FIELDS AND HEDGEROWS 



is quite clear that no hedge is really a good 

 hedge if animals or even people can get through 

 it. Hence, if we are to have hedges at all, they 

 should be close, compact, and perhaps prickly. 

 A second use of hedges is to afford shelter to 

 animals, and also to give them shade in summer- 

 time. For these purposes we again want com- 

 pact hedges of a fair height, while an occasional 

 tall tree will ward off the extreme heat of the 

 summer sun. But we do not want the roots of 

 the big trees to take the nourishment away from 

 the crops on the fields, nor to scar the surface 

 of the ground and catch against the farming in- 

 struments, nor to let the drip of water from their 

 leaves or the excessive shade destroy the vege- 

 tation underneath. So, strictly speaking, we 

 should choose our hedgerow trees on account 

 of the compact habit of their roots and the light- 

 ness of their foliage. 



If we look at a good many hedges, we shall 

 probably find that they are largely made up of 

 hawthorn, may, or quick, as it is variously called, 

 and long experience has shown that this is a 

 wise choice. Let us think what properties we 

 shall require in our hedge-tree ; it must be stiff, 

 difficult to get through, it must not die when it 

 is constantly cut back, nor dwindle away under 

 the shade of the big trees. Clearly, also, no 

 part of it must be poisonous to animals at any 

 part of the year ; we could not put yew in a field- 

 hedge on any account. Hawthorn has all the 



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