Expense of live and dead Fences, 409 



Every spring the hedge should be examined, and the 

 vacancies made good with well rooted quicks, rather 

 larger than those in the hedge. 



I am, dear sir, 

 your obedient servant^ 



T. M. FORMAN, 



Hon. William Tilghman, 



Vice President Philad, Agric, Soc» 



The foregoing calculations are, no doubt, correct ; and encour- 

 age the substitution of live iov dead ^tnzQ^. Protecting fences 

 must, however, be taken into the account, in all calculations on the 

 expense o^ plain hedi^ing. The mound and ditch, with the stone 

 facing, as before described, pages 9, 11, 8c seq. supersede the ne- 

 cessity of protecting fences. But stone must be at hand ; and in 

 plenty. 



To understand the objects of the writer of this communication, 

 Mr. Quixcy's mode of cultivating the thorn should be examined. 

 His method is common, in plain hedging, for the most part. He 

 ploughs the site of the hedge four feet wide, manures and prepares 

 it, precisely as if for Indian corn. He s/iades the centre, two feet 

 wide ; and in this he sets his plants, eight inches apart ; — near 

 enough, as Mr. Q. observes, "in a country where /wgs are not 

 permitted to run at large.'* He advises to plough six feet wide ; 

 and plant the iv/iole course^ one year, in potatoes ; (as it would 

 seem) precedently to setting the thorn plants. After this, the sidea 

 are to be planted with potatoes, for six years. The manure for- 

 wards the growth, and the culture of the crop promotes the clean- 

 liness of the hedge. At the end of this period it is perfect ; and 

 capable of resisting any cattle. To fill vacancies, he selects plants 

 (out of a nursery,) " thriving a little better than those in the hedge 

 course.'* His calculation on all expense, for six years, is, on a de- 

 tailed cost, " less than sixty six cents a rod"—'\ very encouraging 

 example. See Massachusetts Agricultural Repository. No. 1, Vol. 

 3, p. 27, £c seq. 



VOL. III. r 3 



