566 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



A very common fence in some sections is built of cobble-stone about two feet high, 

 topped with two bars inserted in posts, or with strips of boards nailed on.&quot; 



Hedges. In many portions of Europe, especially in Great Britain, hedges have been 

 long used to a considerable extent, hedge-rows having formerly been a characteristic feature 

 of rural life in England ; but they are now beginning to be regarded there as objectionable, 

 and in many parts of the country are being exterminated from the soil. In this country 

 hedges have been used to a limited extent, but more especially in sections where timber is 

 scarce. For lack of anything better for fencing, it may sometimes be well to make use of 

 them for boundary fences, although there are many objections to introducing them generally. 

 They require in some localities considerable care to secure a strong and uniform growth, and 

 to keep them well pruned and trimmed, and also occupy a great deal of land, and harbor 

 noxious weeds, furnishing lurking places for enemies of the field-crop, orchard, or garden. 

 In some climates their growth is so rapid that they require constant care in pruning, while 

 their overgrowth is a serious evil, and when once in possession of the soil they are difficult to 

 eradicate. 



Another objection to hedges is that when the land is cultivated, the roots not only inter 

 fere with tillage, but they rob the cultivated crop of plant-food. There are, however, many 

 places where they might be introduced without interfering with cultivation, such as around 

 pastures, orchards, etc. 



For making hedges, some quick-growing, hardy shrub, armed with thorns or spurs, is 

 generally used, although other shrubs and even trees are employed to a certain extent. The 

 arbor-vitae, cedar, hemlock, buckthorn, pine, yellow willow, osage orange, honey locust, 

 cotton-wood, barberry, and privet have all been employed to a certain extent. In England, 

 the hawthorn has been used for this purpose for centuries. At the South, the Cherokee rose 

 is quite extensively employed as an ornamental hedge. The osage orange and honey locust 

 are perhaps used more than any other; the former in the Middle, Southern, and South 

 western States, it being liable to winter-kill in the extreme Northern section. The latter will 

 thrive in all parts. The willow is well adapted to wet localities, but its rapid growth 

 necessitates frequent trimming, which is a serious objection. Evergreen hedges are liable to 

 injury from drouth or extreme heat and cold, but are very attractive in appearance when 

 properly cared for and trimmed. The arbor-vitae (Thuja occidental-is) makes one of the 

 most beautiful hedges that can be found at the North. It is hardy and flourishes in any soil 

 that is not too dry, branches out thickly from the ground, and is of comparatively slow 

 growth. It is much used as an ornamental hedge. The principal objection to the osage 

 orange is its vigorous, rapid growth, and the exhaustion it occasions to the soil within reach 

 of its long roots. 



Planting and Trimming Hedges. In the successful use of hedges for fences, 

 much depends upon a proper selection of the plant for the purpose, its adaptation to the 

 climate and locality, as well as the subsequent cultivation and pruning it receives. The best 

 authorities on hedge-setting advise that, on soils naturally damp or retentive of moisture, the 

 plants be set upon a slight elevation or raised surface from five to eight feet wide. The 

 reasons given for this practice are, that the hedge will be more liable to escape winter-killing, 

 from the fact that the roots will then be above the level of saturation ; that the setting can 

 be performed earlier in the season than where the ground is not ridged; that the roots of the 

 young plants will strike down obliquely, instead of extending horizontally, as on level land, 

 and will also attain a more fibrous growth ; that the plants, thus having a more uniform con 

 dition of soil with regard to moisture, will attain a more uniform growth, and will generally 

 be exempt from gaps and thin places made by partial winter-killing, and which require 

 considerable labor and care in replacing. In setting the hedge, the soil may be thrown up 



