SHRUBS, HEDGES, AND HARDY CLIMBERS. 81 



AVOID CLOSE PLANTING. 



One of the greatest mistakes made in planting hedges is 

 in the distance at which the trees or shrubs are planted. 

 When set one foot apart or less, as is sometimes practised, 

 if the kinds of plants used naturally grow to large trees, as 

 with the hemlock, spruce, arbor-vitae, honey-locust, etc., 

 some of the plants will grow more rapidly than the others, 

 some will die out, and all will be seriously injured by the 

 attempt" to grow them in so contracted a space. The dis- 

 tance best for planting must vary with the variety, but they 

 should have room enough to enable them to make a suffi- 

 cient growth to keep them in a healthy condition. Norway 

 spruces, hemlocks, large forms of the arbor-vitaes, honey- 

 locusts, etc., should be planted five feet apart at least, and 

 be forced to spread out and grow laterally by cutting in at 

 the top until strong main branches are formed near the 

 ground. If immediate effect is desired, small plants may 

 be set closely, and when they touch be transplanted again 

 with a little greater distance between them or every other 

 one be taken out. In this way, if plants are set over only 

 one half of the line desired at first, as they crowd the line 

 can be extended at less expense and with better results than 

 if the whole distance were planted at once with trees of 

 larger size. 



REQUIREMENTS OF A PERFECT HEDGE. 



The first requirement of a perfect hedge either for beauty 

 or for a perfect screen is numerous main branches close to 

 the ground, and at transplanting, unless the plants have 

 been specially prepared in the nursery, they should be cut 



