236 



JOURNAL OF HORTICDIiTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



[ March 26, 1868. 



It is these capricious alterations which do so mnch harm to 

 floricnltnre. " Letting well alone " seems to be unknown in 

 the arrangements of the schedules, and I have yet to learn 

 that this constant state of change is conducive to good. If a 

 thing works well why meddle with it ? if badly, let it be altered. 

 Another thing I mast as a clergyman protest against — the 

 holding of the shows on Saturdays. It leads, and must lead, 

 to a large amount of Sabbath-breaking for masters and men, 

 and effectually excludes us who live at a distance from town 

 from being present.— D., Deal. 



HEDGES, 



AND SHRUBS SUITABLE FOR 

 THEM. 



{Continued from page 218.) 



Maolura aukantiaca (Osage Orange). — The espectations 

 formed ten or twelve years ago of this plant have certainly not 

 been realised, and its hardiness is not so well established as 

 could be wished; for, although few plants of it may be killed by 

 our most severe winters, still fewer escape altogether, as the 

 tips of the shoots, being in a more or less unripened condition 

 when winter sets in, are destroyed down to the firmer wood. 

 The plant is also more straggling in its growth than the White- 

 thorn, so extensively planted in this country, but its thorns are 

 quite as formidable ; its shoots likewise are very robust, and in 

 summer the leaf is rather pretty. About ten years ago I saw a 

 hedge of it planted by a gentleman well versed in new shrubs 

 and trees ; the hot, line summers of 1858 and 1859 favoured 

 the growth and ripening of the wood, great expectations were 

 formed of it, and nurserymen advertised it as a plant for ordi- 

 nary fences ; but the trying season of 18G0, so fatal to the ex- 

 pectations of those who were experimenting with semi-tropical 

 plants, gave the death blow to their hopes of this, and it has 

 not been much heard of since. As an ornamental plant it has 

 little to recommend it, and when planted in shrubberies its 

 only qualities seem to be the unpleasant remembrances it gives 

 to those who unthinkingly approach too closely its formidable 

 spines, while it sends its loose, straggling branches to a greater 

 distance from its stem than is always noticed by those who 

 have duties to perform amongst shrubs. By way of experi- 

 ment the Madura may be tried as a hedge plant, but it must not 

 be classed as an ornamental one, and for utility it is xm- 

 qnestionably inferior to the Whitethorn. 



Arbor Vit.e. — This offers a marked contrast to the last, 

 being an evergreen of compact and quick growth, which bears 

 cutting. It also has the advantage of being perfectly hardy, 

 bearing transplanting well even when it is of large size, and 

 suffering Mttle from breakages by the weight of snow, so de- 

 structive to other shrubs. The Chinese species (Thuja orien- 

 talis), is more compact in its growth than the American (T. oc- 

 cidentalis), and the kind known as Thuja Warreana is also of 

 very close growth. As the Arbor Vit.i; is often planted where a 

 quick growth is required, large plants may be procured, and a 

 hedge made at once. Dry ground, not too shallow, suits it best, 

 but it is not particular, and good specimens may often be met 

 with in a soil and situation just the reverse of those indicated. 

 To look well this plant ought to be trimmed with the knife, 

 and not with the shears, and excepting in certain special cases 

 the top looks better not evenly cut, but as if in a growing state, 

 with portions a little higher than others. August is a very 

 good time to trim it. 



Berbeeis Daewinii. — Although I have not seen this plant 

 much used as a hedge, yet from my experience and obser- 

 vations of its growth, it seem well adapted for the purpose, and 

 if it can be fairly established as a hedge plant, I know of 

 nothing more desirable. A close, compact growth, with now 

 and then a shoot or two running out 2 or 3 feet beyond the 

 rest as if they were the pioneers of others, is its general character, 

 and no plant presents a greater amount of foUage, every shoot 

 being thickly studded with leaves, and these, too, of a pleas- 

 ing bright green. Added to this, the handsome flowers which 

 it presents us with early in spring claim for it a place in the 

 front rank of flowering shrubs, almost equal to that of the 

 Ehododendron, and in fine autumns it not unfrequently fur- 

 nishes a supply of bloom as well. As a hedge plant it possesses 

 the required sturdiness, and I believe will bear cutting as well 

 as any other evergreen. It also produces berries in great 

 abundance, the colour being much the same as in those of 

 B. aquifolium, or as it is generally called, Mahonia aqnifoUum. 

 The resemblance in fruit, though not by any means a close one, 

 is the only resemblance the plants possess, the character of the 



flower, size of foUage, and other features, giving B. Darwinii a 

 stamp of its own unlike oth>is of this remarkable family, with 

 the exception of B. Wallichii. I therefore anticipate we shall 

 often hear of its being used as a hedge plant, and so far as I 

 have tried it, it promises to become a handsome and useful one. 

