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XXXVIII. — On the Necessity for Itediicuir/ the Size and Number 
of Hedges. Bj J. H. Turner. 
Thk Royal Agricultural Society of England having offered a 
prize for the best essay upon fences, I proceed to respond to the 
call of the Society, and in so doing 1 will endeavour to confine 
myself as closely as possible to the different points which the 
Society has called upon competitors to describe. 
Firstly. — " The best and neatest method of maintaining hedges, 
whether for arable or grazing ground." Hedr/es for arable ground. 
— I will not here enter upon the general question, how far all 
hedges upon arable land, in the hands of the same occupier, in 
the same farm, should be done away with ; but I will take it for 
granted that there must ever be some cases where hedges between 
arable fields must be necessary, viz., in divisions of property 
or of occupation. In these situations, it appears to me that the 
desired object is to maintain a hedge which shall occupy as little 
space as possible, and which shall allow of the field being culti- 
vated very closely to the stem of the hedge. I think that no 
fence will answer this purpose so well (provided it can be raised 
upon the soil) as one of quickset. Quickset hedges, where properly 
managed, and where care is taken in their raising and clipping, 
or brushing, are, between arable fields, by far the most desirable 
fences, and the following plan of raising and managing these 
hedges is practised in some districts with the most perfect success. 
The best and strongest plants are obtained that the farmer can 
purchase, and the land being properly prepared for their re- 
ception, they are planted as closely together as possible : half 
or three-quarters of an inch apart is not too close. They are 
carefully weeded till they attain three years' growth ; the hedge is 
then cut down to one uniform height, about 2 feet, some of 
the strongest plants being plashed down in a transverse direction, 
which causes the hedge to grow thick and bushy. They are 
then left to grow until they attain the height of 4 feet, or a 
few inches more, and from that time they are carefully brushed, 
or clipped, twice a year — once in June, and once in August or 
September. Care must be taken in so doing to prevent the 
hedge from growing higher, or increasing too greatly in width, 
which should never exceed more than 6 or 8 inches, or at the 
very most 10 inches, although in some cases where quickset 
hedges have been raised they have been suffered to attain a width 
in the centre of 18 or 20 inches, and have also grown very full 
and bushy at the bottom. 
The advantages of this description of fence are the following. 
In the first place, the small portion of space which they occupy, 
and consequently subtract from the adjoining fields. I have seen 
