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FARM, ORCHARD, DAIRY AND GARDEN. 



For general purposes, perhaps the most 

 useful plant, all things considered, for an 

 evergreen hedge, is the American arbor 

 vitae. Its habit of changing to a dingy 

 brown color during winter is a fault easily 

 overlooked, and more than compensated 

 by its numerous good qualities. It is a 

 plant of free growth, readily transplanted, 

 of comparatively small cost, and grows 

 well in any good soil, but preferably in 

 a clayey loam. Plants of one foot in 

 height, set twelve to fourteen inches apart, 

 will reach five feet in as many years. 

 The variety Siberica is more compact in 

 growth, and forms a perfect and shapely 

 hedge, without any trimming whatever. 



The most beautiful and graceful hedges 

 are formed by the hemlock spruce. Al- 

 though sometimes of slow growth after 

 removal, yet it develops rapidly when 

 once fairly established. Nothing can ex- 

 ceed the beauty of its pendant branches 

 of delicate foliage; and no other plant 

 will admit of shearing into so dense a 

 wall of green as this. For a dividing line 

 in the pleasure ground or flower garden it 

 is most admirably suited. 

 ' There is a great variety of deciduous 

 plants well adapted for inside hedges, 

 such as may be planted for protection of 

 crops, or as ornamental dividing lines in 

 gardens, but which will not be suitable as 

 fences for stock ; of these a few of the 

 best may be mentioned : 



The Buckthorn, although of slender 

 growth, forms a tolerably good hedge. 

 It has a glossy and lively green foliage, 

 which it retains quite into winter, thus 

 affording protection for a lengthened 

 period. 



A very beautiful hedge can be pro- 

 duced from the common English maple. 

 This small tree is naturally compact in its 

 habit of growth, and requires very little 

 pruning to keep it in form. For a shel- 

 ter belt, when a smoothly trimmed hedge 

 may not be desired, this will be found 

 suitable. It has small foliage, ♦ and the 

 whole plant is eminently neat, hardy, and 

 free from insects. 



The European hornbeam is a good 

 hedge plant. It has a very dense foliage, 

 and the small ovate leaves are closely set 

 on the branches. It is rather slow in 

 growth, but, in consequence of not re- 

 quiring to be shortened by pruning, as is 

 the case with luxuriant growing plants, 



the growth is economical, and a hedge 

 soon formed. In ancient gardening, 

 when topiary work was fashionable and 

 plants were trained and pruned into forms 

 of birds, vases, etc., the hornbeam was 

 largely used and held in high esteem. 



A pleasing variety of color may be in* 

 troduced by forming a hedge of the pur- 

 ple-leaved berberry. This plant persist- 

 ently retains its color throughout the 

 summer, and with care can be kept in 

 good shape as a hedge. 



For rapid growth, easy propagation/and 

 ample foliage of shining deep green color, 

 there is no plant superior to the Japan 

 privet. This must not be confounded 

 with the common privet, a small-leaved 

 and much inferior plant. Cuttings of the 

 Japan privet may be inserted at once 

 where the hedge is to be formed. They 

 will root quite as speedily as the easiest 

 rooting willow twig. A splendid shelter 

 or screen, eight feet in height and four 

 feet in width, has been grown in five 

 years from the time of inserting the cut- 

 tings. It is almost an evergreen, retain- 

 ing its foliage even after severe frost. 

 Twenty degrees of frost, in December, 

 has no effect on the foliage, and for at 

 least nine months of the year it is clothed 

 with the richest verdure. 



For sheltering orchards, vineyards, or 

 fields, a free-growing plant, of compact 

 habit, should be selected. Such are the 

 Osage orange, white birch, English bird- 

 cherry, honey locust, English maple, Eu- 

 ropean larch, English alder, many of the 

 willows, and the Lombardy poplar. Any 

 of these will, in a few years, afford an 

 efficient shelter. They may be planted 

 from four to six feet apart, and allowed 

 to take their natural habit of growth until 

 they reach a height of ten or fifteen feet.. 

 If the tops are then removed or checked, 

 so as to repress upward elongation, they 

 will spread and interlace their lower 

 branches, forming a thick shelter, without 

 the trim, formal appearance of a regularly 

 cut hedge. 



It may be safely asserted that no length- 

 ened period of uniform success in fruit 

 culture can be realized in exposed situ- 

 ations, unless a systematic plan of shel- 

 tering by belts or hedge rows is intro- 

 duced ; and the time is fast approaching 

 when no person will think of planting 

 fruit trees, or raising fine fruits of any 



