224 



ENGINEERING ON THE FARM 



they were about 12 inches high stems and roots were care- 

 fully trimmed and the plants packed in bundles and taken 

 to the fence location. A strip of ground four furrows wide 



Fig. 191. A hedge fence uncared for 



was then plowed, disked, and harrowed, and a furrow plowed 

 along the middle, in which the young plants were placed 12 

 to 18 inches apart, the earth being drawn around them with 

 a hoe. The plants were permitted to grow for five years, 

 care being taken to protect them from stock and to keep 

 down the weeds by cultivation and hoeing. After five years 

 the main stalks were trimmed on the sides and top, cut half 

 through at the surface of the ground, and each plant bent 

 over the roots of the preceding one, which had been similarly 

 treated. The main body of the fence was thus made with 

 these stems and was about 2^ feet high. During the 

 next growing season the young sprouts came up through and 

 over these stems, making a very thick growth. The tops 

 of this new growth were trimmed to the desired height and 

 the fence was then complete, after six years of development. 



