THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 197 



a farm, besides being a most beautiful appendage to a well cul 

 tivated farm. And, without doubt, more than an equal number 

 of miles of hedge can be found, which, on account of its having 

 received improper treatment and cultivation during the first 

 years of its growth, stand, not only as a complete failure, but as 

 a nuisance on a farm, and an eye-sore to a skillful farmer. 



261. The first step in making a hedge is, to prepare the soil 

 where the hedge is to stand. If the soil be wettish it should be 

 thoroughly drained. It would be folly to attempt to grow a 

 hedge in a locality where it would be too wet to raise good 

 winter wheat. But few kinds of trees will flourish well where 

 there is an excess of water in the soil. If the soil needs a ditch 

 where the hedge is to stand, a portion of the distance, or all of it, 

 commence preparing the ground the season previous to planting 

 the hedge, in order to have a deep, well pulverized soil for the 

 roots to ramify in. The use of the ground need not be lost 

 while the hedge is growing, but it will be an advantage to raise 

 a crop every year, until the hedge is sufficiently large to turn 

 animals. Stake off a strip where a hedge is to be planted, about 

 sixteen feet wide, or wide enough to have, at least, two or three 

 rows of potatoes on each side of the rows of hedge plants. It 

 is better to have the strip unnecessarily wide than to have it too 

 narrow, or so narrow that the ground on each side of the hedge 

 cannot be cultivated with a horse and scarifier of some kind. 

 Commence plowing this land early in the fall. If there is sod 

 on the ground, commence in the spring. Plow it four or five 

 times, at least, before winter, throwing the furrows outward at 

 every plowing. This process will produce a deep middle furrow, 

 and the deeper it can be plowed the better. After working the 

 land as deep as is convenient with the plow, make a ditch in the 

 middle so that it would be not less than three feet deep on a level. 

 Tile it or stone it well, having a good outlet for the water. Fill 

 the ditch with dirt, and let the whole remain exposed to the 

 influence of the frosts and rains of winter, which will make the 

 whole soil very mellow. This operation is very important, where 

 the soil is inclined to be lumpy during the summer, and where 



