266 THE NURSERY. [March. 



when driven down by force, the bark, is frequently stripped, which 

 in a great measure prevents their rooting freely, and pushing as 

 vigorously as if carefully planted. 



Various kinds of willow are found extremely useful to plant 

 along the sides of watery ditches, brooks, rivulets or any marshy and 

 moist situations; and maybe propagated by planting small cuttings, 

 or large truncheons, as directed for the elder. Either of these you 

 may treat the following, or any succeeding spring, as the West- 

 phalians do the horn-beam, noticed in page 263. 



The alder is sometimes made use of as a fence in moist, swampy 

 places; it is propagated abundantly by suckers, layers, or seed. 

 The seed, if sown in March, covered very lightly, and when up 

 kept free from weeds, will grow prosperously. 



Black Thorn Hedges. 



The black thorn or sloe is a tolerable good shrub for a fence, but is 

 subject to spread too much by suckers, by which it can be propa- 

 gated; but the best plants are always produced from the stones of 

 the fruit collected when ripe, and then sown, or preserved in sand 

 or earth till early in March, when you are to sow and cover them 

 near an inch deep. They will vegetate the first season. 



Plum-leaved Viburnum Hedges. 



The Viburnum prunifolium, or black haw, is an indigenous 

 plant and well adapted for hedges. It may be propagated in abun- 

 dance by collecting the berries in autumn, and managing them in 

 every respect as directed for haws. 



Note. — When you have but small quantities of such seeds as 

 require a year's preparation previous to sowing, you may mix them 

 with light sandy earth, which mixture put into garden pots, first 

 placing a hollow shell, or something similar, with the concave side 

 under, over the hole in the bottom of each, the better to suffer any 

 extra moisture to pass oft; then place the pots in some dry border 

 up to their rims in the earth, but not deeper, observing to cast out 

 the whole contents, rubbing and mixing it well together three or 

 four times in the course of the following summer, and to sow the 

 seed, as before directed, early in the second spring; or you may 

 use shallow boxes not deeper than six or eight inches, having their 

 bottoms perforated with several holes, and covered with shells, &c, 

 but by no means sink them in the earth deeper than their edges, as 

 you have nothing to fear from the frost; but if covered in summer 

 with moss, or any thing that will keep the earth moderately moist 

 the better; or, during that season, you may plant the pots or boxes 

 in some shady border. 



Osage rfpple, (Madura Aurantiaca.) 



The first of these plants introduced into this country was 

 brought by Messrs. Lewis and Clark from the Rocky Mountains, 



