HED 



[420 ] 



HED 



an outward fence, some form the ditch 

 and bank first as above, and plant the 

 sets in two rows along the top ; that is, 

 after having formed the ditch and bank, 

 then levelling the top, forming a foot of 

 border all along a yard wide ; plant the 

 sets along its middle upright, in two rows 

 a foot asunder, and six inches distant in 

 each row, observing the same when in- 

 tended to raise a hedge at once from seed 

 sowed where you design the hedge to be, 

 sowing them along the top in drills a 

 foot asunder. Sometimes, when hedges 

 are designed for middle fences to divide 

 fields, a two-sided bank is raised a yard 

 high, and as broad at top, having a slight 

 ditch on each side ; and each side of the 

 bank is formed with square spit turves 

 from the adjoining ground, and the middle 

 filled up with mould from the ditches on 

 each side ; so that when finished, it forms 

 a yard-wide border all the way along the 

 top, find along the middle of which plant 

 two rows of hedge-sets or seed, in drills, 

 as before observed. But in places where 

 no ditch nor raised bank is required, as 

 may be the case for middle hedges in the 

 interior parts of grounds, especially in 

 gardens, then the place for the hedge 

 being marked out on the level ground 

 two or three feet broad, dig it along one 

 good spade deep at least, and then plant 

 your sets of any sort in two rows, rang- 

 ing along the middle ; or, if you design 

 to sow seeds, &c., of any sort at once, 

 where you intend to have the hedge, sow 

 them in two drills a foot asunder the whole 

 length. 



In respect to general culture of these 

 sorts of hedges it must be remarked, that 

 all such as are exposed to cattle must, 

 as soon as planted, be fenced either with 

 a stake and bush hedge, with hurdles, or 

 with rails and open paling, for four or 

 five years, till the hedge grows up, ob- 

 serving not to place the fence too close 

 to the hedge to interrupt its growth. 

 The hedge must, also, be duly weeded 

 while young, and this should be particu- 

 larly attended to the first two years. 



Evergreen Hedge -shrubs are Holly, Yew, 

 Laurel, Laurustinus, Phillyrea, Alaternus, 

 Bay, Furze, and Evergreen Oak ; but the 

 Holly and Yew form the best hedges for 

 general use. 



Deciduous kinds. Hawthorn, Black- 

 thorn, Grab, Elder, Hornbeam, Beech, 

 Elm, Lime-tree, and Alder are all proper 

 either for middling or tall hedges, as they 



may be trained up from about six or eight 

 to fifteen or twenty feet high, and the 

 Elm to double that height if required. 

 Privet is also sometimes used for mode- 

 rately high hedges ; and for low hedges, 

 the Eose, Sweet-briar, Syringa, and Bar- 

 berry. 



All full -trained hedges, in order to 

 preserve them in proper form, must be 

 clipped, both on the sides and top, once 

 or twice a year, but never less than once ; 

 and the best time of the year for. this 

 work is summer, from about the middle 

 or latter end of June to the end of August, 

 for then the hedges will have made their 

 summer shoots, which should always, if 

 possible, be clipped the same season 

 while in leaf, and before the shoots become 

 hard, whereby you will be able to perform 

 the work more expeditiously and with 

 greater exactness, for regular hedges 

 should be cut as even as a wall on the 

 sides, and the top as straight as a line ; 

 observing, after the hedge is formed to its 

 proper height and width, always to cut 

 each year's clipping nearly to that of the 

 former year, particularly on the sides ; for 

 by no means suffer them to grow above 

 a foot or two wide, nor suffer them to 

 advance upon you too much at top, where 

 it is designed or necessary to keep them to 

 a moderate height. But to keep hedges 

 in perfectly good order, they should be 

 clipped twice every summer; the first 

 clipping to be about Midsummer, or soon 

 after, when they will have made their 

 summer shoots ; and as they will shoot 

 again, what may be called the autumn 

 shoot, the second clipping is necessary 

 towards the middle or latter end of Au- 

 gust, and they will not shoot again that 

 year. However, when it does not suit to 

 clip them but once in the summer, the 

 clipping should not be performed until 

 the beginning of August ; for, if cut sooner, 

 they will shoot again, and appear almost 

 as rough the remainder of the summer 

 and all winter as if they had not been 

 clipped. Very high hedges are both 

 troublesome and expensive to cut. The 

 clipping is sometimes performed by the 

 assistance of a high machine, scaffolding, 

 or stage, twenty or thirty feet high or 

 more,havingplatformsatdifferentheights 

 for the men to stand upon, the whole 

 made to move along upon wheels. It is 

 composed of four long poles for uprights, 

 well framed together, eight or ten feet 

 wide at bottom, narrowing gradually to 



