HEDGE-BIRDS. 



HELIOTROPE. 



Foreshortening, or cutting in, is an approved 

 method of pruning, and is admirably adapted 

 to training hedgerow trees, to benefit the land- 

 lord without doing much injury to the tenant. 

 This operation is performed by shortening the 

 over-luxuriant side branches, but not to cut 

 them to a stump, as in snag pruning; on the 

 contrary, the top only of the branch should be 

 cut off, and the amputation effected immediately 

 above where an axillary (side shoot) springs 

 from the branch on which the operation is to 

 be performed: this may be at the distance of 

 two, four, or any other number of feet from the 

 stem of the tree; and suppose the axillary 

 branch which is left (when the top of the 

 branch is cut off) is also over-luxuriant, or 

 looks unsightly, it should also be shortened at 

 its sub-axillary branch, in the same manner as 

 before described. 



" The branches of trees pruned in this man- 

 ner are always kept within due bounds ; they 

 do not extend over the adjoining land to the 

 injury of the occupier, at least not until the 

 stem of the tree rises to a height (out of the 

 reach of pruning) when the top branches can 

 do comparatively little injury to the land. By 

 adopting this system of pruning, the bad effects 

 of close and snag pruning will be avoided, the 

 country will be ornamented, and the commu- 

 nity at large, as well as individuals, benefited." 

 (Blakie, On Hedges and Hedgerow Timber.) See 

 FENCES and HAWTHORX. 



A great deal of valuable information upon 

 the subject of hedges in the United States will 

 be found in almost every agricultural periodi- 

 cal, in many of which the merits of the Virginia 

 thorn, Newcastle cock-spur, English black- 

 thorn, Buck-thorn, Osage orange, &c. &c., and 

 their adaptations to particular parts of the 

 country, are discussed. See particularly the 

 Essays of Caleb Kirk, of Newcastle county, 

 Delaware, in the first volume of the American 

 Farmer, and many other communications upon 

 the same subject in other parts of the same 

 valuable work. 



HEDGE-BIRDS. Various kinds of birds 

 seek for shelter or food in hedges. Some of 

 these are more or less destructive of grain and 

 fruits, as but few live exclusively on insects. 

 It cannot, however, be doubted that the advan- 

 tages derived from birds in the destruction of 

 caterpillars, and various kinds of worms and 

 insects which destroy the crops, more than 

 compensate for the small tithe of seeds, grain, 

 or small fruit they are able to exact during the 

 short period of harvest. 



HEDGE MUSTARD (Sisymbrium.) A genus 

 composed for the most part of worthless annual 

 and biennial plants, flourishing in the open 

 ground in any soil. The indigenous species 

 are three, all annuals. 



1. The common hedge mustard (S. qfficinale'), 

 growing in waste ground, by road-sides, and on 

 banks; very common in England; flowering in 

 June and July. According to Haller, hedge mus- 

 tard springs up wherever houses have been 

 burnt. The herb is of a dull green, minutely 

 hairy or dov^y; the stem solitary, two feet high, 

 erect, with numerous horizontal branches, 

 leafy, round, clothed with fine deflexed bristles. 

 Leaves hyrate, their lobes runcinate, unequally 

 612 



toothed ; the upper ones narrowest. The 

 flowers are pale yellow, small, in little corym- 

 bose heads, soon becoming very long, straight, 

 close clusters of erect, tapering pods, finely 

 downy, rather more than half an inch long, on 

 very short stalks. Seeds not. numerous, about 

 six in each cell. This species was once used 

 as a stimulating expectorant, but it is now de- 

 servedly out of favour. 



2. The broad hedge mustard, or London 

 rocket (S. mo), grows chiefly about London, 

 and in habit is somewhat like the preceding 

 species ; but the herbage is of a lighter green, 

 and entirely smooth. The leaves are pinnati- 

 fid, runcinate, acute, the upper lanceolate, with 

 hastate base; the seed-pod is two inches long, 

 rugged when ripe ; the seeds are very abun- 

 dant. It is sometimes used as a heating pot- 

 herb. 



3. Fine-leaved hedge mustard or flixweed 

 (S. sophia). In this species the root is small 

 and tapering, and the whole plant of a slen- 

 der, delicate structure; stem branched, bushy, 

 erect; flowers small, greenish-yellow. Pods an 

 inch long, numerous, erect, bearded. (Smith's 

 Enp. Flor. vol. iii. p. 196.) 



This is one of the plants which defeats the 

 opinion that popular names are never imposed 

 without good reason. The plant was formerly 

 supposed to be a cure for fractured limbs, 

 hence its name, Sophia chirurgorum; an opinion 

 only demonstrative of the contemptible state 

 of surgery at the period when the name origi- 

 nated. Its medicinal powers as an antidysen- 

 teric rest on equally mistaken observations. 



The S. offidnalis is a naturalized foreigner 

 in the United States. The indigenous species 

 of this weed found in the States are, 1. The S. 

 Canadensis, or Hoary sisymbrium. 2. Arabis-like 

 sisymbrium. 3. Thalian sisymbrium, commonly 

 called Wall cress, Mouse-ear cress, extensively 

 naturalized in the United States, in which 3 or 

 4 additional species of the plant are enume- 

 rated. (See Flor. Cestrir.) 



HEDGE-KNIFE. Of this implement, for 

 trimming hedges, there are two sizes, to be 

 used either with one or both hands. The 

 smaller one is a common and well-known im- 

 plement. The larger-sized knife should have 

 the blade 20 inches long by 2 broad, and the 

 handle 3 feet. It is slightly curved at the point. 



HEDGE PARSLEY (Torilis). Of this use- 

 less weed there are in England three common 

 species : the upright hedge parsley (T. anthris- 

 n<s), the spreading hedge parsley (T. infesta), 

 and the knotted hedge parsley (T. nodosa). 

 They are annual plants, growing by waysides 

 and the borders of fields, varying in height from 

 6 inches to 3 feet. The flowers are small, white 

 or flesh-coloured, blowing in June; the umbels 

 lateral and terminal ; the rays from 7 to 10, 

 rough, little spreading. Fruit small, purplish 

 at the summit, furnished with incurved bristles. 

 (Smith's Eng. Flor. vol. ii. p. 42.) 



HELIOTROPE (Heliotrnptim ; from helios, the 

 sun, and trope, twining. The flowers are said 

 to turn towards the sun). Some of the plants 

 of this genus are highly valued for the fragrant 

 perfume of their flowers, and are therefore to 

 be met with in most gardens. They succeed 

 freely in any rich, light soil ; and cuttings of 



