Willows Are Of Value, Yet Can Be Menace In Rivers Control Work

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 78, 6 August 1948, Page 5

Willows Are Of Value, Yet Can Be Menace In Rivers Control Work

The ease with which willows and poplars may be established from cuttings makes them invaluable to the engineer and farmer for > conservation and diver protection work, states the latest bulletin issued by the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Council. “On the other hand, the facility with which willows spread allows them to choke small waterways if regular attention is not given to trimmerg the trees. In the absence of se'h n amtenance, lowland streams r. -ay become so badly infested with growth that drainage is seriously affected, and floods result,” says the bulletin. “Much of the discredit thrown on willow plantings as such is misplaced, and should rather be laid at the door of bad management.”* Tree species of willow and poplar were used for a number of types of bank protection and temporary or semi-permanent work which called for poles or logs, such as check dams in small streams and crib groynes. . “In New Zealand, the main use of willow timber has been for firewood, but several well-marked local demands for the timber exist. At Christchurch, suitable logs find a sole for the manufacture of toys and children’s cricket bats, and at Wellington willow timber is used for the production of artificial limbs. “In Hastings, tree willows are used for making fine wood-wool. From time to time substantial quantities of willow logs have been ex.orted to Australia for manufacture there,” it is stated.