Soil, Manures, Situation, and Enclosures. 



53 



h, and afterwards at o. The latter may be straight, as the previous 

 ones, or in the form of a gothic arch, as shown by the figure. This 

 brings the hedge to the close 

 of the fourth year, when it 

 will begin to form an efficient 

 barrier, if it has been well 

 cultivated and pruned. Its 

 breadth at bottom will be 

 nearly double its height. 

 Future years will give it more 

 height ; but it must be espe- 

 cially Observed tO keep it ^^^-Endof fourth year or beginning of 



always narrow at top, so that 



the foliage above shall not shade that below, nor injure the broad 



thick growth at bottom. 



Hook to Trim Hedges. With a common corn-knife, like that 

 shown in Fig. 68, one man has trimmed from half to three-quarters 



Fig. 68. 



Fig. 69. 



of a mile of four years' hedge on both sides in a day striking 

 upwards and cutting it to a peak in the middle, like the roof of a 

 house. Subsequently, with a longer handle and straighter blade, as 

 in Fig. 69, he was enabled to work more easily and rapidly. As the 

 hedge becomes older, the labor will probably be somewhat increased. 



