It is estimated that in the whole of Great
Britain there are only between 7,000 and 8,000 acres of osier beds, but
these average three tons of rods per acre, and the value of the crop when
harvested is often at least L15 per acre gross return. As fruit
cultivation is immensely increasing in England, there is a corresponding
increase in the demand for baskets to put the fruit in. This is the main
reason why osiers, unlike most farm crops, keep up their price. Immense
quantities are now imported from Belgium, France, and Germany because our
own crop is not nearly sufficient.[1] They do not require a wet soil or to
be near water: all that the willow roots need is that the land shall be
good and not too dry or sandy. Stagnant, boggy ground does not suit them
at all, though they will grow well in light loam. Many species of osier
are of most brilliant colouring in winter and early spring. In some the
rods are golden yellow; in others the bark is almost scarlet with a bright
polish, and the osier bed forms a brilliant object from December to
February, just before the rods are cut. The kind of willow grown varies
from the slender, tough withes used in making small baskets and eel-traps,
to the large, fast-growing rods suited for making crates for heavy goods.
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