March 19, 1868. ] 



JOURNAL OP HOBTIOOLTUBB AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



217 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



MARCH 19—25, 1868. 



Moot, of Roynl, Linnoftn, nnd Gbomical 

 SIoetinK of Koyiil Institution. [SocieticB. 

 Koyul Botanic Society's Show of Spring 

 4 SUND.\Y IN Lrnt. [Flowers opens. 



Meeting of Royiil (ienpi-aphical Society. 

 Mci«tiiij(of Institute of Civil Euf^ineers. 

 Meeting of Hoyal Agricultural and Geo- 

 logical Societies, anil Society of Arts. 



Average Temperature 

 near Loudon. 



Day. 

 61.3 

 61.4 

 60.7 

 60.4 

 6(1.6 

 48,6 

 60.9 



Night. 



:w.2 



83.K 

 !(2.4 

 84.2 

 .Sii.O 

 31.7 

 82.5 



Mean. 

 42.2 

 42.6 

 41.6 

 42..1 

 41.7 

 40.1 

 41.7 



Rain In 



last 

 41 years. 



Days. 

 14 

 16 

 18 

 19 

 17 

 16 

 15 



San 



Rises. 



m. h. 



6 aft; 



4 6 



1 6 



59 5 



67 5 



65 B 



53 5 



Son 

 Sets. 



m. h. 

 llaf 6 

 12 6 



Moon 

 Rises. 



Moon 

 Seta. 



h. 

 6U at li 



m. h 



13 a 1 



14 2 



Moon's 

 Age. 



Days. 



25 

 28 

 27 

 28 

 29 

 • 

 1 



Clock 



before 



Sun. 



6 17 

 5 68 



Day 

 of 



Year 



79 

 80 

 81 

 82 

 83 

 84 

 85 



Prom observations taken near London daring the last forty-one years, the average day temperature of the week is 60.5°; and its night 

 temperature 38.0 '. The greatest beat was Bg"*, on the 19th and 2ath, 1836 ; and the lowest cold 16^, on the 20th, 1845. The greatest, fall 

 of rain was 1.11 inoh. 



HEDGES, AND SHRUBS SUITABLE FOR 

 THEM. 



^OTFIING, perhaps, to. the lover of Nature 

 adds so much to the cheerful aspect of a 

 district as tlie hedges hy wliicli it is inter- 

 sected, and the timber and other trees with 

 which it is clothed. The latter stand out in 

 bold relief in the picture, while the hedges 

 fill up those necessary lines without which 

 there would be a certain amount of blank, 

 A good hedge is in many instances a farmer's 

 pride, and in this respect he looks at it in a 

 difierent light from the admu'er of rural scenery, to whom 

 the more crooked the hedge and the more heterogeneous 

 the plants of which it is composed, the more beautiful it 

 appears ; while to the farmer a hedge occupying the least 

 possible space of ground, straight in its outline, and form- 

 ing an impassable boundary to cattle, is the approach to 

 perfection which he delights in. 



During the last thii-ty years great progress has been 

 made in this direction, and we may expect to see still 

 further advances. In districts where hedges once existed 

 in too great numbers these have been entirely swept away, 

 and their real merits have not been spoken of, much less 

 considered, iu consequence of the many evils they en- 

 gendered ; yet Iiedges have their uses, and I hope again 

 to see those large breadths of some of the fairest land iu 

 the realm, now only subilivided, into large compartments 

 by an in^-isible wire fence, again intersected by hedges 

 of a suitable size and form — not a confused mixture of 

 Hazel, Maple, IClder, Willow, and various shrubs, but neat 

 Thorn hedges, kept clean and orderl}'. These, although 

 they may harboiu- a few birds, need not necessarily be a 

 nursery for weeds and other evils, and it is questionable if 

 birds to a limited extent are not rather an advantage than 

 otherwise. Hedges, apart from their utility, are a neces- 

 sary featui'c of the landscape in most districts. The want 

 of them, as in the fen and marsh districts, where liigh 

 cultivation exists, causes a sad blank in the winter scenery : 

 but it is not in these cases only that I advocate their 

 adoption, but in some of those large tracts of land, where 

 a few years ago they occupied a space equivalent in some 

 parishes to one-sixth of the whole area. In remedying 

 this evil people ran to an opposite extreme, and the un- 

 merciful annihilation of large breadths of hedge and 

 coppice has quite altered the character of the district. In 

 such cases a few neat well-managed hedges iniglit be 

 useful ; and as the materials for such and the mode of 

 managing them difl'cr considerably in various districts, a 

 slight notice of what appear to be the most approved may, 

 perhaps, be of service to those intending planting. 



