April 16,-1868. ] 



JODKNAL OF HOBTIODLTUKH AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



895 



onr book turn not over before their timo, and the repose of 

 our workbagket be not disturbed, a tree to shade all from the 

 sun's heat — then to many possessors of small gardens is hap- 

 piness complete. ^ — Mai'd. 



HEDGE PLANTS. 



(Concluded from puffe 237.) 

 BL.vCKTnonN. — Formidable as this plant is as a solitary bush. 

 or when it forms a portion of a hedt;e composed of miscel- 

 laneous shrubs or bushes, it is seldom we see it employed by 

 itself to form a hedge. It does not bear cutting so well as 

 the Whitethorn, neither does it grow so fast, at the same time 

 it is, perhaps, less liable to injury than any class of hedge 

 plant we possess. It suffers less than the Whitethorn from 

 the attacks of rabbits ; and to those who admire early-flowering 

 shrnbs, it is amongst the first of our native ones that blossom, 

 and its flowers are also of much beauty. The Blackthorn 

 thrives best on a rather stiff soil, but it is not very particular 

 as to situation ; its growth, however, is not fast, and it seems 

 to produce suckers in greater abundance than neatly-trimmed 

 hedge plants sliould do. Where there is a difficulty in rearing 

 the Whitethorn, this plant may be substituted for it with 

 advantage. 



Whitetetors. — This is unquestionably the most popular and 

 useful hedge plant we possess, and the general aspect of our 

 country would be poor indeed wore this plant no longer culti- 

 vated. It is not, perhaps, any exaggeration to say that no 

 individual tree or shrub is propagated and planted to an equal 

 extent with this, and well it repays the attention given it. So 

 generally is it used as a hedge plant, that when the term hedge 

 is used we conclude that one of the (Juickset is meant, other 

 hedges receiving a special designation. It has its favourite 

 positions, and one of the best is a dry stony soil, porous and 

 accessible to its roots for at least 2 or 3 feet ; in such a position 

 its progress is rapid, and it is also more tenacious of life than 

 when in a soil of an opposite character. A dry hungry gravel 

 is not the place for it, a sound loam being better ; but very 

 good hedges are often met with in those dry warm soils which 

 produce good Barley and Potatoes. The Whitethorn hedges 

 in some parts of Bedfordshire are good, and so are those iu 

 most districts favourable to agi-iculture. 



The modes of managing Quickset hedges differ widely in , 

 different districts ; in many parts of England it is common to 

 plant the hedge on the side or top of a bank, with a ditch in 

 front, and in some bleak neighbourhoods it is allowed to grow 

 and branch out as much as it likes, with a regular cutting- 

 down once in ten or twelve years, the materials thus obtiined 

 being used to make what are called dead fences, or to repair 

 others. The bushy irregular growth a hedge of this class pre- 

 sents is certainly more pleasing to the eye than the closely- 

 shaven line met with in other places, but it occupies more 

 space ; its utility, however, is iu the shelter it gives to stock, 

 and the little trouble it involves. The number of hedges of 

 this class, however, decreases every year, and close trimming 

 seems to be the order of the day. The most common plan, 

 where the situation is favourable, is to plant on the level ground, 

 and dig a ditch on the most exposed side ; trimming for the 

 first two years, however, ought to be limited to the winter, 

 after that it may be done in the summer, or when the plant 

 has become well established. The most common shape is not 

 by any means that most to be admired, or rather the shape or 

 section is altered by degrees until it becomes objectionable. 

 Assuming the top to be pointed ridge-fashion, the greatest 

 width very often is aljout 1! foot from the top or thereabouts, 

 and there is very little growth at the bottom. To remedy this, 

 or rather to devise another mode C'f making the Quickset hedge 

 more formidable to cattle, the farmers iu Cheshire cut their 

 hedges so that the section would resemble an equilateral 

 triangle, the bottom being about 4 feet wide, and tapering from 

 thence to the top. Some may say that the merits of this plan 

 are more than counterbalanced by the greater extent of ground 

 the hedges occupy, and this would certainly be urged against 

 them in places ; it may. nevertheless, be the one most likely to 

 secure a good long-lived hedge, and when such a hedge is really 

 good it is difficult of approach by cattle or anything else, as the 

 width at bottom renders it difticult to climb over. Nevertheless, 

 I certainly prefer the mode in which Quickset hedges are treated 

 in this part of Kent, for they have the advantage of occupying 

 very little ground, and when well managed are pretty and useful. 