 A dry soil abounding in stones seems to suit it best, but it is 

 by no means fastidious, and with me grows twice as fast as 

 Mahonia aquifolium in the same soils and situations. 



IvT. — This is certainly not a hedge plant, I expect some one 

 wiU say, and rightly, too, in one sense ; but it forms an excellent 

 screen, and when a sort of framework is put up of any reason- 

 able height, and Ivy planted against it, there is nothing which 

 so quickly effects the double purpose of a partial fence and 

 screen ; and as it is known that Ivy is not very particular as to 

 situation, we have the further advantage of possessing in one 

 of our finest-foliaged plants the means of speedily erecting a 

 shelter, or shutting out anything ugly, whether in the dis- 

 tance or close at hand. The species and varieties of Ivy are 

 numerous, and many are of great beauty, but the common 

 Irish Ivy is, perhaps, unsurpassed for quick growth, general 

 hardiness, and the deep glo^^y liue of its foliage. As plants of it 

 are plentiful enough, I would advise any one who may be abont 

 clothing his premises with evergreens, to turn his attention 

 to Ivy. It will accomplish its work sooner, and continue longer 

 in the same condition than anything else I know. Apart from 

 its beauty as a climber, some of its varieties are so dwarf that 

 their yearly growth does not exceed that of the Laurnstinus, or 

 similar shrubs. Where, however, a series of arches or other 

 framework is to be covered with Ivy, the low-growing variety is 

 the best to plant, and few plants bear trimming so well, or 

 continue so long in beauty — in fact", the death of Ivy, excepting 

 from accident, is unusual. Although it does not possess the 

 sturdiness necessary to support itself, I nevertheless regard its 

 claim as a hedge plant too good to be overlooked. 



Willow. — This certainly ought not to take its place amongst 

 hedge plants destined for ornamental positions, yet I have seen 

 it occupying a prominent place in a flower garden of no mean 

 pretensions. The situation being an exposed one, and it being 

 desirable to have some shelter at the earliest possible period, 

 Willow poles about 2 inches in diameter at the top, and long 

 enough to be 8 feet above the surface of the ground, were 

 planted, about 18 inches apart, in a ditch or trench prepared for 

 them. They speedily struck root, and formed branches from 

 bottom to top, supplying a high hedge or screen in a very few 

 weeks after being fixed in the ground. This afforded suificient 

 protection for the summer, which was all they were planted for. 

 Willows, however, are sometimes planted for the more definite 

 purpose of a fence, but they are only to be recommended in a 

 wet, swampy place, where they thrive best, and where nothing 

 else will do so well. Perhaps the best kind is that called the 

 Plum-tree Willow, from its leaves resembling those of the 

 Plum tree, as it furnishes itself best at bottom. Most of the 

 tree Willows with lanceolate leaves become very naked at 

 bottom, and must often be headed-down. By the sides of ditches 

 or ponds, or in very wet places, the WiUow may be planted as a 

 fence, and by frequent cutting-down and plashing, it may be 

 made serviceable, but it cannot be said to be ornamental. 



Elder. — This is worse than the WiUow, so far as appear- 

 ance is concerned, and it has not the advantage of growing 

 where other and more ornamental plants will not thrive, but it 

 grows faster than anything else, and it has the merit of not 

 being attacked by rabbits in places where these abound. The 

 Elder will also sustain itself when competing with other trees 

 and shrubs, and, in fact, is more likely to outgrow and overtop 

 everything else than succumb to opposition. As a plant for a 

 hedge, however, its merits are of a low order, and it is only 

 mentioned here as some writers have a partiaUty for it. An 

 old plant in flower looks very well, but no amount of trimming 

 can make a graceful hedge or fence of this oflensively- smelling 

 tree. 



FuKZE OE GoRSE. — Although of indigenous growth this 

 plant now and then suffers from severe winters, and when 

 planted as a hedge it does not bear cUpping and trimming so 

 well as many others. It is seldom advisable to plant it as a 

 fence, unless for some special purpose, when its appearance is 

 desirable, as it requires to be allowed more width than other 

 plants, and looks better as an irregular mass than in a 

 trimmed condition ; indeed, the latter cannot well be main- 

 tained long. For a very exposed stony soil it may be necessary 

 to try this plant, but where others will succeed, let this be 

 banished to its proper quarters — viz., wastes and coverts. The 

 double-flowering Furze, and the upright Irish variety, are, 



