INK. 201 



that takes most kindly to the neighboring soil of the grounds 

 to be enclosed. 



" In Great Britain," writes Timothy Pickering, " hedge 

 fences are generally accompanied by ditch and bank ; prin- 

 cipally (I presume) because the ditch and bank, aided by a 

 slight railing, make an immediate fence ; and because in flat 

 grounds ditches serve for drains. But in America, where 

 wood is yet sufficient in quantity for complete fences, while 

 the hedges are growing, and where, too, we are subject to 

 heavier rains, which cause destructive gullies, doubtless Mr. 

 Main's plan of plain hedging, without ditch and bank, is most 

 eligible. A ditch is an artificial gully, which in sloping grounds 

 every considerable rain must mischievously increase." 



This distinguished man was among the first in this coun- 

 try to set out the Locust-tree (Robinia Pseudacacia] as a 

 hedge. From the rapidity of its growth, its bearing the 

 shears, and the tendency of the stems to interlace with one 

 another, it makes a good hedge. If the seeds of Locust are 

 sown, it should be when frosts are over, and in rows far 

 enough apart to admit the hoe. When two years old, they 

 are generally fit to set out. 



All the species of Cratregus or Hawthorn grow best in dry 

 soils. " The seeds of the common Hawthorn often lie," says 

 Mrs. Loudoun, "two years in the ground before they ger- 

 minate, if not prepared before sowing by being suffered to 

 lie for several months in what is called a rot-heep, and 

 which is often turned over during that time, to prevent the 

 seeds from having their vital powers destroyed by the heat 

 generated by fermentation. The finer kinds of thorns are 

 generally grafted or budded on seedlings of the common 

 Hawthorn." 



INK. The best inks are such as are made of the nut- 

 gall and sulphate of iron, and gum-arabic. Other substances 



