800 THE COMPLETE GRAZIER. BOOK ix. 



ord. Cupuliferse), which is largely used on the Continent. It is 

 propagated from slips or sets, and thrives admirably on poor, barren, 

 and exposed lands. When well pi uned and carefully tended it forms 

 a compact green fence ; otherwise, it is apt to run to wood. 



On dry sandy situations, FURZE, or GORSE, or WHIN (Ulex Europaeus, 

 nat, ord.Leguminosa?),maybe made use of, and with advantage, if planted 

 at a proper time, and managed with care. For this purpose a bank should 

 be raised about 4 feet in height, 5 or 6 feet broad at the bottom, and 

 18 inches wide at the top, with a shallow ditch on each side, the upper 

 surface of which is to be thickly sown with furze seeds in March or April. 

 The seedlings will grow vigorously, and in the course of two or 

 three seasons will form n fence that will continue for several years, 

 requiring no rails after the first year or two, and being impenetrable 

 to the larger animals. As, however, the furze increases in size, the 

 older prickles will decay, and consequently leave the lower parts of the 

 stems exposed. This inconvenience can only be remedied, or partially 

 prevented, by supplying the bank with new plants, which should not be 

 permitted to shoot up to such a height as to leave the lower parts 

 naked. If one side of the hedge is cut down close to the bank, the 

 other half will continue as a fence, until the former part attains a proper 

 size, when the opposite side may be cut down in a similar manner ; so 

 that the bank will continue for many years to have a strong hedge upon 

 it, without being liable to become bare at the roots. 



Other plants occasionally used for making hedges include the PRIVET 

 (Ligustrum vulgare, nat. ord. Oleacese), the HAZEL (Corylus Avellana, 

 nat. ord. Cupuliferse), the BEECH (Fagus sylvatica, nat. ord. Cupuliferae), 

 the BIRCH (Betula alba, nat. ord. Betulacese), the narrow-leaved English 

 ELM (Ulmus campestris, nat. ord. Ulmaceffi), and WILLOWS (Salix sp., 

 nat. ord. Salicacese). Hedges are sometimes formed of several species 

 of hedge-shrubs, mingled together. None of the plants just enumerated 

 are of any special value for field fences, and are only to be recom- 

 mended in exceptional circumstances. 1 



V. WIRE FENCING has been adopted to a great extent during the last 

 few years, and, as better material is being introduced, it is highly pro- 

 bable that its use will continue to increase. In the colonies where labour 

 is dear, and other material difficult to obtain, it makes by far the most 

 useful and economical fence. Barbed wire has more recently been 

 introduced, and in most cases with good results. The chief objection 

 to its use in England is the danger it causes in the hunting field, but, 

 in the face of curtailed profits, farmers are compelled to resort to the 

 cheapest material for making and mending their fences. As most 

 makers now adapt their standards so that the strands of wire can be 

 easily unhitched, the wire difficuhy in hunting countries may be settled 

 by making an arrangement with the farmers to take down the top 

 strand as soon as the cattle are out of the field, and not to replace it 

 until the hunting season ends, which is about at the same time of year 



1 See " Hedges and Hedge-making," by W. J. Maiden, in Journal of the Royal Agricultural 

 Society, 3rd series, vol. x., 1899, p. 87. Reprinted as a pamphlet (32 pages), price 6d. 



