Championship Hedging Competition. 229 



5. Planting on sites of. old fences is useless unless new soil 

 is provided ; this is best done by digging out the old soil, 

 getting the new soil from a trench alongside and replacing it 

 with that dug out of the old fence line. The bed must then 

 be formed as described in the previous paragraph. 



6. The quick should be three years old, with plenty of root 

 fibre, and planted not too deeply in parallel lines some six to 

 eight inches apart, and eight inches from one another in the 

 rows. About 200 plants to the chain will be required. The 

 planting should be done that one row breaks joint with the 

 other, so practically there is a plant every four inches in the 

 fence. Close planting is a great mistake, as not only do the 

 stronger plants smother the weak ones but it tends to make 

 them draw upwards too quickly, the spaces between the 

 lateral shoots near the base being thereby lengthened. It 

 also adds to the difficulty of cleaning the bed, which it is most 

 necessary to do regularly until the fence is established. 



7. The quick should be cut down after planting, or at latest 

 the year following, within two or three inches of the ground. 

 It should then be allowed to grow at least two years before it 

 is cut into shape, or five or six years if it is intended to be 

 layered. 



It is useless to plant new fences unless they are strongly 

 protected against stock and ground game until they are 

 matured. 



Training and Cutting Fences. 



1. It is an exceedingly difficult thing to get a fence narrow 

 on the top and wide at the base, unless it has been planted 

 with this object in view. In many cases, therefore, it is better 

 to cut it off with a downward stroke of the axe or bill-hook 

 within two or three inches of the ground, and start afresh with 

 the new growth. 



2. Cut a grip eight inches wide by eight inches deep on 

 each side the fence, about 2 feet 6 inches from the centre, the 

 soil or sod taken out being turned on to the roots, thus forming 

 a bed which must be kept clean in order that the young shoots 

 from the stools may not be smothered. The fence must, from 

 the first, be protected from cattle and ground game. 



3. After two or three years' growth it is quite possible to 

 cut a young fence into triangular shape at about 2 feet high. 

 This should be done with a very sharp bill-hook, which will 

 leave the young stakes at practically three heights, i.e. 2 feet in 

 the centre down to 6 inches at the outsides. 



4. The fence should not be trimmed the next year, but in 

 the year following it will be quite easy to put into shape again 

 at a height of 4 feet. After this the fence can be cut as often 

 as desired, but it is not advisable to do so too frequently. The 



