352 



A CHAPTER ON HEDGES. 



for tlio expense of gathering ihoni. They 

 should be gathered at the latter part of Sep- 

 tember, anil the clean seed, packed in an 

 equal quantity of dry sand, may be sent to 

 anv juiri of the Union before planting time. 

 A quart will produce at least 5000 plants. 

 The seed may be planted in broad drills 

 and treated just as wc have already recom- 

 mended for that of the Biickthorn. But the 

 plants are seldom fit for hedge planting till 

 the second year. 



The other mode of propagation is by the 

 roots. Pieces of the roots, of the thickness of 

 one's little finger, made into cuttings three 

 or four inches long, and planted in lines, in 

 mellow soil, with the top of the root just 

 below the surface, will soon push out shoots, 

 and become plants. The trimmings of an 

 hundred young plants, when taken up from 

 the nursery for transplanting, will thus give 

 nearly a thousand new plants. 



PLANTING AND REARING THE HEDGE. 



Having secured the plants, the next step 

 necessar}' is to prepare the ground where 

 the future hedge is to be formed. 



For this purpose a strip must be marked 

 out, three or four feet in width, along the 

 whole line where the hedge is to grow. 

 This must be thoroughly trenched with a 

 spade, eighteen inches deep, if it is to be a 

 garden hedge ; or sub-soil ploughed to that 

 depth, if it is to be a farm hedge. We know 

 many persons content themselves with sim- 

 ply digging the ground in the common way, 

 one spade deep ; but we take it for granted 

 no readers of ours will hesitate about the 

 little additional trouble of properly trenching 

 or deepening the soil,* when they may be 

 assured that they will gain just one-half in 



* Those who may be fortunate enough to possess rich deep 

 bottom or alluvial lands, are the only persons who need not be 

 at the trouble of trenching their soil. 



the future growth and luxuriance of the 

 hedge. 



It is the custom in England to plant 

 hedges on a bank with a ditch at one side, 

 to carry off the water — and some persons 

 have, from mere imitation, attempted the 

 same thing here. It is worse than useless 

 in our hot and dry climate. The hedge 

 thrives better when planted on the level 

 strip, simply because it is more naturally 

 placed and has more moisture. If the bank 

 and ditch is used, they are continually liable 

 to be torn away by the violence of our win- 

 ter frosts. 



As regards the season, the spring is the 

 best time for the northern states — the au- 

 tumn for the southern. Autumn planting at 

 the north often succeeds perfectly well, but 

 the plants must be examined in the spring ; 

 such as are thrown out of place by the frosts 

 require to be fixed again, and this often in- 

 volves a good deal of trouble in strong soil. 

 Early spring planting, therefore, for this 

 latitude is much preferable on the whole. 



A good dressing of any convenient ma- 

 nure that is not so course as to be unman- 

 agable in planting, should be put upon the 

 soil and turned under while the trenching 

 is going on. The soil must be thoroughly 

 pulverized and freed from stones, lumps, 

 and rubbish, before the planting begins. 



The plants are now to be made read3\ 

 This is done in the first place, by assorting 

 them into two parcels — those of large and 

 those of small size. Lay aside the smaller 

 ones for the richest part of your ground and 

 plant the larger ones on the poorest of the 

 soil. This will prevent that inequality 

 which there would be in the hedge if strong 

 and weak plants were mixed together, and 

 it will equalize the growth of the whole 

 plantation by dividing the advantages. 



