THE LAYING-OUT OF A MIXED PLANTATION. 33 
sunk about 3 ft. 9 ins. into the ground, with a sole dogged on to 
the ends, and with winding-brackets on each side every 100 yards 
or so, if the fence runs in a straight line. When the fence takes 
a bend or dip into a hollow, it is necessary to have intermediate 
straining-posts well stayed back on the inside. The posts should 
be about 6 ft. x 4 ins. x 3 ins., pointed and creosoted, and driven 
into the ground till they stand about 3 ft. 9 ins. above it. It 
is not necessary to put these in every 6 feet, especially if the fence 
is erected on the top of a bank. Every 8 or g feet is close enough 
when the fence runs in a straight line, but they can be put closer 
at curves. Six wires should be used, the top one being either 
galvanised steel or barbed. The bottom wires should be placed 
closer, to make certain that sheep will be excluded. Such a 
fence, when properly put up, the wood being well treated with 
preservatives, and the wires tightened from time to time, will 
stand twenty years. 
Another fence quite capable of keeping stock out of the woods 
is the “dropper.” The straining-posts and wires are the same 
as above, but the posts are put in at every 12 or 16 feet, with 
two droppers 3 ft. 6 ins. x 14 ins. x 2 ins. between. This class 
of fence is cheaper than the former, and if well constructed is 
almost as effective. 
Live-fences may consist either of thorn- or beech-hedges. Both 
are satisfactory. They are sometimes planted in two rows 
g inches apart. After the young plants become thoroughly 
established, they are cut over, about an inch or so above the soil, 
and this causes the young shoots to spring up thick and strong. 
It is advisable to switch them yearly into a wedge-shape until 
they are 4 or 5 feet high. Thorn-hedges, if properly managed, 
will last one hundred years or upwards, and are very effective 
against the inroads of both sheep and cattle. To get a hedge 
to grow quickly for immediate effect, it is better to trench and 
manure the ground well before planting. The strip trenched 
need not be more than 4 feet wide. Only on very stiff or wet 
soil is it necessary to plant the hedge on a mound. On dry, 
loose soil, when a bank is made, the earth crumbles away, and 
this, together with the burrowing of rabbits, exposes the roots, 
and eventually makes the hedge become full of gaps and in- 
effective. 
(b) Fences against Rabbits—Wire-netting is the most effective 
method of protecting young plantations against such vermin. 
VOL. XIX. PART I. Cc 
