HEDGES OUT OF THE ORDINARY 



BY LEWIS EDWIN THEISS 



A T first glance there would seem to be very little con- 

 -'* nection between thrift and hedges, but a closer exami- 

 nation shows that our hedges may be the very essence of 

 thrift. It depends entirely upon what they are made of. 

 In any case, a hedge has to be cared for. A productive 

 hedge will pay its own way, and perhaps net the owner a 

 profit. An unproductive hedge is a liability pure and 

 simple. The question for the householder to decide is 

 whether he will have fit least a portion of his hedge bring- 

 ing in value, or whether he will have all of his hedge un- 

 productive. 



Commonly we have not thought of our hedges as reve- 

 nue producers. But why should they not be? A produc- 

 tive hedge may be as beautiful as one that is purely orna- 

 mental, thus satisfying the esthetic instincts of the owner. 

 The chances are that it will be more attractive than the 

 merely ornamental hedge, because of the beauty of flower 

 and fruit. And certainly there should be no comparison 

 between the pleasure afiforded by an unproductive hedge 

 and one from which, year after year, the owner gathers 

 products that have a tangible value in dollars and cents. 



There is, however, a limit to the desirability of such a 

 hedge. For planting along a highway a productive hedge 

 would doubtless be undesirable. It would be an invita- 

 tion to spoliation. The hedge would be damaged by 



thieves,-and consequently the owner of the hedge would be 

 greatly annoyed. But for planting along a property divi- 

 sion line, or for a hedge wholly within one's own proper- 

 ty, or for mass plantings within the home plot, productive 

 plants of various sorts may well be selected in preference 

 to the usual ornamental hedge plants. 



The privet and the barberry are probably the two most 

 used hedge plants. Is the privet any more beautiful than 

 the filbert, or the barberry lovelier than the common cur- 

 rant? Both of these productive plants make very at- 

 tractive hedges. 



Some years ago the writer dug up a currant bush that 

 stood in his garden, as the space it occupied was needed 

 for vegetables. The bush was utilized as material for a 

 hedge to conceal a wood-pile. The plant was divided into 

 a dozen or so pieces, which were planted at five foot 

 intervals. Decaying chip-dirt from the wood-pile was 

 thrown around them, and usually the bushes get a dose of 

 lime-sulphur when the orchard is being sprayed. Other- 

 wise they have had very little attention. 



Fortunately the currant is one of the hardiest of 

 plants, and even with no more care than these bushes 

 have had, they thrive and produce well. The largest 

 bushes yield five or six quarts each of fine currants an- 

 nually, and the total crop from the little hedge last 



HANDSOME LANDSCAPE EFFECT OF THE FILBERT HEDGE 



This hedge lends itself splendidly to the use of the landscape artist in planning large grounds, is excellent along a drive or as a 

 dividing line in sections of a garden. The European variety produces a splendid nut, and the harvest from such a hedge is a tune 

 of pleasure and profit to the owner. 



