On the Hearing of Gorse Hedges. 271 



beg to state a few hints, for the information of those who have 

 not seen it so used, although there is nothing new in the 

 method I am now going to describe. 



The best plan of producing a whin hedge is to throw up an 

 embankment 3 ft. above the surface of the ground. Having 

 fixed the line of the embankment, mark off a ditch outside of 

 that line, 6 ft. wide at top, to be dug out 18 in. deep, and 

 sloping, from the outside of the ditch, to 1 ft. wide at the bot- 

 tom of the embankment. I ought to have observed, that the 

 fence I am describing is used as a boundary to plantations. 

 The line of the fence and the width of the ditch being marked 

 off, begin to form the face of the embankment on the surface, 

 either of sod or of stone, but sod is mostly used when the si- 

 tuation is on pasture land, and the top spit from the ditch 

 comes in for that use. As the face of the embankment ad- 

 vances in height, keep it well backed up with soil from the 

 ditch, until it be 3 ft. above ground, and the ditch 18 in. 

 deep. Then finish off the top of the embankment 12 or 15 in. 

 broad, and give the back of the fence a slope of 4 or 5 ft. At 

 about the middle of the slope, and on the top of the embank- 

 ment, a drill is drawn about 1 in. deep, in which the seeds 

 are sown moderately thin, and then covered. The seeds are 

 generally sown about the latter end of April or beginning of 

 May. The trouble and expense further required are in keeping 

 it clear from weeds the first two years, and well cut, in order 

 to have it thick and close at the bottom. 



This treatment being continued for four or five years, on a 

 tolerable soil, an impenetrable fence will be reared, which will 

 remain an effectual protection against cattle for many years. 

 The whin is very hardy, and will grow in the most exposed 

 situations, even on the sea-beach. 



Instead of the whin being a plague in the wilds of Wales, 

 I can assure your correspondent, T. H., that it is not considered 

 as such by the farmers in most of the counties in North 

 Wales. The young whin of two or three years' growth is cut 

 by them, and chopped up on blocks and benches with cross- 

 hatchets, made for the purpose; and many have been at the 

 expense of erecting mills for grinding the shoots to pieces. In 

 this state it is given to their horses throughout the winter 

 months. It is sown in large quantities for this purpose ; and, 

 I believe, there are few who have been in the habit of feeding 

 their horses with the whin, who would not estimate an acre of 

 this plant of much more value than an acre of hay. In the 

 days of Evelyn it seems to have been a favourite plant, not 

 only for hedges, but for the fodder of cattle ; indeed, in North 



