98 FAMILY RECEIPTS. 



bed, will sooner form a good fence, or two years old 

 plants from the seed bed will answer a very good pur- 

 pose. Be particular in taking them up, not to injure 

 their roots but as little as possible, and to sort them 

 into three different lots, the smallest, larger, and largest, 

 and also to plant each lot together; for the mixing of 

 the small with the large is very injudicious, as the form- 

 er in a little time would be smothered and overgrown 

 by the latter, and vacancies consequently formed in the 

 hedge. 



Previous to planting, prune off the extremities of 

 any long, straggling, and wounded roots, and also cut off 

 the heads of the plants about seven inches above the 

 earth-mark where they stood in the ground, and like- 

 wise any side branches that remain; let no consideration 

 prevent your doing this, for on it depends much of your 

 success. 



Having your plants in readiness, and dressed in this 

 manner, lay them by the heels in the earth, to be taken 

 up as wanted, lest their roots should become dry, and be 

 injured thereby. Then proceed to form your ditch, 

 which should be four feet wide at least, at top, narrowing 

 with a gentle slope on each side towards the bottom, to 

 the perpendicular depth of two feet and a half, where 

 it should be one foot wide. The more your ground is 

 subject to slip by heavy rains, the greater slope must 

 be given to the bank side. 



Begin by cutting the surface sod of the ditch into 

 squares of convenient size, and about three inches deep, 

 having previously lined out and cut both sides with a 

 spade, sloping inwards as above intimated, and lay a 

 row of them, with the grassy surface under, six inches 

 inward from the edge on the bank side; lay on the top 

 of this row of sods, two inches of the loose and mellow 

 earth, that is, the best the ditch affords, and also a quan- 

 tity of it behind them, for about eighteen inches or two 

 feet, breaking it very fine with the spade; on this lay 

 your quicks, nearly in a horizontal manner, their tops 

 being a little elevated, and at the distance of six inches 

 one from the other, and so far in, that three or four 

 inches of their tops may remain uncovered when the 



