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Show LARGE DEMAND FOR WILLOW BASKETS. , The fact tint a Chicago merchant is advertising in German trade papers for a million willow clothes baskets is pointed to by experts on willow culture in this country as evidence of our neglect of a profitable industry. Climate and .soil arc as favorable for willow culture in this country as in Germany or anywhere else, and the market for willow of the better grades is the test in the world. Generally speaking, land that will grow wheat will grow willows. Their cultivation is not difficult, and profits arc usually good, But up to the present time Americans have, not taken hold of the matter in earnest, though both intcrqst and production have been on the increase of recent years as a result re-sult of the. efforts made by the Department De-partment of Agriculture to inform the public of the opening which willow growing oJTcrs. The Germans handle the business well. They have industrial schools where basket weaving is taught. Many of these schools grow their own willow rods, cut tlicm, and peel and prepare tljcm for Use. X the mutual advantage of l;p.th jpupjlsand proprietors, arrangements are made to allow pupils to work part of the time in the "holts," as the willow fields arc called, belonging to the schools, and in that way earn enough to pay their tuition and board. They then become familiar with all , parts of the business, and wlicn they graduate grad-uate they arc competent to take places as overseers of willow farms or foremen fore-men in wicker ware factories. The schools profit by getting much of their work done without .paying cash for it. American willow growers and manufacturers man-ufacturers of willow ware must meet that competition; but those who have investigated conditions here and abroad feci confident that the American Ameri-can has advantages which will enable . him to compete successfully if he takes up the business with characteristic character-istic American energy. There arc more than 160 manufacturers manufac-turers of willow ware in the United States.. One-tenth of them grow thcii own willows, and about an equal num Lcr grow part of their stock. Mora than a' dozen varieties arc cultivated in this country, in seventeen states, and many manufacturers assert that the home grown rods arc equal or even superior to the imported. Good holts pay n profit the first year, though the profits of later years arc much greater. The average price of impeded rods last year was about one and a quarter cents a pound, and of peeled ' fotfs about seven cents. A well managed willow holt should average av-erage twenty-five hundred pounds of rods to the acre yearly, and the cost of growing and harvesting the crop is comparatively low. It is a crop which requires comparatively little labor, so that the small grower, if able-bodied, can be pretty independent independ-ent in the matter of hired help. Instructions for the growing of basket willows arc sent out by the Forest Service, upon request, to g-cthcr with a- statement of the returns re-turns to be expected. The Service is cVevoting special attention to testing every known variety of basket willow in order to find the best varieties for home growers. In the early spring time cuttings from all approved basket bask-et willows are sent gratis to. appli-v.ints appli-v.ints who desire to establish willow holts. |