BOUNDARY TREATMENTS 65 



faith. It is the only right way to make a right 

 start, however; for any other way will produce 

 a hedge that is bare and weak at the ground 

 and that will, moreover, always remain so. For 

 it is only just below the point of pruning that 

 a plant sends up new growth; consequently if 

 it is pruned high, this new growth will be high 

 up, whereas if it is pruned close to the ground 

 the new growth will begin at the ground — where 

 it must be in order to produce a hedge that is 

 dense and thick from bottom to top. 



Deciduous hedges should be sheared annually 

 at least, and the privet usually requires shear- 

 ing twice during the summer while it is estab- 

 lishing itself, since its growth is rapid and it is 

 important to shape it carefully during its early 

 years. And of its shape let me say very em- 

 phatically that it must always be narrower at 

 the top than at the bottom, if it is to maintain 

 its branches down to the ground and conform 

 generally to the ideal set for it. The Gothic 

 arch, slightly flattened at the apex, is the best 

 form possible, though the sides may slope in on 

 a straight line from bottom to top, if preferred. 



The principle involved is simple; namely, 

 that the growth must be able to receive light 

 and air equally all the way to the bottom. 

 Only by making the branches above shorter 



