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American Willow Growers Network
NEWSLETTER NO. 8 (1997)
We have had a mild low-snowfall Winter in New York State. Although Spring is still far away, many members in southern climates would like to have the ability to order cuttings earlier in the season. For this reason, I am now giving members the opportunity to state the desired arrival time of cuttings on the Order Form. I receive some orders for just one cutting of each variety I highly recommend ordering at least two cuttings per variety. Planting and growing instructions are included with all cuttings orders. This Newsletter has a mix of articles with several on the subject of British willow sculpture. There is information on making your own willow cuttings. Several members have written about willow concerns and basketry interests and Nadine Tuttle wrote about her recent trip to England. I enclose my pattern for the Willow Backpack as a "how-to" article so many members have expressed appreciation for instructions in the Newsletters. The Willow Exchange and Bits and Pieces columns round out this issue. I do so appreciate members who write articles or send clippings of interest. It makes my job of putting the Newsletter together a lot easier and adds to its diversity. All members who submit articles receive a year's free subscription. So, please consider writing or sending something for the Newsletter. I would like to receive items by December 1, 1997. Bless you all, Bonnie Gale A. Willows Available:
B. Willows Wanted:
by Nadine Tuttle As Bud and I cycled the byways of East Anglia with Elderhostel, we were delighted to see thatched roofs and wattle fences; hedgerows sheltered the windy areas, and baskets were often used as display at open markets. A stop at a train station to see a restored steam train revealed a postal department basket. A large four foot by two foot willow basket on a wooden base with large casters and leather-covered corners and top edge. Three rod wale and French randing marched up the sides in sets of six. "G.P.O.F" was painted on the side. It was used years ago by the Post Office for freight and mail. Wicker trunks added to the illusion of days-gone-by. While touring by car, we spent a day in Cambridge. A Folk Museum there displayed the old tools used in willow basketry. I was interested to see that they are the same ones we use today. Every room displayed some form of basketry. The most unusual being a bedbug trap. It was about twelve by thirty-six inches; a flat willow rectangle. It looked just like the bottom of an extra large basket--even the weave was the same. We tried to speculate how it was used. Would you sleep on it, or place it under the sheets? A display of corn dollies included a bell and a windmill that I had not seen anywhere else. Straw hat making was displayed showing how the types of straw were braided. A wooden device, called a mill, was used to flatten the straw. A straw hat for a horse was shown with a pattern indicating where the holes for the ears were placed. It was woven flat and tied to the horse. The building was also of interest. A sixteenth century farmhouse was later used as the "White Horse Inn" for 300 years. During a 1961 restoration it was discovered that the building was "wattle and daub" construction. Wattle is a woven flat surface intertwined with sticks. Mud or "daub" is applied over this surface. Perhaps we saved the best for last: a day at a willow farm: P. H. Coate & Son, Taunton, Somerset; willow growers, basket makers and artist willow charcoal makers. There is a museum to browse through, a gift shop, and a fine educational display about the history and conservation of the Somerset levels and moors. We enjoyed a picnic lunch at this lovely setting. I carried away a beautiful white and buff willow basket and used it as my carry-on for the return flight. Every time I look at it or use it, it reminds me of that delightful day. England is truly a large museum of basketry!
by Mimi Hedl I have wondered about the difference between ornamental willows and basket willows. I discovered one difference when I used withies from S. rigida American McKay as a split weaver to wrap around base spokes. Every Winter, after cutting the basket willows, I go over to the long border of S. rigida American McKay and cut the 4 foot and 5 foot unbranched rods for stakes, their red color looks beautiful weaved in the top border. I had some long, thin ones that looked perfect to use for holding the base spokes together. They split well, but as soon as I began twining, the rods would crack. At first I thought I hadn't soaked them long enough, but when I discovered, after many attempts, the rigidness (hence the name?) of the inner pith, I understood my problem. These rods worked well when I wove the top border, no problems with cracking, and they make good handles and randing rods too. But the 90 degree bends, they do the rods in. Have any of you used the ornamentals for basket materials? I'd like to hear about your experiences. Another question. How would you describe, scientifically, the nature of a willow rod that allows it to dry out, and when soaked to become pliable. I guess oak splints, ash splints, etc. have the same property. How can I describe this phenomenon to elementary children? What do all the little bumps on the willow rods mean? It seems like I get them when I soak the rods too long. What happens to the internal structure of the rod? Mimi can be contacted at Strawdog Farm, Belle, Missouri 65013
by Peggy Spencer Behrendt In my reading, I occasionally come across references to willow, basketmaking or creativity that give insight to our heritage and the motives and concerns that are implicated when we pursue a handmaking craft/art. I thought I'd share a few of these with you though they be of a widely divergent nature, rambling across time, continents and subject matter with the only continuity being that of a relationship of each quote to basketmaking. In the National Geographic Societys' book Everyday Life In Bible Times is an illustration in which four people stand, two on either side of the upper banks of a five or six foot high irrigation ditch. Each pair has an eighteen inch shallow round basket suspended between them across the ditch which they control with two ropes attached to opposite sides of the basket. By means of these ropes, the baskets dip below the dam into the water and are swung up to be dumped into the shallow ditch of water on the upper level where crops are growing. I can imagine the swinging and rhythm which they establish as this motion is done over and over, and the importance of basketry in creating a light container that will hold water and all the other needs it fills for successful farming. The caption says:
