The Pyracantha^ or evergreen-thorn, 47 



to the clear scope of the north west wmd. Forced by 

 a sort of necessity, to try it there, I accordingly did so, 

 setting the plants about a yard apart. Having great 

 distrust that the soil was too poor to nourish them to 

 sufficient strength, even with the aid of a little manure, 

 which I scattered along the central furrow, I planted 

 a small honey locust in each interval between, and in 

 the same line with the Pyracantha. Twice, and some- 

 times but once a year, I stirred the hedge course with 

 the plough, and cleaned the intervals about the roots 

 of the plants, from weeds, by a small garden hoe. Per- 

 ceiving in a few years, from its thriving appearance, 

 that this hedge would soon produce a considerable 

 quantity of seed, I trimmed it sparingly for that pur- 

 pose, and not so much as I knew to be requisite, to 

 induce the plants quickly to close with each other ; 

 and to give the whole a more handsome appearance. 

 Being in a remote corner, not in sight of the house, it 

 suffered in its infancy many species of injury. It has 

 however thriven in such a manner, that the greater 

 part of the honey locusts have been smothered by the 

 luxuriant growth of the Pyracantha. I never had much 

 notion of a mixture of plants in live fences, and this 

 experiment has in some measure, though not com- 

 pletely, confirmed my opinion. 



I have now trimmed and ditched a small portion of 

 this line of hedge, in order to show what powers the 

 Pyracantha possesses to form a live fence, on such a 

 poor soil, with the assistance of a ditch outside, and a 

 bank taken from thence and raised close to the hedge 

 on the inside of it. On a better soil, I am confident 

 that the Pyracantha will less require the assistance of 



