FENCING AND DRAINING 179 



and during the first few years a hoe or Dutch hoe may be used 

 between the plants. Later on the weeds must be persistently 

 cut back with a hook. 



There are two ways of obtaining a good hedge, and either 

 may be adopted. The first method is to trim the hedge into 

 the shape desired by annual trimmings, the first of which is 

 made in the third year after planting. In the course of a few 

 years a good dense hedge is thus obtained. This annual 

 trimming may be done at any time in autumn or winter, while 

 a second trimming in summer between hay time and harvest 

 is of great advantage. Another system, carried out by the 

 Midland Railway Company, is to allow the young quicks to 

 grow up to a height of 6 or 8 feet without any trimmings ; 

 they are then layered or laid^ an efficient fence being obtained 

 as soon as this is done. Live stakes are left 2 feet apart ; the 

 rest of the rods are partially cut through at the base and are 

 bent down and wattled between the stakes at an angle of 

 about forty degrees with the ground. Young shoots arise 

 from the cut surface and fill up the bottom of the hedge. In 

 future years the hedge is trimmed annually to the desired 

 shape. 



Ditch and Bank. Where it is desirable to have a ditch 

 along the fence to prevent cattle breasting the hedge the 

 bank may be formed as is done in Leicestershire. 



A ditch is cut 3 feet wide and 2 feet deep, the soil taken 

 out being formed into a bank about i foot high with a flat 

 surface. The quicks are planted in the centre of the bank, 

 the future management being the same as on flat ground. 

 The ditch should be sufficiently near the bank to prevent 

 cattle from placing their feet on it, as they are then unable 

 to apply their weight to the temporary post-and-rail fence 

 which is made on the top edge of the bank. The quicks 

 should be placed well away from the ditch, as otherwise soil 

 falling off the bank may expose the roots. 



Preservation and restoration of old hedges. A hedge once 



M 3 



