214 Hedges. 



the hedge. The buckthorn is a very excellent hedge-plant, perfectly hardy, 

 not liable to borers, a good grower : it makes a good, compact, useful, and 

 quite ornamental hedge. Hedges of buckthorn can be found about Boston 

 thirty or forty years old, and still very fine. It is hardly sufficient to stop 

 cattle untihit has attained considerable age and been well cut in for sev- 

 eral years. It is not profusely furnished with thorns ; but, as the trunks of 

 the trees or bushes thicken, it will become so dense, that a mad bull could 

 not go through it. 



In most places where a live fence is required, the buckthorn will be the 

 best article that can be used. Willow-hedges may be used to good advan- 

 tage, in low, moist lands, for division-fences. The osiers for basket-making 

 that may be cut from them every spring will make the fence a source of 

 some profit. Some of the rather strong-growing varieties should be used. 

 They grow so readily from cuttings, and that, too, with little preparation and 

 subsequent care, that every person may supply himself with such a fence 

 at trifling cost. For mere ornamental purposes, there are few better plants 

 than privet or prim. The white-berried is preferable, as it does not kill out 

 so much, leaving unsightly gaps. It can be used to good advantage in 

 back walls, each side of main walks or avenues, or wherever a low, compact 

 hedge is desired. It holds its leaves until near mid-winter, some months 

 after most deciduous trees and shrubs have lost their foliage. The Norway 

 spruce is being used considerably for hedge-purposes, and to good advan- 

 tage. It seems to bear the shears well. It will answer a most excellent 

 purpose where a large evergreen-hedge is desired. The high price at which 

 they are held prevents the extensive use of them. The white pine can 

 also be used, and can be so handled as to make a very compact hedge ; 

 being ornamental, and very useful as protection to gardens and orchards. 

 There are many other trees and plants that are sometimes used for hedges ; 

 but those considered best have been named. This is an important subject, 

 and one that should engage the attention of every person owning land, 

 especially those who suffer from the effect of cold and severe winds. In 

 an economical point, there can be no doubt that a hedge is very desirable 

 in portions of the country where stone cannot be had for walls ; and there 

 is little doubt that it will prove the cheapest fence where timber is expensive 

 for fences. When ornamental fences are needed, nothing can equal a 



