CHAP. ii. QUICKSET HEDGES. 797 



Quicks, or cuttings from the hawthorn, thus planted, will find much 

 nutriment in the soil before the tap-roots reach the barren, gravelly 

 bottom ; and the earth thrown up from the ditches will retain enough 

 moisture to nourish the plants, which will in ten or twelve years form 

 an excellent fence. 



As thorn or quickset hedges are admired both for their beauty and 

 their utility, the following account of their culture and management, 

 in Northamptonshire, may appropriately be added : 



" The largest haws, being gathered in the autumn from the finest 

 and healthiest growing thorns, to the amount of one, two, or three 

 bushels, according to the quantity which may be wanted, are first put 

 in pits or holes, to clear them from the pulp, and in the spring are sown, 

 not too thick, in beds duly prepared as if for onions, about the breadth 

 of asparagus beds, with paths between, for convenience of weeding, etc. 

 Sift over these a quantity of fine earth, sufficient to cover them 

 uniformly about half an inch. Take care to keep them ver} r free from 

 weeds throughout the summer ; and the next or following spring, 

 according to their size, thin and transplant them into rows in narrow 

 trenches across similar beds, the rows being about three or four inches 

 distant, according to the strength of the plants, to remain till the 

 following spring. Keeping them clear of weeds in every stage is of the 

 most essential importance, as it not only expedites their growth, but 

 prevents mildew, to which they are very liable in damp, foggy weather, 

 and unfavourable seasons. If the mildew affects them in the spring 

 quarter, they will often revive at midsummer; but afterwards, it 

 commonly stops them for the rest of the j r ear. 



" About the latter end of March, or early in April, draw out the best 

 of the young plants, from one- eighth to one-fourth of an inch in thick- 

 ness, which will sooner take root than larger ones, and form them into 

 bundles of 1,000 each, the ground being first prepared for planting 

 them by cutting out a small trench, not deeper than the good soil, on 

 each side of the proposed fence- row, and throwing over it turf, on 

 which the plants are to be deposited. Hollow it out in the form of a 

 basin or punch-bowl, the outer side of which, where the plants are to 

 be fixed, should be rather higher than the inner side, and sloping off 

 by a line of equal height from the bottom of the hollow into the fresh 

 earth which is thrown up, to form a bed for the plants. Having first 

 cut off the small end of the plants, so as to leave only two or three 

 buds above the ground when planted, or at the utmost about 3 inches, 

 cut off also as much of the root end as to have only 4 or 5 inches in 

 the ground, when covered with earth, taking care to leave on some of 

 the tender fibres of the root, slightly trimming the fine ends with a 

 sharp knife. These may be placed about 3 inches asunder, a little 

 more or less, according to the strength of the plants, so that 12 of 

 these will extend a yard, and 264 a chain, or what they call for that 

 purpose only, an acre. Having covered a sufficient length of these, 

 and the side inclining as before, another line is to be sloped off, about 

 3 or 4 inches above the other, in which another row of plants is to be 

 deposited in the same way, and at the same distances, covered with 



