soil.
Although 1t Is generally ADVISED TO
prepare cuttings just before planting
/ thcv may he made several weeks In
advance and partially buried in mod
erntcly moist sand and stored IN colo
barn until needed.
Bury the cuttings In sand TO within
ono inch of tine top. Care should be
taken to have the buds point upward.
! Plant early in the spring. as soon as
tho frost IS out OF the ground In
| spacing the plants the following prln-
ciplo holds for all willows and for NIL
soils: The closer the cuttings are
nlan;ed the more valuable. G.. more
flexible. tough. slender and branchless
the rods become. on the other hanu'
they must not be planted so close that
the soil in and between the rows can
not be cultivated.
As general rule cuttings should oe
spaced eight inches apart in the rows
and twenty inches between the rows
Willows with small leaves should be
planted six by eighteen inches or hve
By fifteen inches apart. OtherW1se
they are likely to branch too much
The number OF cuttings required to
plant an acre nine inches apart and
; twenty inches between rows rs $4,000
Cultivate early in tho spring and
! as often as necessary to remove al
weeds and to keep the soil loose. i
this is done well for The first two ol
: three years there Will be very nttl'
trouble with weeds thereafter. because
the weeds arc completely shaded ou'
by the dense leaf development. BinC
weeds and wild morning glorles arr
very troublesome in most holts. anc
) must bc removed. This holt cannot b'
b. cultivated too often so long rs th'
I stools and shoots are not injured b!
e the cultivator.
The best time for cutting the rod
2 is between Nov. 15 and Feb. Ii. Rod
from one-year- old holts should be GU
at the end OF the first year, preferabl,
when the ground ia frozen.
r During the first year the root system
is small and care must be taken in cut
n ting not TO pull up the stools. Kce'
g the knife sharp and mako the cuttin
( strokes clean and decisive. Cut clos
= TO the stools. but not into them.
Rods to be peeled are stood on en-
c in a pit containing water from four t
h six inches deep and kept there unit
r the sap rises (the buds open and leave
s appear). when the bark can be re
d moved.
The peeled rods arc quickly bleache
n and dried when exposed TO the suI
II after which they arc sorted tied !
= bundles and stored In dark, dry plac
= Frequently willow rods are steamc
IL or boiled in water for three or fou
e hours as a means OF preparing fC
pecling-a method which loosens th
: bark and renders tho pccling easy.
e Boiling or stoaming gives the roc
it an undesirable dark bun color whic
lie makes them less valuable
Rods are peeled by drawing the
h, through a springy wooden or ste
% fork shaped lil5e A clothespin bl
l. larger This loosens the bark
Il strands so that it can easily be Re
moved by the hands.