The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-09-14
PROFITS IN BASKET WILLOW.
American Soil Well Adapted to the
Plan and Wide Opportunities for
Articles Made From 1t.
D. NxrVTTrAN4 II HYTRP
BY WILLIAM F. HUBBA1

z * Isl 0CI oIAtCo CIoSO ~
ment of Agriculture.
Willow growing gives an uncom-
monty high margin Of profit. A large
demand for willow is now upplle by
import, and as American-groWn TouS
are of good quality when proper care
is taken in their culture there Is no
reason why the further development
of the industry should not be posslple
If more American can be con-
WINGED Of it's practicability.
OF late years willow furniture has
sprung into fashion and to-day no
minor industry is more prosperous
than that devoted to its supply. The
wages are good and the manufacturers
demand a steady supply of superior
willow.
This is now almost entirely received
from France at a price which will give
the entire trade to the American If he
can equal the quality.
Experience has proved that no stock
IS equal to willow when durable bas-
kets are demanded. The high-class
basket has made a place for itself in
the market even under present circum-
stances, and the entire decline in the
trade has been in the low-priced pas-
ket, which completes with the foreign
willow products or the American-lnade
WoOden baSke
To put a low-priced basket on the
market with raw willow at its present
price the wages must be cut lower
than the normal tandard in America.
For this a the trade is almos.
entirely in the hands Of Immigrant
basket makers, who know no other
trade and who are seldom or never
REINFORCED by native WOrkmen.
The remedy lies in a reduction in
the cost of the raw material. The
cheaper the willow (When good in
quality the better the wages which
49, - "a - 1>- tao
basket, and a low-priced basket of
good quality will find an almost un-
limited market. On this point the
entire trade agrees
Great care should be taken in the
selection of the willow bed. Rich, per-
manently moist standy loan gives best
returns, though ordinary moist sandy
land often yields profitable crops of
willow.
Poor soils produce paying crops
where there is a market for short
rods. Avoid land on which water is
%stagnant during the summer. If by
drainage the water level on such land
can be lowered at least six feet be-
low the surface the situation may be
considered appropriate.
Do not plant willows in localities
where early frosts occur. The tender
shoots are easily injured by the cold.
Plow ten or twelve inches deep in
SA4S am PAAoA ~ SAC NliS oAAo iAS
spring. This turns the top layer Of
the soil so deep that weed seeds can
not spring up.
If rain is insufficient, irrigate the
willow bed, if possible, but thorough
drainage must be provided, as water
must not stand on the surface. It is
best also to keep the and we'll drain
ed during the winter.
Returns depend very largely upol4
the method of culture, but more upon
the variety Of the willow planted, be-
cause the shoots of even the best va
rieties and in the most suitable soil
grow brittle after the stools become
old.
The American green and Welsh will
lows are most generally planted The
rods Of the former peel readily, split
easily, are snow white, hard, flexible
and heavy.
! They have a tendency to branch,
however, and unless the stools are
Aplanted close together a large percent
age Of the Q d branch SO much b "a
they are often unfit for peeled stock.
p A good basket willow possesses the
following characteristics: % Abil-
I1ty to yield an annual and uniformly
paying crop Of rods; CD flexibility:
H3) productiveness-i. e., many shoots
ito each stool: Cd slender and branch
t1ess rods; (5) smooth and white wood
after peeling.
!. Cuttings tor paintings should be
made from one-year-old shoots. The
length of the slips is regulated by the
condition of the soil. The richer the
soil is the shorter the cuttings may
he. Generally they are made eight
inches long for moist. rich soil, and
twelve inches for dry, sandy soil.
Although it is generally advised to
prepare cuttings just before planting,
they may be made several weeks in
advance and partially buried in mod
erately moist sand and stored in a
cold barn until needed.
Bury the cuttings in sand to within
one inch of the top. Care should be
taken to have the buds point up
ward.