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.The Cultivation of the Willow. SECOND ARTICLE.
... in Cambridgeshire and the Midland Counties with the osier or basket willow. These are grown by the ... systematic growth for an annual yield of the basket willows, it will be a constant and never-failing crop ... 1256 words.....swampy undrained land. They grow freely on the
slopes or tops of exposed hills, and indeed in almost all
places except morasses or water-logged land.
There are thousands of acres owned by our sheep
farmers and others which might be planted successfully
-serving the double purposes of shelter-belts and ornamental plantations, and yielding timber which is yearly
growing in value and appreciation ; while to the farmer
who enters upon the systematic growth for an annual
yield of the basket willows, it will be a constant and
never-failing crop.
The industry of basket-making is in its infancy here,
but it is steadily growing, and-with facilities for obtain-
ing the raw material will quickly attain very large
dimensions. At present the chief. supplies are from
Tasmania, and the cost is too high to promote in any
way the industry of basket-making.
[TROVE_ONLY PARTLY EDITED] PRIVATE FORESTRY IN TASMANIA - No. 3
POPLARS AND CRICKET BAT WILLOW
(By S. W. Steane, Conservator of Forests)
English growers oí cricket- a successfully
grown cricket-bat willow tree should be worth £15 (st.) at. the age c
15. There is already a market fo
food cricket-bat willow in thl
tate, and the possibility of growing a few trees of this variety should appeal to many landowners.
Apart from the manufacture o
cricket bats, which provides a market for the finest grades of timber, bat willow is in very keen demand io
the manufacture of veneer .containers-chip baskets, punnets, etc.:
marketing fruit and vegetables. Fo:
this purpose average prices in Eng
land at present range from about 3/6 to 4/ per cubic foot (hoppus)
less bark allowance. This is for log:
delivered at tho factory. ("Hoppus'
is the formula used in log measurement in this . State.) Prices ui
to 6/6 per cubic foot for short but
logs have been allowed by the British Timber Control in some cases
The amount of 3/7J (st.) per cubii
foot is equivalent to 30/ (st.") pei
100 super, feet-say 37/6 (Aust.) pei
100 super feet. Not a bad price foi
timber in the log.
The growing of high-class cricket
bat willow is really a matter of arboriculture rather than sylviculture
since it involves the tending an<
treatment of individual trees ra
ther than plantations or forest ii
the mass. But this need no scan
the potential grower, since the attention required each tree, once establlshed, Is really very little. Even during the establishment period, provided large-rooted "sets" are plant
ed, the attention required will no:
involve a great amount of time of labor.
Bat willows prefer situations near running water, but will not thrive oi
produce high-quality timber in badly
drained soils. The ideal site is t
stream bank about 2£ to 4 feel
above tho normal summer stream
level. Occasional flooding for short
periods will do no harm; but marshy
conditions must be avoided. The
best soils are well-drained alluvial
loams, though successful growth can
bo expected on fertile claylonms,
Enovlded they are well drained. Acid
ealthy country and peat should be
avoided.
In the matter of climate, a fairly
high rainfall-say from 30 to 45
inches-and mild winters provide
thB most suitable conditions. Very
strong bleak winds, droughts, and
severe frosts are adverse factors, but
there are many localities in Tasmania eminently suited, so far as
climate is concerned, for the successful growing of this tree. "Frost
hollows" must be avoided, and protection from wind would be advantageous in exposed windy localities.
The bat willow has to be grown
from cuttings in order to reproduce
the particular timber characteristics
which make this special variety so
valuable. Short cuttings may bc
planted in situ, but normally they
are either rooted in a nursery be
fore being planted out, or they may
be. planted permanently in a nursery
to form a "stool ground" to pro
duce shoots from which future crops,
either of cuttings or of "long sets,"
may be obtained, A cutting ls a
short length of shoot or branch cut
at both ends; a set is a long shoot
complete wi Ul its growing top. A
"stool" is the rooted stump which
remains in the ground-in this case
in the stool ground-to provide fur-!
ther shoots.
It is only the butt log, 7 ft. 6 in. in
length, that is required for the
cricket-bat trade, as the timber
above that height is not up
to the standard, required. It is stan
dard practice, therefore, to grow
perfectly clean stems up to that
height, and not to carry pruning
any higher. But up to that height
the timber must be as nearly per
fect as possible. For this reason
the shoots are carefully grown and
trimmed in the nursery lo produce
an absolutely clean stem about 9 ft.
long, in order to ' leave a clear
length of 7 ft. 6 in. on the set
when planted. At present the Com
mission's practice ls to plant these
sets In the nursery, for one year
or two years to get them rooted,
as lt ls considereo safer to sell
rooted sets than to encourage grow
ers to plant unroojted, sets. At tnt i
samo time, where site conditions
are really suitable, unrooted sets can
be planted, and, of course, they arc
cheaper.
Once the sots arc planted any
buds which may develop on the
cleaned stem should be rubbed off
before they can develop into side
branches, and the trees must be
carefully protected against stock
and rabbits. .
At the time of planting it will help
to steady the trees if soil is heap
ed up round tho base to a height
of about 0 in. up the stem, provided
the required clear length of 7 ft.
6 in. remains above this heap. An
other advantage is that additional
roots will grow in this heap of soil
which will not only assist In an
choring the tree, but will also make
for faster growth. For the production of high-class bat willow timber,
fast growth is essential.
Bat willows require plenty of
space, and should not be planted
closer than 30 ft. apart for best results.
Other very fast-growing trees
which it should he profitable to
grow on suitable soils are certain of
the hybrid poplars. One of the best
known and the ono most generally
grown in England is the Black Italian hybrid (Populus serótina), which
is not only fast growing, but has
proved disease-resistant and generally reliable.
This timber ls particularly suitable for packing case and three-ply
manufacture, for farm cart bottoms
and stone wagons, and where aspen
ls not available, is in demand for
the match-making industry and
pulpwood.
The propagation and cultivation of
these poplars is very similar to that
of the cricket-bat willow, except
that the poplar is not quite so exacting In the matter of soil and
moisture, though lt certainly re
quires a moist soil. It can be grown
in considerably closer formation,
say, 16 ft. by 16 it.
As in the case of cricket-bat willows, it is advisable to plant rooted
sets, and in order to produce long,
clean logs of "peeler" quality ft
will be necessary to prune them as
they grow. However, except that
buds developing on thc clean part
of the stem should be rubbed off,
there is no need to prune Metier until about the third year after plant
ing. From that stage on the trees
should be pruned at fairly frequent
intervals-say every four years-re-,
moving side branches up to about half the total height of the tree until a clear length of 24 ft. has been;
achieved. Careful protection against damage by rabbits or stock ls essential. As indicated above, the best species. of poplar for match-making is!
the aspen (Populus trémula), but:
this ls a rather slow-growing species, and for that reason it is not
certain that it could be grown at
a profit In this State...... PRIVATE FORESTRY IN TASMANIA — No. 3 POPLARS AND CRICKET BAT WILLOW
be
willow reckon that
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