Autumn is the season for him to ply his trade, and he cuts the willow
rods down and ties them in bundles. He then sets them up on end in
standing water to the depth of a few inches. Here they remain during the
winter, until the shoots, in the following spring, begin to sprout, when
they are in a fit state to be peeled. A machine is used in some places
to compress the greatest number of rods into a bundle.

[Illustration: THE POLLARD WILLOW IN WINTER.]

"'Aged or infirm people and women and children can earn money by peeling
willows at so much per bundle. The operation is very simple, and so is
the necessary apparatus. Sometimes a wooden bench with holes in it is
used, the willow-twigs being drawn through the holes. Another way is
to draw the rod through two pieces of iron joined together, and with one
end thrust into the ground to make it stand upright. The willow-peeler
sits down before his instrument and merely thrusts the rod between the
two pieces of iron and draws it out again. This proceeding scrapes the
bark off one end, and then he turns it and fits it in the other way; so
that by a simple process the whole rod is peeled. When the rods are
quite prepared, they are again tied up in bundles and sold to the
basket-makers.'"

"But how do they make the baskets?" asked Clara and Edith. "That is the
nicest part."

"There is little to tell about it, though," said their governess,
"because it is such easy work that any one can learn to do it. You saw
the Indian women making baskets when papa took us to Maine last summer,
and you noticed how very quickly they did it, beginning with the flat
bottom and working rapidly up. It is a favorite occupation for the