1885.] THE nOCK GARDEN. 457 



ditch is usually cleaned, and the stuff laid on the cut hedge, and 

 stakes are driven into the hank top, about twelve inches apart. Tlie 

 pieces left standing are " nicked " and bent down and woven in and 

 out the upright stakes ; where these are not enough to fill up, bushes 

 are woven in the bare places. The tops of the stakes are tied 

 together with a wattle of " heather," as this is termed. This com- 

 pletes the job, but spoils the hedge, for no " layering " has been 

 done. In a couple of years much of the bank will have slii^ped in 

 many places into tlie ditch again, and long horizontal gaps will 

 show in a year or two more, requiring to be stopped by hurdles, 

 bushes, or stakes and rails. This is a picture of nine-tenths of farm 

 field hedges in many parts of England, the result of the master not 

 knowing and the man not caring. All this is avoided by a little 

 more trouble to " layer," instead of lay the hedge. 



Layering, as all woodwards know, is pegging down into the 

 ground 'any stems of live wood you wish to strike. If this is accom- 

 plished before the ditch is cleaned out, and the pegging thoroughly 

 done and banked over with ditch-cleaning, a strong, healtliy hedge 

 growth is assured ; the staking and bushing, where wanted, and top 

 wattling to finish, is not to be neglected. Such an hedge will show 

 no horizontal gaps, nor many vertical ones, if the top growth is cut 

 back each year. 



BuLsTr.oDE, Slouc.it. 



THE BOOK GARDEN. 

 No. IV. 



THE PRIMROSES TREATMENT. 



I^HE Primulacccc take up very little room, and can be grown by 

 any one, however small the garden. They are very tenacious 

 of life, and are not easily killed out by a Httle neglect in watering. 

 As a rule they are inclined to grow out of the ground by forming 

 lengthened root stems, and consequently should be transplanted, 

 and if necessary divided, every spring, when they should be replanted 

 deeper than they were before, as the best and most vigorous roots 

 start immediately before the neck of the plant. All those that grow 

 naturally in crevices of rock should be carefully planted between 

 pieces of flat stone, with plenty of rich light soil between and below 

 to a considerable depth, as it is surprising to what a length the roots 

 push in search of food. Mr. Boyd has seen plants with only a small 



