68 THE BOOK OF TOPIARY 



allowed to grow too quickly. More especially does this 

 apply to hedges. No matter how much it is desired to 

 get a hedge quickly grown in a certain place, whether 

 for shelter or anything else, it is the greatest possible 

 mistake to sacrifice strength and substance to a desire to 

 promote rapid growth, a result that is certain to occur if 

 a hedge is allowed to grow eight or ten feet before it is 

 stopped. Nothing should be done to a hedge in the way 

 of clipping the same autumn or winter it is planted, and 

 perhaps not even the following autumn ; but each year 

 afterwards it should be stopped, and never allowed to 

 make more than three or four inches of growth each year. 

 By following the system of stopping the growth every 

 year, the length of time required to grow a hedge eight 

 or ten feet in height is greatly extended. But the result 

 will amply repay the extra time that has been taken to 

 grow it ; you will get a hedge full of strength and sub- 

 stance, and well furnished with young growths from top 

 to bottom. But if the other system is followed of allow- 

 ing the hedge to get to its full height before any clipping 

 is done, you will have a hedge that is lacking in strength 

 and substance, easily blown out of shape by every wind, 

 and also one that it is very difficult to clip in anything 

 like a proper way, on account of its many strong branches 

 growing towards the outside, that should have been re- 

 moved to make room for a thicker growth. Each year 

 when the work of clipping is being done, a sharp look- 

 out should be kept for all small branches or shoots that 

 are inclined to grow towards the outside of the tree or 

 hedge, and these must be removed whenever they are 

 seen. In equal force does this apply to both hedges and 

 trees, and it is a part of the work in a Topiary garden 

 which if not carefully attended to, will very soon cause 

 a great deal of harm. Those shoots in the course of a 

 few years will grow into strong branches, and become a 

 regular nuisance in the way of keeping them constantly 



