I 68 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



in September, when the twigs have not yet hardened into wood. 

 A far tidier and cleaner job can be made at this time, also 

 they are easier to slash. In slashing, some people like an inverted 

 V-shaped hedge, but from experience I find that this shape is 

 very bad for the hedge, as it prevents light from getting to its 

 centre, and sometimes causes it to die off; also no young shoots 

 grow, for want of light. A shape something like a spruce cone 

 is, I think, the more practical shape. This shape prevents the 

 hedge from growing too many branches, and therefore allows 

 more light into the main stems and encourages young shoots to 

 grow. 



When in course of time a hedge begins to get open at the 

 bottom, the best plan is to split it up, or half cut it over. 

 This can be done in two ways, either by cutting one side before 

 the other and allowing that side to grow up before the other is 

 cut, or by cutting both sides at once. The latter can be accom- 

 plished very well on arable land, and the hedge should be cut 

 down to about iS inches high. In splitting or cutting over, a 

 strong slasher should be used, and all branches should be cut 

 off at the bottom, the main stems being reduced to the required 

 height, and care being taken to always cut upwards, making clean 

 cuts. This prevents the cut ends from rotting. Cutting down- 

 wards splits the ends and causes rot. Where weak places are 

 found, a good side branch, or a main stem that can be spared, 

 should be chosen, half cut through at the bottom and layered 

 into the gap, being pegged down if necessary. A very neat and 

 tidy job can be made by an experienced man, and in a few years 

 a hedge treated in this manner will throw up young shoots and 

 make a strong fence, probably thicker than the old one. 



.Sometimes it is a good ])lan in old hedges on arable land to 

 cut the hedge clean off, level with the ground, filling up all gaps 

 with young plants. The only objection to this is that the young 

 shoots are very easily broken off the old stools at the start, and 

 in all probability the shoots from the old stools will outgrow the 

 young plants. Still a very good hedge can be got in this way by 

 careful management and attention. .Should too many shoots 

 grow on any of the old stools, it is a good plan to cut or break 

 off a few to thin them out, leaving either the strongest or weakest 

 at discretion. 



Another plan mostly j)ractised in old, tall hedges, on grass 

 land, is that of layering or ])lashing them, which is much 



