Evening journal., 1911-06-08
WILLOW FARMING
In PENNSYLVANIA
Noteworthy Industry Requir-
Ing as Constant Care as
Corn Growing
SOME FALLACIES
QUICKLY DISAPPEAR


TUCKERToN. Pa. June The
basket willow crop has been harvest
ed in Berks county this year. and the
striplings, boughs and twigs are about
to be removed from pits in meadow
streams 10 be made ready for the
peeling process. which Is now due on
score Of farms where willows are
grown extensively.
The cultivation of the basket will
low, while IL dates back to the time
Of the Romans, when the shoots were
used for the manufacture of beehives.
was really IN 1910 introduced by Ger
man immigrants into several Eastern
States. and since then there have been
particular localities In Pennsylvania
and New York where the growing Of
the slender trees supplied the manu-
facturers of willow baskets on quite
an extensive scale. Such is the case
in Berks. Lehigh, Montgomery, Ian
caster and York counties, where in
dividual farmers grow from one-half
acre to two acres of willows each
every year, cut them, prepare them In
the proper way and then either manu-
facture them into baskets themselves
during the winter days or sell the
rods at good prices
The cultivation Of basket willows is
a great deal more difficult than the
farmers usual corn crop, though the
soil required is Of about the same
quality. Many farmers think that
willows must be grown in a marshy
soil or along the banks of a little
stream. This is all mistake, chiefly
attributed to the fact that wherever
willows are found growing i'm a wild
state the land is rather wet. They
will grow on land suitable for corn
and potatoes, provided the soil is kept
perfectly free from weeds for the first
few years, or until the willows have
we'll sprouted. They can even be
grown on soil where a poor quality
of grass grows; but land always
saturated with water should be avoid
ed, for where the willow thrives best
is in soil that is well drained, while
lowlands only now and then inun-
dated are far superior to all others.
Plans of willow Farmers.
Berks county willow farmers plant
the shoots about a foot from each
other. in rows one yard apart, allow
ing easy cultivation with a pillow. thus
getting ahead Of the numerous weeds
which. II not quickly removed, mean
poison TO them.
The sets or cuttings are clipped off
from one-year shoots of a length Of
- inches, and are then stuck in the
ground from TO 10 inches I'm depth.
They grow very rapidly and usually
make a growth Of several feet the first
season The second year they double
that and the third year yield their
first crop. During the first year tho
farmers usually cultivate them with a
hoe. keeping all grass out of the rows.
Once during the first summer a culti-
vator is run between the rows. The
second year, as the willows get
stronger the cultivation Is more fire.
quent. like that of a corn patch After
the second year they are strong
enough to take care of themselves,
and the third year they are tall and
firm enough to be cut on To make
a frmer willow stalk. some farmers
cut them back the first year. and when
this is done often get firm enough
TO be cut off for use the second
year.
In Berks county sap peeling Is fol-
lowed and the willow rods are cut
from the holts during March before
the sap begins to rise. They are then
placed in small bundles and stood
In pits in meadow streams. and there
they remain for three or four weeks,
until the latter part Of April or the
beginning of May, according to the
flow of sap, The pits are usually
about four inches deep and into them
the willow rods are placed on end
The bundles are so arranged that
they will keep an upright position.
The submerged end gets full Of little
roots. while the tops above the water
become green. AS soon as the willows
are green with foliage the farmer
knows the entire rod is filled with
sap and that it is time for peeling.
Peeling Time Brief.
Peeling has to be done quickly, and
IL comes at a time when the farmer
is very busy getting his corn land
ready and while he Is sowing oats. He
usually has a dozen men assisting
| him, il he has large crop OF willows
TO peel: for the moment the sap
ceases 10 flow peeling is over On one
farm in Berks county as high as 20
schoolboys find employment peeling
and washing willows, because it
comes az a period when rural schools
have closed for the season.
The brake used for removing the
willow bark is inserted I'm a sort Of
upright piece OF wood, prong or vice.
like IN shape In the wise are sharp
blades on each side, and as the twigs
are passed through this wise. pushed
/ one way and pulled the other, the
bark slips easily from the white rod.
A boy can easily peel so pounds of
willows In a day. for which he usually
! gets two cents p pound
2 After the rods are peeled they are
( carried back into the little stream
{ where the remaining sap which
, clings like mucilage, is washed off
and they are then placed in thin lay
e ers on the ground, usually on sod
where they remain for some time, un.
! I'll they are thoroughly dry
5 Where stream peeling is followed
the willows are cut as early as No.
- yam hnr and fhoy urn than q