216 
On Fences. 
or five inches of the root, and planted at a foot apart. In rich^ 
well-prepared soil, a bush of shoots will rise from each stool, many 
of which will measure three feet in length and be robust in pro- 
portion ; but it has one great disqualification which alone prevents 
it from being in general use — its liability to be attacked by cater- 
pillars. So fond are these insects of fastening upon this tree that 
1 have often seen the leaves for hundreds of yards completely eaten 
off by them ; and when this takes place before the hedge has 
arrived at maturity, the damage is almost irreparable. It often 
happens that for several years a fence of this description may remain 
unattacked ; and on the other hand it as frequently occurs that for 
two or three years successively they become a prey to those insects. 
In planting a hedge of this description it is very important to as- 
certain that the plants used have been raised from the true wild 
crab ; for such as are raised from the seeds of cultivated apples, 
and even cultivated wildlings, are found to be almost thornless, and 
consequently unfit for the purposes of defence. Reckoning the 
cost of the plants at \d. each, a price at which they may be had at 
any nursery, the expense of forming the hedge complete, without, 
fencing, would be Is. 10c?. per perch, being lOc?. more than the 
cost of a hawthorn fence for the same space. For the information 
of those who are desirous of raising the plants, I annex the pro- 
cess : — When the crabs are gathei ed, which will be in October, 
they should be carried to a rot-heap in the open air and mixed 
with mould to hasten decomposition. If turned several times during 
winter, the pulp will be so completely rotten that the seeds will be 
found detached from it sufficiently to ensure germination when 
sown, which should be attended to during open weather in the 
month of March. They should be covered to the depth of an inch, 
and when two years old transplanted into nursery lines, there to 
remain for a similar time, when they should undergo another trans- 
plantation for one year previous to their being planted finally out. 
Thus they will be five years old. At the end of three years, the 
hedge formed of such plants should be pruned or switched with a 
hedge-bill into a regular form, as recommended for the hawthorn, 
and at four years old it will be strong enough to stand unprotected 
as a fence. In grounds near to dwellings, or of an ornamental 
character, unfrequented by passengers, it would confer great 
beauty if a strong plant was left every twenty yards to shoot up 
into a tree, to be grafted with one or other of the ornamental Sibe- 
rian crabs, or some of the smaller cider apples which have little or 
no shade. 
The Holly — Ilex aquifolium. 
25. For home districts, and especially for grazing grounds, no 
tree presents so many qualifications for a hedge as the holly. 
