18 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



A.UGUST, 1911 



As wind-breaks hedges are superior 

 to fences because they allow air to filter 

 through, and thus reduce the velocity of 

 that which passes over them. 



Of hedge plants commonly in use noth- 

 ing beats privet. When properly cared 

 for it is very effective as a screen, and it 

 grows rapidly. Moreover, it thrives in 

 almost every kind of soil, and is happy 

 alike in shade or sunshine, and does not 

 usually suffer from cold or rough winds. 



Thorn is of less rapid growth but makes 

 a thoroughly business-like hedge, and, 

 owing to its spines, cattle rarely attempt 

 to break through it. If well trained from 

 the first, so as to make the bottom full and 

 close, it will excluds even the "harmless (?) 

 necessary cat." But, on the other hand, 

 it may harbor scale. 



Of evergreens, hemlock, box and arbor- 

 vitae are all admirable, but slow in growth. 

 The hardy orange {Citrus trifoliata) makes 

 a dense, impenetrable hedge and is ever- 

 green in the South but sheds its leaves in 

 the North. 



There is no reason why we should not 

 make hedges of many of the beautiful 

 flowering shrubs, save only the question 

 of cost. Lilac, ribes, deutzia, snowberry, 

 philadelphus, weigela, flowering quince, 

 rose, sweetbrier, blackthorn, viburnum, 

 elder, berberis, althea, and spirea are 

 suitable and attractive subjects, and in the 

 light, warm soils in the South fuchsia and 

 hydrangea may be added to the list. There 

 are pictureque possibilities in a mixed hedge 

 that are worth exploiting. 



Sweetbrier makes a charming hedge 

 and stands exposure well, but it is unsuited 

 to town gardens, where its viscous foliage 

 will collect and retain dirt from the at- 

 mosphere. Rosa Rugosa is an ideal flower- 

 ing hedge, especially near the coast. 



In planting a hedge the ground should 

 be trenched and manured and the plants 



In winter time a hedge is especially valuable as a 

 protection from winds and snow 



carefully lined up. The spacing will vary 

 with the subject, and the nursery-man 

 will always advise on this point. The 

 training of a hedge involves periodical 

 trimming. In the first instance this should 

 be directed to encouraging the lower 

 growth, without which the hedge can never 

 be an efficient barrier, and might develop 

 into an eyesore. The commonest fault 

 in planting the California privet is in 

 not getting it deep enough. Plant pre- 

 ferably in a trench, gradually filling it 

 up as growth develops. The best method 

 is to trim to a wedge shape, tapering from 

 bottom to top on both sides equally, and 

 to leave the top quite sharp. 



The width at bottom, for a hedge 

 which is eventually to be restricted to five 

 feet in height, need not exceed two feet. 

 The tops of the plants should not be touched 

 until they reach the prescribed height. 



When the bottom of the hedge is well 

 filled in with growth, and the plants have 

 obtained the maximum height, or have 



sprung above it, the top may be cut to a 

 uniform height, and dressed flat or rounded 

 if preferred. Subsequently the sides may 

 be trimmed vertically. 



In long lines of hedging it is often de- 

 sirable to break the top line by allowing 

 some plants, at intervals, to grow above 

 the general level, trimming them into some 

 definite form. 



Necessary gaps in the hedge, may be 

 bridged over by training the adjacent 

 plants into an arch, for which a tem- 

 porary support would be required. 



Never forget that the hedge makes 

 considerable demands on the soil, and 

 therefore do not expect that flowers will 

 thrive in close proximity to it. Allow 

 sufficient width in all borders which skirt 

 a line of hedging. 



Box edgings are miniature hedges. The 

 objection that they encourage and harbor 

 insect pests may be dismissed by the prac- 

 tical man, who will avail himself of the fact 

 to search out the intruders and destroy 

 them. The best variety of box is known as 

 "suffruticosa," the dwarf box. It should be 

 planted early in spring. A narrow, clean- 

 cut trench of triangular section should be 

 got out, and the box plants inserted in a 

 close line, the soil being drawn up against 

 them with a board held in the right hand, 

 whilst the left forearm holds the plants in 

 line. 



Box edging should not be allowed to 

 grow to a greater height than six inches, 

 and the clipping should be done with care 

 so as to preserve the height uniform, and 

 to maintain a clean line, whether it is 

 straight or curved. The best time for clip- 

 ping is at the end of May or during the 

 first week in June. 



The best shape is cross-section in square- 

 topped with battered or vertical sides, 

 though if it pleases the. eye of the gardener 

 the top angles may be rounded. 



The Status of Date Culture in America- By H. E. Van Deman, 



THE PASSING OF THE EXPERIMENTAL STAGE — BEGINNINGS OF A NEW INDUSTRY FOR PARTS OF CALI- 

 FORNIA AND ARIZONA — HOW THE DATE TREE GROWS AND ITS PREFERENCES IN SOIL AND CLIMATE 



Washing- 

 ton, D. C. 



TT MAY not be known by more than a 

 very few that we have in the southern 

 parts of Arizona and California the most 

 suitable climate and soil for date culture 

 in all the world. This subject has occupied 

 the attention of the experts of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture for 

 the last twenty-five years. While I was 

 chief of the Division of Pomology of that 

 department (from 1886 to 1893), it was 

 my opportunity and privilege to procure 

 from Algeria, Egypt and Arabia in 1889 

 the first plants of the choice varieties 

 that were introduced in America. These 

 were planted in Arizona and California 

 where they have met with various success 

 and failure, owing to climatic conditions 

 and treatment they received. The in- 

 dustry is now a well established fact 



although it is only in its very early stages 

 of development. 



The dates of commerce are grown on 

 palm trees of the species Phoenix dacty- 

 lifera, which lives to a great age. Con- 

 trary to the common belief that this tree 

 is exceedingly tender and tropical in its 

 nature it is able to endure considerable 

 cold. The climate of the Sahara desert, 

 where it flourishes better than elsewhere 

 in the Old World, is very variable in range 

 of temperature. Although the summer 

 suns are scorching hot and the thermometer 

 reaches far above 100 degrees and descends 

 to below freezing at rare times, this is 

 the best of all parts of the world for dates 

 where they have long been grown. But 

 in the Salton Basin of California and the 

 Salt River Valley of Arizona there are 



climatic ranges both higher and lower, 

 where date trees of the choicest varieties 

 have not only endured the annual varia- 

 tions of as much as 105 to 108 degrees 

 but have flourished under them. Date 

 trees have frequently endured cold as low 

 as 10 degrees below freezing when they 

 were in the dormant stage. 



But there is one imperative requirement; 

 and that is an abundance of water at the 

 roots, although it is better that there be 

 no rain whatever, especially during the 

 periods of blooming and ripening of the 

 fruit. Even a humid atmosphere is bad 

 for date trees. Their foliage needs the 

 direct glare of the sun through a perfectly 

 clear and sterile atmosphere. There is 

 no fruit tree that requires so much sun- 

 light and so long a season of growth to 



