50 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



March 



THE "WHITE HEDGE WILLOW. 



There are few subjects of more importance to 

 the farmer than those of fencing and shelter. The 

 first demands a vast amount of material, either of 

 wood or stone, and a great expenditure of labor, 

 before such divisions of land are secureed as will I 

 answer the purposes desired. Fencing a farm ! 

 well, even though it be only around its limits, is 

 a slow and costly operation. A great deal of 

 thought and money have been expended to devise 

 something that would be cheaper than posts and 

 rails, or stone wall, while it should be effectual. 

 In some older countries, hedges of buckthorn, 

 privet, or something else, have been in use for a | 

 long period, but it is said cultivators are displac- j 

 ing them in consequence of their habit of extend- ! 

 ing themselves so freely into their neighboring i 

 fields, and exhausting them of the nutriment that I 

 ought to go to the cultivated crops. Experiments ' 

 have been made in New England, and in some in- | 

 stances have succeeded well in the use of certain ' 

 plants as hedge, — among the best of which was ' 

 the Three-pronged Acacia or Honey Locust. But { 

 its growth is slow, and it is liable to be attacked ' 

 and ruined by the borer. 



The cut which we present herewith represents I 

 a new material for this purpose, — the White, or J 

 Hedge Willow, Salix Alba, which is spoken of: 

 by those who profess to know about it as follows : i 



The varieties that are grown most for basket i 

 willows are worthless for fence, as they never 

 grow large enough, and other varieties that grow 

 into trees, will not grow close enough. The white 

 willow is the most hardy and thrifty growing, and 

 will flourish in a greater variety of soil frhan any 

 other. It will grow into large trees when planted 

 but one foot apart in a row, which no other tree 



will do. When it was discovered that this spe- 

 cies of willow possessed these qualities which 

 make it so valuable for live fences, there was but 

 very little of it to be found in this country, as it 

 is a native of England, and but few had been im- 

 ported. Within a few years, however, it has been 

 propagated as fast as possible, until last season 

 over twenty millio?is of cuttings were sold in the 

 State of Illinois ; enough to plant over four thou- 

 sand miles of hedge. There is not a farm but has 

 more or less land on which such a fence can be 

 gjown to advantage. As a protection to river 

 banks nothing is equal to the white willow. 

 Wherever meadow is wearing away, stick the 

 bank full of cuttings, from the water's edge up, 

 and there will soon be a mass of live brush and 

 roots, that will effectually break the current and 

 stop the wearing. 



The growth of this willow is said to be very 

 rapid. We have a piece before us of a single 

 summer's growth which is two inches in diame- 

 ter ! We are informed that it does not throw up 

 sprouts, and that where the land is cultivated, 

 the roots of the willow strike deep and do not in- 

 fere with common farm crops. 



In planting, it is usual to plow a strip, six or 

 eight feet wide, harrow it, and then draw a line 

 and set the cuttings in a straight line one foot 

 apart, and not leave more than one or two inches 

 out of the ground. If it is not convenient to 

 plow, make holes with an iron, leave the cuttings 

 three inches out of the ground and mulch with 

 the best material at hand. If shade is not desir- 

 able, cut them down every year to about four feet. 



If they do not throw up sprouts, as is stated, 

 we know of nothing so desirable for fence, where 

 stones are not plenty, or for slielter for hop yards, 

 near orchards and eardens. 



