DECIDUOUS HEDGES. 2? 



I have suggested requisite room for requisite 

 strength and vigor. In other words, every plant 

 must have root room in order to make a healthy top. 

 I object entirely to the plan of setting plants in 

 double rows alternately. There will be trouble 

 enough in keeping a well-trimmed hedge within 

 bounds. Therefore, begin with one row of plants. 

 Those who argue for close planting do so on the 

 ground that gaps will be rilled by overhanging limbs. 

 But a rightly managed hedge must not have gaps. 

 The whole space should be filled wholly with 

 branches interlaced until the wall will be too close 

 for us to see through. The question is asked, why 

 not set the plants still farther apart, and by bending 

 down interlacing branches, create a compact wall or 

 even impermeable fence? Simply because it would 

 require patience and care and labor that would not 

 often be given to a hedge, and the result would be, 

 in all probability, a failure within two years. Rustic 

 walls of the kind suggested, like rustic arbors, are 

 the work of time and of genius. They are seldom 

 produced in perfection. 



(6) Mulching. As fast as your hedge plants 

 are set they should be mulched. Use whatever 

 material is most easily obtainable in your section. 

 As a rule, sawdust is most convenient and cheap. 

 Others may most readily obtain coal ashes. I have 

 referred to the use of this material already. It must 

 be understood that reference is made to anthracite 

 coal ashes and not to bituminous. The latter mate- 

 rial contains too much sulphur to make it safe to use 

 in any large amount in our plantations. The coal 

 ash from anthracite coal is not only safe but 



