THE RAISING AND MANAGEMENT OF THORN HEDGES. I 65 



17. The Raising and Management of Thorn Hedges.^ 



By William Hali, 



The Raising of a Young Hedge. — From long experience I find 

 the best way to start a young hedge is to insert two rows, about 

 3 inches apart, with plants back to back. This gives the roots 

 more room than they would have in a single row, and also allows 

 the plants to be easily cleaned when young. 



Previous to planting the ground should be well trenched, 

 as thorns are dee[)-rooted plants. .Should the sub-soil be 

 poor, keep the top soil above it, but if it is of good quality, 

 it is advisable to dig the top soil in. Should there be turf on 

 the surface, it should always be buried deep enough to be out 

 of the way of subsequent planting operations. Should the soil 

 be poor, a liberal supply of well-rotted dung should be dug in, 

 and the soil should then be left to consolidate for a time before 

 planting. 



The width of the trench should be 3 feet to 3 ft. 6 ins. It 

 is essential that the land should be well drained before planting, 

 as thorns will not thrive on wet soil. The drains should be 

 15 feet from the hedge, at the very least, so as to prevent the 

 roots getting to the pipes. 



A very good time for planting is February. It should not be 

 carried on later than the second week in March, as thorns begin 

 to bud early if the weather is mild. When planting is started, the 

 line should be set \\ feet from the centre of the trenched 

 ground, which should be carefully cut with the spade, care being 

 taken to make the trench perpendicular, so that the plants can 

 be planted in an upright position. The soil should be thrown 

 out so as to form a trench wide enough to get the roots spread 

 out, the trench being level at the bottom. With four men the 

 work of planting the hedge goes on smoothly, two men being 

 engaged in digging out and preparing the trench, one man plant- 

 ing, and the fourth treading in the plants and filling up the trench. 

 Under these circumstances it is surprising what a length can be 

 completed in a day. The thorns should be planted 9 inches apart 

 in a single row \ and, when planting the second row, the plants 

 should be placed so as to come intermediately between the plants 

 of the first row. This mode of planting takes nine plants to the 



^ An abstract of an essay submitted for competition. 