Yew. — As an ornamental hedge this unquestionably 

 stands first, aUke for its fine appearance and durability. 

 Yew hedges in the neighbourhood of some residences date 

 back to a very remote period : in fact, it is difficult to 

 place a limit to the age which this plant under favourable 

 circumstances will attain. Hedges of it when subjected 

 to close and severe pruning seldom live so long as those 

 allowed more space to expand themselves, nevertheless a 



NO. SM.-VOL. XIV., New Series. 



Yew hedge may often be met with whose external cha- 

 racter has shown no change for a long lifetime ; possibly 

 very accurate measurement might detect some advance in 

 one-half or three-fourths of a century, but some venerable 

 hedges of this plant are said to have presented but very 

 little change during that period. 



In general the Yew likes a high and dry situation, and 

 is most frequently met with in a wild state on the exposed 

 clifl's of our chalky hills. It is. however, very accommo- 

 dating when in a cultivated coniUtion, for it is often planted 

 and found thriving in a soil and situation just the re- 

 verse of the above — in a stiff clay, perhaps, and is met 

 with growing very well under trees where few other plants 

 would live. From its dense growth and hardiness it de- 

 serves to be planted more frequently in the shrubbery 

 than it now is ; and when we contrast its appearance 

 with that of kindred foreign Conifers, as TaxoiUum sem- 

 pervu-ens, we certainly have reason to be proud of our 

 native Yew as excelling in every respect, excepting per- 

 haps in altitude, all of these. It is, however, as a hedge 

 plant that I here advocate its being planted, and as such 

 it occupies a high position : for although its slowness of 

 growth may in some cases be urged as a fault against it, 

 yet in favourable situations it grows more freely than may 

 be supposed ; it bears transplanting well, and its sturdi- 

 ness and elasticity are such as to prevent its suffering 

 much from accumulations of snow. But in one respect Yew 

 is inferior to most of the hedge plants mentioned below— it 

 cannot be regarded as a fence against cattle, for its poison- 

 ous properties render it dangerous. Although sheep and 

 other animals grazing on those IrUly districts where it is 

 found wild feed occasionally on it with impunity, and 

 rabbits eat it when in their way, yet domesticated animals 

 often sufi'cr fatally when they partake of it. When, there- 

 fore, it is necessary that the Yew should be a boundary, 

 let it be protected by wko or other fencing from the attacks 

 of cattle ; its importance entitles it to this care, apart from 

 the danger referred to. 



Holly. — Next in merit, and in the opinion of many 

 equal to if not excelling the Yew, is the HoUy, also a 

 native plant adorning some of our woods with its 

 glossy foliage and coral-like fruit. Its associations _ con- 

 nected with Christmas and other festive occasions give it 

 almost as much a claim to our veneration as the Yew. As 

 a shrub or tree for hedges it grows more rapidly than the 

 Yew, and forms a more impenetrable fence against bipeds 

 and quadrupeds when it has once become fairly esta- 

 blished. It is better adapted than the Yew for moist situa- 

 tions. It is also suited for forming a high rather than a 

 low and small hedge, and is impatient of continuous cut- 

 ting to a limited height ; still Holly hedges are often met 

 with in excellent condition, and some that I know may 

 be regarded as ornaments to the district. The Holly is 

 also more hardy in a certain sense than the Yew, being 

 found in a wild state farther north ; and I believe some of 

 the finest Holly trees in the Idngdom are in the north. 

 The Holly, like the Yew, has the advantage of succeeding 

 under the shade of other trees. A somewhat stiff soil, with 

 plenty of stones in it, and not too dry, seems to suit the 



No. 1016. -Vol. XXXIX., Old Sekes. 



