103 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



upon the subjects which come before it are sound 

 and instructive. The land of cotton and the cane 

 is progressing with us in these days of improve- 

 ment. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 A FEW REMARKS ABOUT HEDGES. 



BY HENRY F. FRENCH. 



My Dear Brown: — You write that a friend 

 wishes me to give some information about Hedges, 

 through the N. E. Fanner. I take pleasure in 

 doing so, because I think true economy as well as 

 good taste requires more attention to the subject. 



Every one desires to surround his home with 

 beautiful objects, and much money is thrown away 

 to gratify false taste, when the true may be satis- 

 fied at little cost. I do not reccommend hedges 

 for enclosures, merely as fences, to stop cattle, be- 

 cause stumps, and stones, and logs, and rails, and 

 boards, are cheaper and safer, for us of New Eng- 

 land. But for all localities, where ornament is re- 

 garded, as for lawns, and what Ave Yankees call 

 front yards, there is nothing so beautiful, and 

 nothing, which is decent, so cheap. 



One of the most common monuments of folly in 

 our villages, is a fanciful front fence, elaborately 

 wrought out of white pine boards, in diamonds, 

 squares and circles, at an expense of twenty dol- 

 lars a rod, instead of a living hedge, which all 

 will admire, of a twentieth the cost. 



The Buckthorn, Hawthorn, Privet, Triple thorn 

 Acacia, known also as the Honey locust, and the 

 Osage Orange, are the plants most used for hedges. 



It is pretty well agreed, that the Osage Orange 

 is not hardy enough to bear the cold of winter so 

 far North as Boston. The Hawthorn makes a 

 beautiful, strong hedge, but has been so generally 

 attacked by the borer, as to suffer much in its repu- 

 tation. 



The Acacia is a plant of very rapid growth, 

 throws out thorns, often five or six inches long, 

 and in four or five years, makes a fence, which 

 nothing short of the Old Scratch himself would 

 undertake to get through. Its foliage is very 

 beautiful, the leaf resembling that of the Sensitive 

 Plant, and the hedge altogether is handsome 

 enough while its glory remains. But it is very 

 late in putting on its summer costume, and drops 

 its leaf at the touch of the early frost, and this in 

 a climate where we have' seven months of winter 

 and five more pretty cold weather, is a serious ob- 

 jection. However, it has, at any time, as many 

 leaves, and as much grace and beauty, as a board 

 fence, so its three or four months of verdure is so 

 much gained. The Acacia is also said to be at- 

 tacked by the borer, but I have seen it in great 

 perfection, and free from any attack of that enemy. 

 My own hedge, of this kind, ten rods in leno-thj 

 has entirely escaped, during its growth of three 

 years. 



The Privet, for a merely ornamental hed^e has 

 many claims to attention. It is a shnib in its 

 character, and not, like the Acacia, inclined to 

 grow into a tree. Hence, it is readily kept down 

 and throws out its branches close to the ground' 

 and so is easily brought into proper form, by cut- 

 ting. It is called by nurserymen, a sid> evergreen 

 ami holds its foliage and verdure until the snow 

 flies. It is of no use as a fence, but for a screen 

 or ornamental division of grounds, is unsurpassed 



by any plant in use. It is said to be perfectly 

 hardy, and free from the attacks of insects. I have 

 never seen a full grown hedge of the Privet, but 

 the half-grown ones which I have seen, accord 

 with the character I have received of them, and 

 which I have given above. 



As to the Buckthorn, we know all about it, for 

 the beautiful square, opposite the Phillips Acade- 

 my in our village, owes all its beauty to the buck- 

 thorn hedge which encloses it That hedge was 

 planted under the direction of the lady of the late 

 Doctor Abbott, more than fifty years Principal of 

 our Academy. Within the memory of a citizen 

 of our village, but recently deceased, the grounds, 

 in that part of the village, were a barren, drifting 

 sand, so loose that the street was covered with 

 poles and slabs, to prevent the wheels from cut- 

 ting down . Now, in summer, it displays as agreea- 

 ble a bit of landscape, of lawn, and hedge, and 

 drooping elms, shading a smooth, graveled street, 

 as can easily be found. Thus may the "waste 

 places" be made to bud and blossom, all around, 

 especially where "ivoman lends her helping hand, 

 and taste refined." 



The Buckthorn is growing all about us. It has 

 been long known and tried, and on the whole, I 

 should recommend it before all others, for a single 

 hedge. It is clean, healthy, free from the borer, 

 and all other enemies, may be cut into any shape, 

 and when properly cared for, presents a compact 

 mass of living green, from the ground to any 

 height desired. A hedge of a dozen years growth 

 should afford protection against cattle, but the ani- 

 mals of our free country are so accustomed to 

 thickets, through which they press, at pleasure, 

 and so ignorant, withal, about the whole system 

 of hedge fences, that I hardly dare advise my 

 friends to rely entirely on this species of hedge, to 

 prevent their depredations, at least, for several 

 years from planting. 



You inquire about the mode of planting, and 

 the management afterwards. I will tell you how 

 I set mine, and your readers may improve upon 

 my method, if they can. I have of the Buckthorn, 

 about thirty rods, set out in 1849, '50 and '51. 



My land being light and sandy, I threw out the 

 earth, forming a trench about three feet wide, and 

 eighteen inches deep, filled it up with turf and 

 soil about half full, and the rest with good soil and 

 compost manure, half and half. I set my plants 

 on the trench, ten inches apart in a single row, in 

 April or May, and cut them down to within four 

 inches of the surface. I keep the land light and 

 free from weeds, and cut the plants every autumn 

 so that they gain but six inches height each year, 

 the main object being to get the hedge thick at the 

 bottom. Some of my plants I have cut twice, once 

 in Summer and once in Fall or Spring. I am not 

 decided whether they should be cut once or twice. 

 My plants grew the first year, about two feet, and 

 afterwards they have made shoots three or four 

 feet long, when not stopped, in Summer. I pro- 

 cure my plants, and most of my fruit trees, from 

 William Hall, of Brad ford, Mass., a gentleman of 

 taste and intelligence in these matters, and on 

 whose intogrit}' you may depend. Hedge plants 

 may be procured of him, for, from one to two 

 dollars per hundred. 



If your inquiries are not all answered, T shall 

 be happy to send you the balance of my knowledge, 

 on the subject, if any there be, on demand. I 



