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States, where it grows from twenty to thirty feet high. It flour 

 ishes well in most of the States and Territories, and with proper 

 treatment has never failed to make an impenetrable hedge. 

 Many failures have been reported respecting the Osage for 

 hedges, but in all probability the failures could be traced to 

 improper management, such as neglecting to shear down and to 

 keep the soil in good condition, or assorting the quicks and trans 

 planting them properly. "We need apprehend no failure in mak 

 ing a first-rate hedge of the Osage, if the course is strictly fol 

 lowed which has been marked out in the preceding pages. 



We copy from the American Farmers 1 Encyclopedia the follow 

 ing description of the Osage Orange : " It is very branching, 

 each branch being armed with numerous sharp thorns. The 

 wood is remarkably tough and solid. The male and female 

 flowers are on separate trees. The fertile, or female tree, bears 

 fruit abundantly in a few years. These are round and rough, 

 and greenish colored, resembling somewhat an orange, and weigh 

 ing from twelve to eighteen ounces, containing from one hundred 

 to one hundred and fifty seeds." 



292. The best manner for any one to obtain the quicks for 

 hedges is, to procure the seed in some locality where the Osage 

 flourishes in a wild state, and sow them in autumn in well-pre 

 pared ground. The seed, like many other kinds of seed, will 

 vegetate better after having been exposed to the frosts of winter 

 in the soil. It is said that there are about eight thousand seeds 

 in one quart, and that they may be obtained in Arkansas for the 

 mere expense of gathering them. When they are obtained of 

 nurserymen the cost is from two to four dollars per quart. It is 

 recommended by some farmers to scald the seeds of the Osage in 

 the spring, at the time of planting them. Hedges made of the 

 Osage Orange require trimming twice a year, and some, who 

 have experimented with it extensively, say that three trimmings 

 are necessary in one season. The farmer must exercise a little 

 judgment with reference to trimming a hedge. Should the 

 growth be small, it would not be proper to cut off as much as if 

 there were a very great growth. 