Then from a book called The House of the Heart Is Never Full and Other Proverbs of Africa by Guy T. Zona, three relevant proverbs:
From Japan, a 20th century traditional basketmaker, Hiroshima Kazuo, perhaps the last representative of an old world trade that required a nomadic lifestyle moving from farm to farm as needs for baskets were required and fulfilled, shares a philosophy that speaks to all of us who have the passion to create:
Is it this connection that compels us to make yet another basket, try a new shape or pattern, scrimp and save to take another workshop despite the frustrations and occasional curses that come in the process of each project? Or are we trying to say something that we can't say in any other way? Margaret Fuller says: "We cannot have expression til there is something to be expressed." Our motives will vary from individual to individual. We must, however, be united by our passion for what Willa Cather calls "that irregular and intimate quality of things made entirely by the human hand." A recently published manuscript by Henry David Thoreau (1993 Island Press) Faith In a Seed is a reverie of poetic observations. Its subtitle The Dispersion of Seeds describes the book's focus: the incredibly miraculous and infinitely varied process of reproduction of our plant cousins. I especially enjoyed this description, one of several references to willow.
I will leave you with two quotes to hopefully encourage you in your basketmaking pursuits:
by Bonnie Gale Many members have asked how to make their own cuttings from their withies. I would select hardwood (at least one year of growth) rods that are dormant (cut when the sap is down) but have not dried out. Dormant is when the leaves have fallen off and the buds are tight. If the buds are swollen the cuttings may still be viable, but if leaves are open, I believe it is far too late. From the butt (thick end) of the rod, I would make a diagonal cut with good pruning shears (this end gets pushed in the ground). Then I would come up ten to twelve inches from this diagonal cut and make a flush cut. This is the top end of the cutting. It's as simple as that! I would try not to cut through dormant buds. The length of the cutting depends on the type of soil in which you are planting (shorter for rockier soils and longer for alluvial silts). Two or three buds should remain pointing up above the ground, as they will provide the first year's rod growth. I do not recommend having an excessive amount (6 inches plus) of the cuttings above the ground, as the stool can get top heavy as it develops. In very rocky soil, it is good to "pre-test" the planting hole with an old brace-and-bit as the cutting's viability is compromised if the cutting is pushed and pulled out of the ground and the bark is dislocated. Depending on the diameter of the rod from which you are making cuttings, you may be able to take several cuttings from one rod. There is controversy surrounding the viable thickness of a cutting (Newsletter No. 2 has an article on this subject). Once the cuttings have been made, it is important they do not dry out (storage in a plastic bag in a refrigerator is good). Cuttings, which are stored properly should stay viable for a month or so (watch for mold). The cuttings are pushed straight into the ground and are not pre-rooted. If you have rooted cuttings for some reason, they cannot be pushed straight into the ground, but a hole would have to be first dug (a much slower process). As willow is the source of rooting hormone powder and willow roots so easily, I see no need to pre-root willow cuttings like other plants. My basic recommendation for planting basketry cuttings is six inches between the cuttings in a row and then two to three feet between rows. I have included some more planting instructions in the Bits and Pieces section of this Newsletter. I cannot be specific about air and soil temperatures for planting as everyone has different climates and micro-climates, but I do suggest that a good guide is to watch what the local wild willows are doing. In 1995, many members experienced shorter growth in their willow beds due to summer drought and shortage of water. However, some members also had taller and more substantial growth as their beds matured. A substantial number of members put energy into increasing the size of their beds. The number of Canadian members has grown significantly and more members are selling cuttings and plants. Mulch materials include wood chips, grass clippings, weed mats, burlap, straw, newspaper, cardboard, paper feed sacks and donkey manure. Some members had adversaries which included Japanese beetle, rabbit, deer and a member in Williams Lake, British Columbia even had moose damage! From Farmers Weekly 5 May 1995 (Submitted by AWGN Member, Leon Harris) Biological control is the best answer to willow rust, which can slash short-rotation coppice yields by up to 40%. So says Reuben Morris of Long Ashton Research Station. Spraying fungicides is difficult and uneconomic, he says. Instead the LARS rust management method uses a naturally occurring rust parasite to control the disease. The key is planting a mix of clones including some susceptible to stem-infecting rust. The parasite overwinters on these and so can spread throughout the plantation quickly in the spring giving early season control of leaf-infecting rust. If no stem is present the same dispersal may take until September, by which time the damage is done. by Bonnie Gale
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