220 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 



hedge in another region. In some regions the sprouts cf the 

 Osage Orange grow so rapidly as to attain the height of four to 

 seven feet in one season, while in other places they would not 

 grow as many inches. Where they grow so rapidly the roots 

 become proportionably strong, and shearing must be resorted to. 

 But when the growth is very small, and the stems slender and 

 weakly, it might be the wisest policy to allow them to grow un 

 molested for one season. It is not easy for one to tell, with pen 

 and ink alone, whether a hedge should or should not be cut down 

 at a certain stage of its growth. Sometimes it might be very 

 advisable to trim or shear a hedge twice in one season ; but the 

 probability is, that in our climate it is best to clip but once a 

 year, and the best and most natural season for this operation 

 would seem to be in the spring. I know many recommend late 

 autumn, and others the month of July, for this purpose, as being 

 the best, but it appears to me that unless the ends of the quicks 

 are smeared with something to prevent the weather from drying 

 them, it would be best to do it in the spring, about the time the 

 buds begin to enlarge a little. If some of the quicks grow too 

 rapidly during the summer, the top ends may be pinched off a lit 

 tle. This will check the tendency to shoot upward tall and 

 slim, and will tend to enlarge the stem and side branches. If it 

 is desirable to have limbs clear to the ground, the side branches 

 should not be clipped until they have grown, laterally, not less 

 than two feet on each side of the row. In order to have the 

 branches low, the quicks must be clipped near the ground the 

 first time they are cut off. If they are clipped high the first time, 

 it will be impossible to produce limbs near the ground, unless the 

 whole top is cut down, when, if the roots are strong and healthy, 

 many sprouts will start from the stumps, both upward and hori 

 zontally. (See Par. 301, 302.) 



298. Hedges oftener prove a failure in consequence of neglect 

 than from any other cause. .Hedges cannot grow, they will not 

 grow well among weeds and grass, and those who expect them 

 to flourish will be most certainly disappointed. The soil on each 

 side must be kept loose, mellow and clean, for at least half a rod 



