FOREST AND STREAM. 



21 



faodlmd, %nwn md %mdm. 



HEDGES AND THEIR USES. 



No. II. — The Norway Spruce. 



"The hedge was thick as is a castle wall, 

 So that who list without to stand or go, 

 Though he would all the day pry to and fro, 

 He could not see if there were any wight 

 Within or no."— Chauser. 



In our first paper upon hedges — their growth, culture and 

 adaptedness to the wants of the husbandman, the landscape 

 gardener and others — we placed the arbor vitse at the head 

 of all our evergreens. This favorite and truly beautiful 

 plant stands justly at the head of all our hedge plants, and 

 will always be in requisition for the purposes of strength, 

 beauty and durability, and as the plant for hedges par 

 excellence. 



Now it is one of the necessities of the well-tilled field 

 that the precious grains therein enclosed should be securely 

 protected from all foes from without — should be securely 

 hedged. 



"There was a certain householder which planted a vine- 

 yard, and hedged it round about." Here we have the old 

 authoritative voice of antiquity for our favorite hedges, and 

 we readily find the use and application of "green mate- 

 rials" was a pastime well known even in the days of 

 Homer. You will at once recur to the familiar allusion to 

 hedge-making, known to Laertes on his return from the 

 wars and the enquiry "where is the old king, my father; why 

 greets he not his son ?" He found him in his garden break- 

 ing up the ground preparatory to planting a hedge, while 

 his servants had gone to the adjacent woods. 



"To search the woods for sets of flowery thorn, 

 Their orchard hounds to strengthen and adorn." 



—Pope's Odessey. 



For a beautiful, durable and impenetrable evergreen 

 hedge we place next to the arbor vitse the Norway spruce. 

 This magnificent tree, the pride of the arborescent gar- 

 dener, developing itself in stately grandeur when standing- 

 alone or in groups upon our lawns, when planted out in 

 small plants, in symmetrical rows, makes one of our very 

 best hedges extant. For the enclosing of parks or grounds 

 where a tall shelter from the prevailing winds from any 

 given point is desirable, this tree seems admirably adapted 

 by Providence for just this use. The Norway spruce will 

 thrive quite well upon almost any ordinary soil, and even 

 in the most gravelly Avill send up a straight, firmly com- 

 pacted cone of beauty.* 



A few years since, we well recollect, there was quite a 

 hue and cry made as to the utter impossibility of raising 

 evergreen hedges. Many persons, some of them passing 

 for very sensible men, wrote foolish articles, and made still 

 more foolish speeches, on the "Hedge Question." Time 

 has since proved the fallacy of their predictions. Facts 

 have for years been arrayed against these fancies of long 

 ago, and the skillful landscape gardener now points the 

 skeptic of 1850 to a long half mile of majestic Norway 

 spruce hedge, in all its greenness and compactness, truly 

 beautiful to behold, as the once "poor little despised scrag- 

 gle" they saw in the original seedlings of eighteen inches! f 

 In this case seeing has become believing that some things 

 can be done as well as others. 



The true value of the Norway spruce cannot easily be 

 overrated when we ask ourselves the practical question, 

 "What do we want such a hedge for?" "Why it is a 

 standard tree, one whose trunk when well developed is a 

 tower of itself, and it flings its huge arms abroad like a 

 young giant ?" Truly such is the fact ; yet this giant of 

 the forest, this paladin of the lawn, becomes your servant, 

 and holds beneath its sheltering arms all the various gifts of 

 pomona. The hedges of Norway spruce in some parts of 

 Massachusetts are used for enclosures, or "break-lands," 

 familiarly called, for the protection of choice pear, peach 

 and fine fruits. 



I can cite many cases with which I am familiar 

 where, previous to the planting of hedges of this kind, but 

 few pear trees of our choicest kinds could be grown, and 

 those all inclined in the direction that the prevailing or 

 strongest winds blew.l Some trees never overcome this 

 fixed habit ; others can by judicious treatment be brought 

 back again to something like their primitive form. 



Every close observer of the most simple laws of nature 

 will have observed that in many regions of our country low 

 currents of cold air in winter are very prevalent, and if 

 they push their inquiries still further they will find this cold 

 element of air always proves very destructive to the stems 

 not only of many species of plants, but especially is it de- 

 structive to the stem and twigs of the pear.g 



Now, friend, if you would remedy in a measure these 

 effects enclose your orchards with such protection as you 



*I have seen some of the most gigantic specimens of this tree jutting 

 out from the crevices of almost perpendicular precipices, showing both 

 life and beauty. 



