18 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



hedge is the wedge shape— that is, with a regular slope 

 from the base to the top. The advantages of tliis shape 

 in a hedge are so obviousj that it is unnecessary to 

 point them out here. 



Assuming the hedge was planted in February, the 

 shoots during the following summer will have made 

 considerable progress, varying from one to three 

 feet. 



It is, I believe, a custom pretty universal to cut over 

 in the autumn the first year's shoots ; but from this prac- 

 tice I dissent, believing it to be much better for the 

 future welfare of the fence, that the first cutting be left 

 until it has attained two years' growth of wood. Any 

 one who has a recently-planted hedge can easily test the 

 correctness of this view, by cutting a portion at one 

 year, and another portion at two years' growth ; and I 

 pledge myself — other circumstances being equal — you 

 will find the uncut portion put forth shoots earlier, 

 healthier, and stronger, and in autumn will altogether 

 present a more vigorous and forward appearance than 

 the portion cut over at one year's growth. The reason 

 of this is obvious : the plants require a firm establish- 

 ment in the soil before any cutting takes place, and if 

 cutting over be resorted to before this is accomplished, 

 the eiFcct is to bleed, and so weaken the vital functions 

 of the plants. After they are firmly established, which 

 in ordinary circumstances will be in two years, a regu- 

 lar annual cutting over will be necessary to maintain a 

 neat appearance, and also as tending towards the promo- 

 tion of a vigorous and healthy growth, and ultimate 

 longevity. 



Sometime during the month of November of the se- 

 cond year, cut down the shoots to about nine inches 

 from the ground, and also cut in the side shoots pretty 

 closely. In the third year again dress off the shoots, 

 but this time to a height of twelve inches from the sur- 

 face, and leave about an inch of the side shoots. This is 

 repeated annually, but leaving the hedge four inches 

 higher, and one inch on each side wider every time it is 

 cut until the desired height is attained, which height for 

 general farm purposes will be best about four feet. 



During this period, attention must be paid to the 

 cleaning and keeping the roots of the fence free from 

 weeds. If this is neglected evil consequences will follow. 

 When weeds are allowed a free unchecked growth, they 

 tend to discourage the growth of the lateral branches 

 surface-ward ; for though during the summer months 

 it presents a close and apparently compact fence, yet 

 when the frosts of winter have reduced the growth of the 

 grass and weeds, it will show a bare, open, fenceless bot- 

 tom, ready to give way to the first rush of any restive 

 animal inclined to stray. This is a very unsatisfactory 

 condition in which to find the young hedge, and the 

 complacence of the cultivator is not apt to be much in- 

 creased by the knowledge that it might have been pre- 

 vented, and that he might, by the simple operation of 

 keeping down the weeds below and for a foot on each 

 side of the hedge, have had a close-bottomed and impe- 

 netrable fence, capable of resisting the inroads of any 

 description of cattle. 



When the hedge has attained the desired height, it must 



at every consecutive cutting be kept down as close as can 

 be to that height and width ; but in the course of years, 

 however well kept, it will increase in bulk, and pre- 

 sent a loose and overgrown appearance. This arises from 

 short pieces at the base of the shoots being annually 

 left, and which in time increase the dimensions of the 

 best-kept hedges, rendering it necessary to reduce their 

 size, and to cut so as to encourage a new form of fence. 

 This cutting is performed in two ways, the choice of 

 which must be determined by the condition of the fence. 

 If bare and inefficient as a fence at the bottom, it will 

 be necessary to cut off the whole hedge to within a little 

 of the surface, the after-management being necessarily 

 the same as heretofore described for a young hedge. If 

 the fence has been kept clear of weeds at bottom, and is 

 otherwise sufficient, the proper manner of reducing its 

 bulk is to cut ofiF the side-branches to within 4 inches 

 of the main stem, and also to cut it down to about the 

 height of 3 feet. This process is termed ribbing in, 

 and may be performed any time between the months of 

 November and April. Although in the case of the hedge 

 being very old, or otherwise not of a vigorous growth, 

 I should neither cut down nor rib in until the latter end 

 of the last named month, and for this reason : that if 

 plants are cut when the sap is up and in full flow, they 

 never fail to make shoots, although they may not be so 

 vigorous as if the parent stems were cut in a dead time 

 of the year. Yet the difficulty in this case is not to de- 

 cide on the advantages of tender and vigorous shoots, 

 but whether it is better to have comparatively tender or 

 no shoots at all ; as the chances are very precarious of 

 very many of tlie stubs of the above descriptions of 

 hedge when cut during the winter months ever making 

 shoots again. If the enclosure within the fence requir- 

 ing reducing be in alternate husbandry, a period should 

 be chosen for the operation, when the rotation comes to 

 grain crops ; otherwise, if the field is in pasturage, a 

 protection from the browsing of sheep and cattle will be 

 necessary for a period not less than two years. Prob- 

 ably as good a protection as is necessary will be found 

 in setting a flight of hurdles, which when no longer 

 wanted will be useful for something else. It may be 

 necessary here to say a word or two on the means of 

 replanting or making up any failure occurring in the 

 hedge. For this purpose some recommend a second 

 planting of thorn ; others substitute crab-tree plants. 

 The former seldom does well in an old hedge : the latter 

 is more likely to succeed and frequently does well ; but 

 for all such occurrences as old thorns dying out, trees 

 stubbed in the line of fence, or any other gap whatever 

 requiring making up, we should strongly recommend 

 a trial of the beech : it will thrive well when an old 

 thorn has died out, or on the site of an old tree ; and in 

 the formation of a cultivated hedge, we have great faith in 

 its proving a most useful auxiliary to the white thorn, 

 and believe its properties only require to be better known 

 to render it very extensively cultivated. 



In conclusion, it may be well to state that in cutting 

 hedges there is a general rule which should be particu- 

 larly attended to, and, except for special purposes, never 

 be departed from. This golden rule is comprised in two 