 The plan differs in no respect from that adopted elsewheie, 



excepting in the narrow trimming the hedge receives when fall 

 grown ; but on being planted the young plants arc not cut 

 down the first year, but are allowed to become established one 

 year, when they are cut down. If the ground Ib well attended to 

 and other things are favourable, a strong vigorous shoot may 

 be expected, and no trimming ought to take place until the 

 end of the season's growth, when the side shoots are cut in 

 rather closely, and a little of the tips taken off. This is re- 

 peated the second year, but after that the hedge will bear and 

 require cutting a little in the middle of summer, but this is 

 certainly not advisable until the plant has attained some size 

 and strength, for cntting-in any deciduous plant during the 

 period of its growth certainly checks that growth. In the early 

 period of a hedge's growth this is not advisable ; afterwardu it 

 may be done with advantage. The trimming or clipping, I 

 may ob.serve, is done with the view of keeping the hedge as 

 narrow as possible, consistent with strength and the require- 

 ments of a hedge, and I believe there are fences in my neigh- 

 bourhood that are, when closely trimmed, not a foot thick in 

 any part, and yet have been kept so for twenty years or more, 

 and so close all the way up, that it has been the boast of the 

 farmers that some of their fields would keep in a hare every- 

 where but at the gate. After several years' cutting, the hard 

 olosely-trimmed hedge has a woody appearance, and is exceed- 

 ingly strong if it is growing on a soil favourable to the White- 

 thorn. The dry stony soils of some districts are more favour- 

 able to it than those of a contrary description, and on some 

 waste lands of this kind that were enclosed forty or fifty years 

 ago by Quicksets planted in straight lines generally intersect- 

 ing at right angles, we may find some of the best specimens of 

 Quickset fence in the kingdom. In the district alluded to it is 

 common to plant the Quickset on the level ground, and if it be 

 a meadow, a space of about a foot or so on each side of the collar 

 of the plant is kept clear and free from weeds. If the ground is 

 arable, cultivation is carried on to the roots of the plants with- 

 out any loss or waste, as is sometimes the case where there is 

 a ditch or bank. Cleaning out the weeds from the base of a 

 hedge in a meadow, as is sometimes done, certainly gives it 

 a neat appearance. 



Beech. — This is generally planted rather for shelter than as 

 a fence, and frequent trimming tends to cause it to keep its 

 old leaves on all the winter. The Beech also grows to a larger 

 size than most other hedge plants, and does not look badly in 

 the summer. The Hornbeam is sometimes substituted for the 

 Beech, both being alike in their growth and property of retain- 

 ing their old leaves during the winter. As objects for shelter 

 they are certainly desirable, but beyond that their merits as 

 hedge plants would appear to be inferior to those of many 

 others. 



Miscellaneous plants or trees occasionally used are so various 

 that it is scarcely possible to enumerate them. Generally 

 speaking, in old hedges by the side of woods we find every- 

 thing that grows near them, and possibly considerable por- 

 tions of many such fences were naturally produced, and filled 

 up a little afterwards by the cultivator. In such we often meet 

 with Briars, Brambles, scrubby patches of Oak, Hazel, Maple 

 Poplar, and other kinds of deciduous trees ; but these are 

 mere makeshifts, and not to be recommended, except in special 

 cases. In one case I saw an Elm hedge, upwards of 30 feet in 

 height, partly entangled with Ivy, sud trimmed tolerably accu- 

 rately ; being for shelter it served its purpose well — cer- 

 tainly much better than a row of Spruce Firs would have done, 

 as this tree is rarely met with in a healthy condition on its 

 exposed side, whereas a deciduous tree generally stands better 

 against the elements. Ornamental hedges of other kinds may 

 also be met with, some being composed of such shrubs or trees 

 as the fancy of the grower may suggest, and more kinds of 

 fruit trees than one are used in this way. I may add, as re- 

 gards the choice of a hedge plant, that certain soils and situa- 

 tions favom- the growth of certain plants, and the requirements 

 of the case have also to be consulted ; but amongst the plants 

 I have named, one or other will be found to meet the wants of 

 most places. — J. KonsoN. 



ORNAMENTM^ AND FLOWERING SHRUBS. 



[{Continued from pape 240.) 



PALiunrs ACULEATCS. — Flowcrs yellow, small, .Iniie to Angust. 

 Leaves small and shining ; shoots verv- spiny. The tlowers are sng- 

 ceeded by a curions fi'uit, said to resemble a sti-aw hat. 8 to 12 feet. 

 Cuttings of the roots, or seeds in heat. 



PuiLADELPHi'S cop.oxARirs (Mock Orange).— Flowcrs white, with a 