+This hedge is growing within one mile of the residence of "Olipod 

 Quill," and can be seen by any one desirous of witnessing one of the 

 most beautiful hedge rows of Norway spruce in Massachusetts, 



JThe best remedy for these effects are found rather in hedging your 

 orchard first and setting your pear trees afterwards; This explanation 

 seems necessary in this place, though really belonging to the department 

 of agriculture. 



§1 have seen a curious and very peculiar result of the intense coldness 

 of this undercurrent of cold air acting upon unprotected trees. The 

 compression of air in their cells becomes so great by sudden and very 

 severe cold as to produce a sort of explosion, much like that caused by 

 application of fire to gunpowder. 



find readily at hand ; protect your trees by a good substan- 

 tial hedge. The lower branches of the trees are those 

 which need the sheltering arms of the firmly-set hedge-row. 

 The higher branches remain uninjured when the lower ones 

 suffer badly. Remember that there is no better protection 

 than a belt of fine, large evergreens for your orchard trees, 

 especially the tenderest kinds. 



Such a hedge as I have been describing can be had in 

 nearly every State in the Union under good or ordinary cir- 

 cumstances, and we do not hesitate to say, from a most 

 careful observation, that evergreens, belts and hedges of 

 trees are worth at least ten times the cost of producing the 

 same. 



The time for planting out the Norway spruce for hedges 

 we have found to be as soon as possible after the 5th of 

 April to the 15th of June for all States north of Virginia. 

 They can be made to live even later if they are well set, yet 

 they are very jealous of kind treatment. The next best 

 time we recommend to be from the 1st of September to the 

 5th of November. In all our Northern States the Norway 

 spruce, like the arbor vitse, stands the severest climate. 

 Even in the years of 1860 and '61 — winters of extreme 

 cold — the evergreen trees of our New England States re- 

 mained uninjured, while those of Great Britain — many of 

 them — were very badly killed. 



The Norway spruce hedge, when once permanently estab- 

 lished, grows to maturity quite rapidly. The plants should 

 be procured from the nursery — to be of good form, and 

 in height about one foot to eighteen inches. Plants suitable 

 for making a good hedge will probably cost from $1.2 to $16 

 per hundred, or even less. They should be set from three 

 to five feet apart for a large sized hedge, and may be kept 

 well pruned, as the} r bear the knife as well as the arbor 

 vitse. Care is required in starting out a new hedge ; they 

 will not need pruning the first year after setting out. Upon 

 setting the same dig a trench two feet wide and two deep, 

 filling in about one foot or little more with good garden 

 mould, preserving the roots unbroken when set out. At 

 setting a slight watering may be given to the roots previous 

 to covering in the soil, which is to be firmly pressed about 

 the roots and leveled. Now mulch with almost any stub- 

 ble — seaweed, salt, hay, sedge, &c. Keep out the weeds 

 for two or three years, and you will have just such a hedge 

 as will always delight your eye and gladden your heart. 

 The second year this hedge will be ready to give its first 

 side cutting, or pruning, the thickness of the hedge to be 

 governed by the inclination of the proprietor, but not less 

 than two feet from the bottom are the side shoots to be 

 pruned, and some even claim a width of three feet. 



Olipod Quill. 



— ♦ — 



England, ki a sporting way, has just recovered from the 

 effiects of tfce Goodwood races. This important event may 

 however be represented in the light of a vigorous yawn, 

 prior to a long sleep, for after it comes London's dull time. 

