30 THE TREES OF AMERICA. 



them from memory. It is in full health and vigor, and bids fair to live for 

 centuries to come, if it escape the cupidity of the spoUer man. On the left 

 hand of the engraving v?ill be observed a curious specimen of natural grafting 

 — two large limbs, which have united and grown as one. From this accidental 

 union we may learn a method of making hedges of trees, which will be both 

 picturesque and durable. This method of making hedges has been described 

 and figured in one of the very valuable Patent Office Keports for the year 1854. 

 It is mentioned, that in Belgium very handsome and strong fences are thus 

 made. The beech is the tree used for this purpose. The young plants, after 

 they are set in the hedge, are bound together with osiers, the stems crossing at 

 right angles. The red American beech might be used for the same purpose. It 

 is a hardy tree, and is found in great abundance in New England, New York, 

 and the British Provinces. We have seen instances of natural grafting in the 

 pine and other trees, and no doubt there are many kinds which might be used 

 for this purpose. Such tree hedges, besides being sure barriers against the 

 intrusion of cattle and other large animals, would afford protection against the 

 winds, and be secure breeding places for the birds. They would, we should 

 think, be comparatively inexpensive, as they would cost nothing for repairs 

 after the first few years. They would do away with stone fences, which 

 now occupy land without profit, and furnish homes for the mice, whose 

 destructive ravages upon our orchards are so often witnessed. As to the 

 objection that they occupy land, and are for this reason costly, it may be 

 answered, that the same objection, to a greater or less extent, may be urged 

 against any kind of fence ; and also, that where they are in use, land is worth 

 much more than with us ; but as the advantages there seem to more than coun- 

 terbalance the disadvantages, it would seem that the most cautious money cal- 

 culator here, can with propriety urge no dollar argument against them. To 

 those who consider the sense of the beautiful as much a gift of God as those 

 senses which demand food, and clothing, and dollars, — they will particularly 

 recommend themselves. 



