The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 3 · the Elder Pliny
CHAP. 68.—- THE WILLOW: EIGHT VARIETIES OF IT.
Of the willow, too, there are several varieties. One[2636] of them throws out its branches to a considerable height; and these, coupled together, serve as perches for the vine, while the bark around the tree itself is used for withes.[2637] Others,[2638] again, of a more pliable nature, supply a flexible twig, which is used for the purpose of tying; while others throw out osiers of remarkable thinness, adapted by their suppleness and graceful slenderness for the manufacture of wicker-work.[2639] Others, again, of a stouter make, are used for weaving panniers, and many other utensils employed in agriculture; while from a whiter willow the bark is peeled off, and, being remarkably tractable, admits of various utensils being made of it, which require a softer and more pliable material than leather: this last is also found particularly useful in the construction of those articles of luxury, reclining chairs. The willow, when cut, continues to thrive, and, indeed, throws out more thickly from the top, which, when closely clipped, bears a stronger resemblance to a closed fist than the top of a stump. It is a tree, which, in my opinion, deserves to be placed by no means in the lowest rank of trees; for there is none that will yield a more certain profit, which can be cultivated at less expense, or which is less liable to be influenced by changes in the weather.
CHAP. 69.—TREES IN ADDITION TO THE WILLOW, WHICH ARE OF USE IN MAKING WITHES. Cato[2640] considers the culture of the willow as deserving to hold the third rank in estimation, and he gives it precedence to the cultivation of the olive, tillage for corn, or laying out land for pasture. It is not, however, because the willow is the only tree that produces withes; for they may be procured also from the broom, the poplar, the elm, the blood-red cornel, the birch, and the reed itself when split, or else the leaves of that plant, as we know to be the case in Liguria. The vine, also, will furnish them; the bramble, too, with the thorns removed, as well as the twisted hazel. It is a very singular thing, that a wood after it has been beaten and pounded should be found all the stronger for making withes, but such is a striking peculiarity that exists in the willow. The Greek red[2641] willow is split for this purpose: while the willow[2642] of Ameria is whiter but more brittle, for which reason it is used in an uncut state for tying. In Asia there are three varieties known of the willow; the black[2643] willow, which is best adapted for making withes, the white willow, employed for various agricultural purposes, and a third, which is shorter than the others, and known as the helix.[2644] With us, also, there is the same number of denominations given to as many varieties of the willow; one being known as the viminal or purple willow,[2645] another as the nitelina,[2646] from its resemblance to the colour of the nitela, thinner in the trunk than the preceding one, and the third as the Gallic[2647] kind, being the thinnest of them all.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.