HEDGEROW TREES AND HEDGES 251 



parts of the country for about a farthing a yard 

 per annum, or 363. 8d. per mile of hedgerow, 

 while neglected hedges can easily run into ten times 

 that amount before they are brought back again 

 into really proper, serviceable condition. Regular 

 cutting and cleaning are essential for the proper 

 maintenance of live hedges. Unless the growth 

 of grass and of other weeds is checked, which 

 always find their way there through the seeds 

 being carried by birds or borne by wind, these 

 soon begin to interfere with the lower branches 

 of the hedge, and affect its utility. Really well- 

 kept hedges should not only be trimmed either in 

 late autumn or early spring, but they should also 

 be cleaned in June, and, where necessary, again 

 in August. Autumn trimming minimises danger 

 from snow, while spring pruning makes the 

 country more beautiful in winter, and leaves a 

 kindly store of food in the shape of hips, haws, 

 and other berries and fruits for the farmers' 

 friends among the birds. The earlier the hedger 

 does his work with switch and bill before the rise 

 and flow of the sap, the better for the hedge. 



During the spring and summer cleaning of 

 the hedgerows all herbaceous and woody plants 



