Its rods are very slender, comparatively, and vary less in size "from butt to tip" than any other with which I am acquainted. "In early spring, before other flowers appear, excepting the Magnolia conspicua and Cydonia Japonica, this tree is a mass of dazzling bloom, its immense catkins exhibiting all the brightest hues of the rainbow." The remarkable vigor of this Willow, together with its hardiness and beauty, constitute it the best material for live fences that has yet been discovered, where the soil is suited to its growth; for example, on the deep, rich soil of the western prairies, and on the bottoms where fences are liable to be swept off by freshets. It will thrive in any soil that is deep and rich, and for a garden enclosure I can not conceive any thing more attractively beautiful than a hedge of this Willow. After the gloom of winter has passed, it affords the first cheerfully inviting scene of spring - its gorgeous flowers, covered with bees, filling the air with the joyous murmuring of their music; and its dense, rich foliage, is the last to yield to the saddening influence of early winter. The cultivation of this Willow for hoops may perhaps be worth attention. It will yield once in two years about 40,000 poles to the acre.

One whose judgment is worthy of all confidence, writing from England, says that "as an osier it is better than all other varieties," and the experience of the past two years proves it of equal excellence here. The Willows, according to the system of Linnaeus, belong to the class Dioecia; and when grown for ornament, male, or staminate plants, should be chosen, for those only have beautiful catkins. But the beauty of Willow does not generally depend chiefly upon its inflorescence; it has a most attractive loveliness all its own, on which I shall delight to dwell when I prepare for the Horticulturist an article on Salictums. It is said by eminent botanists, and Dr. Walker among them, that the female of most varieties is of more vigorous growth, larger size, and greater toughness than the male; and consequently when cultivated for economical purposes, the female should be ent stages of their growth, as well as the still greater and more permanent changes produced by locality and cultivation, make this family of plants so difficult of discrim-ination, that although many acute minds have made them their earnest study for more than thirty years, the subject is still involved in considerable confusion; and cultivators, acting under widely differing circumstances, have, to those who do not sufficiently note the diversity, involved the practical management of them in something of the same apparent obscurity.

But this arises from such an imperfect view of the matter as those who cultivate the earth have no right to take. A cultivator is a jury of one, with the experience of ages for his common law, taking into careful consideration all the circumstances of the case. If we consider the bleak latitude of Scotland, we shall see why Sang and Shirreff strenuously insist upon shelter as one of the circumstances indispensable to success. When we look upon England, and regard her "atmosphere of wetness," retentive soil, and the value of land commanding a yearly rent sufficient for its absolute purchase here, we can easily understand why land that is worthless for other purposes is appropriated to the growth of osiers, and also the cause for the expensive system of "laying up into beds." But the extent to which it is grown in England demands an effort of credulity to believe, and that for their own use only - not exporting any. In the extensive fenny districts which abound in several of the counties of England, Willow has served to render ground otherwise worthless of considerable and often of great value; but it is on the many fertile islands or the Thames, that are often entirely devoted to it, and on the deep, rich bottoms that form the borders of the rivers, and are occasionally overflowed by them, that the brightest results are seen - such as make the rich man richer, but are beyond the reach of the poor.

The liability to failure of the Willow is less than of any other crop, when planted on such ground as the above.

If I were writing a book instead of a brief essay on the subject, if would be interesting to glance at the history of Willow culture in England, that we might see in what estimation it is held by the people best calculated to appreciate it. Its extensive introduction is of but recent date; for until the wars at the close of the last century cut off the supply John Bull was content to receive his "wicker material and hoops" from the "Dutch boors," and probably would have continued so to the present time, had not necessity turned his attention to the production of it at home. But when it was once undertaken, it was prosecuted with his characteristic energy, as may be seen by reference to the agricultural and horticultural writers of the time, and to the transactions of the various societies. Prize essays were written, and gold medals awarded for the establishment of Willow plantations. Both nature's noblemen and those that ukings have made" earnestly engaged in the work. The doings of "His Grace the Duke of Bedford" alone are embodied in a princely volume, and confer honor upon his title.

But after all, the result is best seen by the vast amount of land occupied as osier holts all over the kingdom; and from its history during the past fifty years in England, may perhaps be inferred the best answer to the frequent question, "Will not the business be soon overdone?" In Britain and on the continent, with the declined; but in the best fields, and under improved culture, the profits have increased. In the year 1812 the nett profit of some good plantations was stated at £30 to £40 per acre; and in 1852, some as high as £50 per acre. On those plantations where the ground was "fit for nothing else" even under good management, the profit was often as low as £10 per acre; and the writer sensibly remarks that "the judicious expenditure for great care in the cultivation of any crop is generally profitable, but in none more so than in the cultivation of Willow, often yielding a profit of 300 or 400 per cent" - Sang, G. K.