MISCELLANEOUS WOKK 193 



hedge is not pruned hard, this 6 inches creeps farther 

 away from the centre every year, leaving the hedge loose 

 and easily bent about by the weight of snow, etc. 



Such hedges as Cotoneaster, Myrobella Plum, or Ber- 

 beris, often need pruning twice a year, as they are apt to 

 become straggly. The long straggling shoots should be 

 taken off in the autumn if the hedge is not brushed pro- 

 perly. 



The best tool to use for pruning any hedge is the hedge- 

 bill or switching bill, as when kept sharp it makes cleaner 

 cuts and does not " pinch " the bark, as pruning shears 

 do. 



La using a hedge-bill the cutting must always be done 

 with an upward stroke, never downward, or otherwise 

 the branches are split and hacked off, not cut, allowing 

 water to obtain access and cause rot. 



Methods of Re-forming Hedges. 



When a Thorn hedge becomes too thin at the bottom, 

 owing to too heavy a top growth or to weeds, etc., it is 

 no longer proof against sheep or cattle, and some means 

 of remedying this must be adopted, of which the most 

 common are plashing, or layering, and stripping. 



In some parts of the country stripping is resorted to 

 regularly, but the hedges then are not switched annually. 

 They are stripped once every six years or so, according to 

 the rotation of the crops on the farm. Every hedge is 

 stripped on one side when the field on that side is ploughed 

 out of " ley," or on both sides when the fields on both 



13 



