438 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. 



under the liedgo, tlie practice of which, when continued, never fails to render it naked 

 at Iwttom. The use of stones for mending hedges is equally absurd and pernicious. 

 2802. In everu operation of this kind, where old hedges are either cut over or bent 

 down, the grountf on each side, as soon as circumstances will admit of it, should be com- 

 pletely du"", cleared of weeds, and the earth laid up to the roots of the plants. It is sur- 

 prising what numerous and luxuriant shoots the stumps send out, when managed in 

 this way : while, on the contrary, when these necessary operations are neglected, fewer 

 shoots proceed from the old trunks; and, of these few, a considerable proportion are 

 choaked and destroyed by the weeds and other rubbish in the bottom of the hedge. 



SuBSECT. S. Of Compound Hedge-Fences. 



2803. The single hedge and dilch, with or without paling, differs a little in different situ- 

 ations : the ditch varies in depth and width ; the thorns are for the most part placed upon 

 the common surface, upon what is termed a scarcement, or projection of six or 

 seven inches, on which they lean, and which serves as a kind of bed, when they are 

 cleaned. It is a practice in some parts of Norfolk, in planting hedges in this way, to 

 coat the face of the bank and the projection with loamy earth from the bottom of the 

 ditch, made into a puddle Tliis acts for a year or two like a coat of plaster, and prevents 

 the seeds of weeds, which may be in the soil under it, from germinating. It also re- 

 tains moisture ; but the difficulty is to meet with a clay or loam that, when puddled and 

 thus applied, will not crack with the summer's drought and winter's frost. Some have 

 applied common lime plaster for the same purpose ; others road stuff ; and some plant 

 in the face of a wall of stones, or bricks, or between tiles. 



2804. The hedge and hank consists of a hedge planted upon the plain surface, with a 

 bank or mound of earth raised Ijehind it by way of protection. 



2805. The hedge in the face of a bank differs from the former, principally in having 

 the hedge in the front of the bank considerably above the common surface, in place of 

 having it at the bottom. 



2806. The Devonshire fence is a sort of hedge and bank, as it consists of an earthen 

 mound, seven feet wide at bottom, five feet in height, and four feet broad at top, upon 

 the middle of which a row of quicks is planted ; and on each side, at two feet distance, 

 a row of willow-stakes, of about an inch in diameter each, and from eighteen inches to 

 two feet long, are stuck in, sloping a little outwards ; these stakes soon take root, and 

 form a kind of live fence for the preservation of the quicks in the middle. This fence 

 nearly resembles the hedge on the top of a bank, and is equally expensive in the erec- 

 tion : the formation of the bank deprives the adjoining surface of its best soil, and the 

 plants made use of are liable to every injury that can possibly arise from drought, frost, 

 and the gradual decay or crumbling down of the mound. The addition of the willows 

 to this fence is certainly a disadvantage ; if the quicks require protection, dead wood is 

 equal to every purpose that could be wished or expected ; and at the same time possesses 

 the additional advantage of requiring no nourishment, and having no foliage to shade 

 the thorns, or other plants. 



2807. In the hedge with posts and rails, the railings are employed for the protection of 

 hedges, as well those that are planted upon the plain surface, as for the hedge and ditch 

 imited. The addition of a paling is, however, more immediately necessary in cases 

 where tlie hedge is planted upon the plain surface, especially when the fields so enclosed 

 are in pasture. 



2808. The hedge and dead hedge is a fence that consists of a row of quicks or other 

 hedge-plants, set either upon the plain surface, or in the face of a ditch or bank. The 

 dead liedge answers a double purpose, namely, that of protecting the young plants from 

 the injuries they may receive from cattle, or the inclemency of the weather ; and at the 

 same time forming a temporary enclosure, which lasts till the hedge is grown up. 



2809. The hedge and wall fence is of two kinds, namely, a coarse open wall, built of 

 loose stones, on the top of the bank formed by the earth taken out of the ditch ; and 

 when hedges are planted upon the plain surface, a thin and low wall regularly built 

 alongside, answers the double purpose of sheltering and encouraging the growdi of the 

 plants while they are in a weak tender state, and afterwards prevents the possibility of the 

 hedge becoming open below. Where gardens are entirely, or in part, surrounded by 

 hedges, and in the enclosing of fields by the sides of highways, especially in the 

 vicinity of great towns, where dogs and other destructive vermin are apt to creep into 

 the enclosures, and annoy the stock, the low wall forms a valuable addition to the fence. 



2810. The hedge in the middle, or in the face of a wa//, is executed in the following 

 manner: the face of the bank is first cut down with a spade, not quite perpendicular, 

 but nearly so ; a facing of stone is then begun at the bottom, and carried up regularly, 

 in tlie manner that stone-walls are generally built : when it is raised about eighteen 

 inches, or two feet high, according to circumstances, the space between the wall and the 

 bank is filled uj> with good earth, well broken and mixed with lime or compost : the 



