MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 157 



St. Louis exposition, but it seemed to me to be far more lieavy and cumbrous 

 than I should think was necessary for the cutting of the annual sprav of a 

 hedge. 



Instead of being operated with four horses, as was intended with this 

 machine, I consider that one horse with a suitable gearing would be quite suffi- 

 cient for the weight of the work to be done. I see also lately from a Scotch 

 paper that a machine for the same purpose was tried on the thoni hedges of a 

 large farm with which I am well acquainted, and the work was pronounced by 

 judges to be done well and with expedition, but I failed to see the plan upon 

 which it was operated. There is no doubt therefore, when hedging becomes a 

 fact and a necessity, that a light and suitable machine will be invented espe- 

 cially for this purpose ; and when this is done one machine could do the work 

 on twenty farms, so that a fence after being once constructed will require very 

 little expense to keep it annually in good repair. It will thus be seen that in 

 growing a hedge in the way I have described, it must be done in a regular, 

 consecutive order and everything ought to be well done in its own time and 

 place. 



As it is strictly in attending to these things that success in the work will be 

 obtained, I shall again mention and sum them all up together, so that the 

 whole work may be seen at a glance as it stands in its proper connection. 



The first thing to be done then is the levelling and preparing the ground. 



The second is in drawing a straight furrow or line and planting the hedge. 



The third process is to grow and cultivate the plants for two or three years. 



The fourth is to cut the plants over to six inches or a foot from the ground. 



The fifth is the crossing and pleating when the shoots are in proper order 

 for this process to form the body of the hedge, xind the sixth and last is the 

 annual cutting and dressing to thicken it up and keep it in proper bounds. 



I have thus laid down a method of growing a farm fence, and I call it a new 

 departure from the old way, and this for two reasons. The first is that I do 

 not want a hedge of sharp spines like the Osage orange or the honey locust that 

 is dangerous to handle; the next reason is that in order to carry out my plan 

 I have chosen a plant that is a strong, free grower with straight shoots that 

 can be so artificially placed as to form a solid and impregnable barrier of any 

 height that may be wanted. It will thus be seen from what I have stated, 

 that this plan of making a hedge fence is just a carrying out by an artificial 

 process a plan that is in conformity with certain laws of nature in connection 

 with the varied form of the growth of a plant or tree, to obtain a certain desired 

 end. I have no doubt, therefore, that in carrying this idea into effect some 

 new thought may be suggested by which this same process may be wrought 

 out to a greater state of perfection. 



I now come to speak of another thing in immediate connection with this 

 subject, and which I have no doubt is already anticipated, namely : — the expense 

 of making and keeping up such a hedge, or in business language — will it vaij 9 



In order, therefore, to meet this important question and make it as plain as 

 possible, we must first begin with the plants and the preparing of the ground 

 for planting. 



This preparation I consider to be a matter of such small importance that 



with any farmer it should scarcely be taken into account : but as there is some 



work in casting up a furrow with the plough and setting in the plants or 



cuttings along the line, the work, I think, might be done for a cent per rod. 



If a farmer cannot grow the plants or procure the cuttings himself, I think 



