10 



HEDGES 



For certain purposes the windbreak may take the form 

 of a high hedge. At other points a lower hedge planted simply 

 to define the boundaries of the place may add greatly to the 

 appearance and be useful as well. Generally speaking, we 

 would not recommend the use of hedges for field fences. Their 

 chief use should be to shut off the door yard from the barn- 

 yard and highway, or to enclose the garden against hogs and 

 chickens. 



A hedge should always serve some obvious use and never 

 be planted merely for show. 



Several of the very best hedge plants are hardy in North 

 Dakota and the work of starting and maintaining a hedge is 

 not at all difficult. The land must be carefully prepared by 

 breaking up a strip about eight feet wide. As with all tree 

 planting, this should be done the season before the trees are 

 planted. In the spring plants from twelve to eighteen inches 

 high are set a foot apart in the middle of the cultivated strip. 

 Cultivate or mulch the land well for two years and then cut 

 the plants back to within an inch or two of the ground. They 

 will then make a dense, bushy growth that can be readily 

 trimmed with a sharp corn-knife into any shape. It will 

 thrive better if not allowed to get to wide at the top. It may- 

 be kept always fresh and vigorous by removing the older 

 cones, allowing young ones to take their place. 



The golden willow is often used for hedge purposes, and 

 while it makes a beautiful hedge for the first few r years, & 

 soon dies at the center and must be cut to the ground again- 



The Russian wild olive or oleaster makes an excellent 

 hedge that can be grown to any height and becomes fairly 

 stock-proof. On account of its ability to endure heat, cold, 

 and drouth, it is about the safest hedge to use for general 

 planting. 



The wild plum makes a good hedge, but suckers too much. 



The buckthorn is one of the commonest and one of the 

 best of all hedge plants. It has about all the good points that 

 a hedge plant should have and none of the bad ones. It also 

 may be made stock proof. From the standpoints of both 

 beauty and use, it has no superior. 



The Caragana, sometimes called the Siberian pea, is a 

 very hardy and beautiful hedge plant. It will not turn stock 