 To-day clubs are mostly abandoned, and unfortunate mem- 

 bers wander listlessly through deserted rooms. Even 

 cavalry officers have tethered up their spry little game ponies, 

 somewhat run down by excessive polo playing. But still 

 there is the lively movement of those preparing for the 

 shooting season, and guns are furbished, and dogs are un- 

 leashed, and visions of grouse, partridges, plover, and wood- 

 cock are in the distance. Opinions are still somewhat 

 divided as to the quantity and quality of the game birds, 

 and fears are entertained that they may not be as plentiful as 

 last season. — In reviewing the athletic sports for the year, 

 strange to say, a leading authority complains of the overset- 

 ting given by the higher classes to such contests in England, 

 (we only wish we could have some of it here), stating that 

 one of the consequences of this overf ondling, has been ' 'that 

 it has checked a useful critical temper and disposition," 

 in regard to such pastimes. If only, we repeat, some little 

 of the over-gushing, what the French call h trop plein, 

 would come this way, how it would be appreciated.— Some 

 very little quiet growling is indulged by the papers in rela- 

 tion to the cock-fighting, not as much at the measures used 

 how to prevent it, but because the individual who has been 

 prominent in efforts for its suppression, Mi-. Peter Taylor, 

 has been opposed to the flogging of garroters. It is what 

 John Bull calls unreflecting humanitarianism.— All yachting 

 matters are lively, and the general fleet ready for its two 

 months cruising. — On the continent, now that Baden and 

 Hamburg have become strictly moral, vigorous attempts, in 

 the way of pigeon shooting, steeple chases, and running 

 races are to be inaugurated at the watering places, all as in- 

 centives for the traveling British, who seem more than any 

 other people on earth, to miss their rouge et noir. 



— To show how cricket is appreciated Ave copy the follow- 

 ing from the Field: 



Yorkshire v. Gloucestershire. — Another Yorkshire 

 Chieftain has made an appeal to the public, after a long 

 and honorable career. For nearly twenty years the name of 

 Rowbotham has been intimately associated with Yorkshire 

 cricket. The match chosen for the benefit was the one 

 above named, and reports say that on no previous occasion 

 have so many people congregated at Brarnmalllane, the 

 scene of action. On Monday 11,080 paid for admission; 

 and, as upwards of 4000 tickets were sold, the attendance 

 could not have been far short of 13,000. The spectators 

 also mustered strongly on the two succeeding days, and the 

 weather was favorable throughout. 



—Mr. Fred. R. Lane, in his yatcht Linda, has reached Aus- 

 tralia, having been only thirty-five days in sailing from 

 Port Natal, East Africa, a distance of 4000 miles. The 



yacht left England on the 4th of June. It was the inten- 

 tiou of this spirited yachtman to cross the Pacific, making San 

 Francisco his next port. Two members of the cruising 

 club, are doing the Rhine in their canoes. 



On the 10th of this month, an interesting pigeon race 

 took place, which we take from the Field. 



This morning I had the pleasure of liberating at the Lon- 

 don Bridge station eight pigeons belonging to the members 

 of the Folkestone Club. These birds competed for a valua- 

 ble silver cup. They were liberated together in the Belgian 

 manner, and, rising' well into the air, they flew straight 

 away in the right direction without a turn. The blue cock 

 belonging to Messrs. Medhurst and Hooper, and the blue hen 

 belonging to Mr. Sutton, flew a dead heat, the time, includ 

 ing that required for capturing and showing the birds, 

 being seventy -five minutes; the exact distance sixty-three 

 miles. 



Respecting the use of the cormorant, an adoption from 

 the Chinese methods of fishing, we copy as follows; 



In a letter lately received from my good friend M. Pichot, 

 is the following interesting bit of news relating to cormor- 

 ant fishing: " I have had this morning a very interesting 

 letter from Mi 1 . De la Rue, the forest inspector, who keeps 

 our birds. He has been down to Chatellerault to fish a 

 pond so much crowded with weeds, that it was impossible 

 to take any fish there, either by line or by net. So the mas- 

 ter of the place, Mr. Trenille, one of our good masters of 

 hounds, laid a wager of £25 with some friends that he 

 would take fish there with Mr. Be le Rue's cormorants, and 

 accordingly De le Rue went down there last week, and won 

 the wager most splendidly. But he tells me of a very in- 

 teresting episode. His two cormorants are in full flight, 

 and while standing at the foot of the Castle of Chi tree, 

 whose ruins stand over the valley of the Yienne, which 

 river runs at about one mile's distance, the cormorants 

 espied the water in the valley, and one of them, named 

 'Red,' immediately took to his wings, and flew towards the 

 river. All the assistants believed the cormorant lost, but 

 De la Rue calling out loudly to his bird, and waving his 

 glove as a 'lure,' called him back instantly, and the cor- 

 morant, after having described a wide circle round the 

 ruins, alighted at the feet of his master. This is the first 

 time I have heard of a cormorant being flown like a hawk." 

