March.] THE NURSERY. 26 S 
it free from weeds during the period of their growth. In au- 
tumn, the potatoes being removed, the entire slip should be 
ploughed deep, gathering it up towards the centre, and in October 
Or March, having your quicks previously raised in the Nursery, as 
directed in that department in February, to the height of two or 
three feet, take up the plants carefully without injuring their roots, 
prune off the extremities of the roots and any long straggling 
shoots of their tops, then plant them in a trench made along the 
centre of this slip of ground for their reception, at the distance of 
from six to eight inches plant from plant, and settle the earth well 
into their roots; observing, previously to planting, to match the 
quicks, that is, to plant all the larger sized together, for it is im= 
proper, as before observed, to intermix the small and large; as the 
former would be smoothered by the latter, which would occasion in- 
jurious and unsightly breaches in the fence. 
If you have plenty of quicks, it will be of advantage to plant a 
double row, at the distance of a foot from each other, in which case, 
the plants may be set ten inches apart in the rows, placing those of 
one row, directly opposite the intervals of the other. This method 
I would prefer to the former. 
The quicks must afterwards be protected from cattle, by palings 
or some kind of dead fences, till they arrive at a proper growth not 
to be injured thereby, and for the two first years kept perfectly free 
from weeds, for without these precautions, it will be in vain to plant 
them. 
The quicks being tolerably close planted, will need no annual top 
clipping to thicken them; but it will be very proper to shorten oc- 
casionally, any extraordinary vigorous top shoots, so as to keep them 
all pretty equal, and also such as branch out too much at the sides. 
However, it would be very adviseable to give a slight dressing to the 
sides every October or March, for a few years, with a pair of hedge- 
shears, which may be done in a short time, narrowing the hedge a 
little towards the top, to afford the benefit of the air, rain, and dews, 
to the lower side-shoots: this will encourage their growth, and cause 
the hedge to be well furnished from bottom to top. 
When a hedge of this kind is to be made, it might be the most 
convenient way to plant it with a few feet of some established post 
and rail fence, and erect another as many feet from it on the oppo- 
site side, each at such a distance as would be sufficient to keep off 
cattle; here it would be effectually protected until arrived at a 
proper height and strength, when both these ranges of palings might 
be taken away to answer similar purposes; but again and again, 
would I suggest the necessity of keeping the plants free from the 
annoyance of weeds, during the first two or three years of their 
growth, after which they will be completely furnished and out of 
their power. 
The autumn or spring following after planting, examine your 
hedge, and if any of the plants have died, or seem to be in a very 
bad state of health, replace them with others from the Nursery, 
placing some fresh earth to the roots of each 