 I have for many years used trained cormorants for fishing, 

 but never experienced a similar thing. — F. H. Salvin. 

 «+♦♦- 



The coaching rage has run over to Ireland. From the 

 Lund and Water we cut the following: 



"Not content with aFour-in-Hand Club in its chief town, 

 Dublin, Roscommon has determined to make its mark, and 

 actually turned out no less than three coaches on the last fair 

 day, and thus made it memorable, Two more were expected, 

 but were stopped by the ills of horseflesh. The special 

 reporter of the district describes the scene in the following 

 graphic manner: — ' The crowd which lined the streets was 

 so vast that barely a narrow lane was left for the teams to 

 pass through, and the cheering was so tremendous that 

 only steady horses and steady coachmen could have done 

 the journey without accident.'" 



DOES RACING ENCOURAGE GAMBLING? 



♦ 



THIS tendency of racing to encourage gambling and to 

 promote the breed of blacklegs is a serious and grow- 

 ing objection, the most serious perhaps of all objections, 

 to the sports of the Turf. But race-horses are not dice of 

 necessity ; and there is no necessary connection between 

 horse-racing and gambling, because a bet is the touchstone 

 of an Englishman's sincerity, and as long as this is the case 

 it is as hopeless to attempt to put down gambling by sup- 

 pressing races as it would be to talk of arresting the sun by 

 slopping our chronometers. It cannot be done. Parlia- 

 ment might interdict horse-racing to-morrow, and make it a 

 penal offence to book a bet upon a race for a pair of gloves 

 or a white hat. But gambling would still be carried on ; 

 and it is an open question even now whether more money 

 does not change hands on the Stock Exchange in the course 

 of a single, fortnight in what are really and truly gambling 

 transactions than changes hands at Tattersall's, and on the 

 race course of England, in a year. It is a foible of English- 

 men, and all we can do is to make the best of it. Tattersall's 

 is not the only spot within the four seas where gambling is 

 carried on. It penetrates the whole of our social and com- 

 mercial life. It is the life and soul of much of our trade 

 The ironmasters of Staffordshire gamble in iron-warrants! 

 The brokers and bankers of Liverpool gamble in cotton- 

 bales. The Manchester men gamble in grey shirtings. The 

 merchants and brokers of Mark Lane gamble in corn. 

 The shipowners of the Tyne and the north-eastern ports 

 gamble with their cargoes and crews. It is, in fact, hard to 

 find anything in which some of us are not gambling more 

 or less all through the year, from molasses to madollapans. 

 The sports of the Turf are imthemselves a healthy, manly, 

 invigorating pastime ; and the pastime, with steeplechas- 

 ing, hunting, boat-racing, and the rest of our sports, has 

 helped to make the national character what it is. An Eng- 

 lishman loves a horse as much as an Arab does. It is an 

 instinct with us all. It is in the blood. You cannot erad- 

 icate it ; and perhaps on the whole, it is hardly desirable 

 to attempt to eradicate it ; for people must have sport 

 of some sort, and if they cannot have healthy and ex- 

 hilarating sports, like those at Epsom and Newarket they 

 will take to something worse. Horse-racing is at least a hu- 

 maner sport than bull-fighting. It is healthier than the 

 cards and dice of the Italian and French casinos. It is pleas- 

 anter than the beer-bibbing customs of the Germans. The 

 Turf has, and must have, its follies and its vices, like every- 

 thing else ; and when a race-horse is turned into dice on 

 four legs, the sports of the Turf take a form which true 

 sportsmen themselves must reprobate as well as the best of 

 us. But to say, as one of the severest of our satirists has 

 said, that although the horse in itself is one of the noblest 

 animals, it is the only animal which develops in its com- 

 panion the worst traits of our nature, is to do an injustice 

 to the horse as well as to its rider ; and if the observation 

 were true, it would apply quite as much to the highest and 

 noblest of our race as it does to the troop of blacklegs 

 who are to be found on every race-course.— Gentlemen's Mag- 



azine. 



—In 1870 there were in England 977,707 horses, in 1872, 

 962,548, a decrease of 15,159. Ireland hasjabout one third 

 lees horses than England. 



