Q08 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
July, 185 » 
Fig. 7— hawthorn —(Cratccgus Oxycantha.) 
Hedge Plants. II. 
[ Continued, from page 177.] 
In our last number we described and illustrated 
some of the most valuable hedge plants, and we 
continue here with a description of some which, 
though less vigorous and growing less rapidly, 
are, by many, considered as our best plants for 
hedging. 
The Hawthorn ( Cratccgus oxycantha), fig. 7, 
Delongs to a genus of plants which in this coun¬ 
try is just beginning to attract the attention it de¬ 
serves. English poetry has long delighted to 
honor this plant, and it is there associated with 
all that is beautiful in rural life. It is the chief 
hedge plant of England, and is among the first 
plants that greet the rambler as he leaves the 
town after the Winter’s confinement; and it is 
the first to notify the tardy farmer that the Spring 
is really upon him. At the time when it puts 
forth its profusion of delicate white flowers fill¬ 
ing the air with sweet perfume, it is difficult to 
conceive a more beautiful sight than the hedge- 
environed fields and cottages of England. 
The Cratajgus affords many species (enumer¬ 
ated by some at over 100.') and each year enthusi- 
Fig. 8 -LEAF OF HAWTHORN. 
astic cultivators add to the number by hybridizing. 
Generally, the flowers (fig p) are white, but some 
sorts are beautifully colored. By judicious¬ 
ly selecting the different varieties, a succession 
of bloom may be produced from early May to the 
1st of August, and a pleasing effect may be ob¬ 
tained by grafting differently colored species on 
one hardy stock, such as the oxycantha, and trim- 
| ming so as to produce a compact, pyramidal 
form. An elegant “bouquet” upon the Lawn, 
formed in this way, will not fail to attract great 
admiration. And as the ripe fruit (fig. 10) which 
is no less ornamental than the flower, continues 
upon the tree, in many kinds, until the following 
Spring, the tree never ceases to be an attractive 
object. 
Loudon says: “ If a man were to be exiled 
to an estate without a single tree or shrub on it, 
with permission to choose only one genus of 
Fig. 9. Fig. 10. 
FLOWER AND FRUIT OF HAWTHORN. 
ligneous plants to form all his plantations, shrub¬ 
beries, orchards and flower gardens, where 
would he find a genus that would afford him so 
many resources as that of the Cratsegus 1” 
Although the Hawthorn has such universal 
adaptation to the purpose of hedging in England, 
and even some fine specimens of Hawthorn 
Hedges are to be found in this country, there are, 
in the United States, two important objections to its 
general use. It does not retain its foliage well in 
a season of severe drouth, and is liable to be 
attacked by the Apple tree Borer ( Saperda bi- 
vittata). There is no method known by which the 
attack of the borer may be prevented economi¬ 
cally, in a large number of trees ; but, where there 
are only'a few trees, a wash of whale oil soap— 
one pound of soap to one or two gallons of wa¬ 
ter—applied once a week during the month of 
June, to the trunk of the tree, will prevent the 
depositing of the eggs. 
The seeds of all the Thorns are difficult to ger¬ 
minate, requiring more than a year to sprout. It 
is an excellent plap to gather the fruit as soon 
as ripe in October, mix with them twice theii 
bulk of sand, and place them in a pit dug in 
dry soil, 18 inches deep. Allow them to remain 
there until the next Autumn, stirring them well 
several times during the Summer. They should 
then be sown, just before the time for frost, in 
drills one foot apart. The following Spring the 
young plants will appear above the ground. 
cockspur thorn (Cratotgus crus-galli.) 
This plant (fig. 11) is free from the first ob¬ 
jection made to the Hawthorn, but is, in some 
localities, subject to injury from the same insect 
It is a native of North America, growing from 
the Canadas to the Carolinas, is perfectly hardy, 
and really forms an excellent hedge. In England, 
where it has been introduced from this country, 
it is highly esteemed; and, in sheltered loca¬ 
tions, it is evergreen, retaining its leaves and 
scarlet fruit throughout the Winter. This is also 
known by the name of the Newcastle Thorn. 
the buckthorn (Rhamnus catharticus.) 
This plant (see fig. 12) is a native of North 
America as well as of Europe, and is entirely hardy. 
Mr. Derby, of Salem, Mass., says of his Buck¬ 
thorn Hedge, that it has not lost a plant in thirty- 
three years, nor has it been attacked by any in¬ 
sect. 
It is a low-growing, irregular tree, about 15 
feet in bight. The branches are armed with 
thorns; the leaves are smooth and of a bright 
green. The flowers are yellowish green, and are 
succeeded by bluish black berries. It is easily 
propagated by seed, and also by layers and cut¬ 
tings. It has berries in abundance, which are 
much more easily managed than those of the 
Crataegus. The berries are gathered either in the 
Auuimn or Spring, and the seeds washed out oi 
the ,iulp by rubbing them in water upon a sieve. 
They are then dried and kept till wanted, or im¬ 
mediately sown in drills 18 inches apart, in a rich 
garden soil, covering them H inches deep. The 
young plants will appear plentifully in the Spring, 
and should be kept free from weeds. When a 
year old they may be - planted in the Hedge row, 
or, if desirable, they maybe kept until the second 
year. 
It will bear the severest climate of the United 
States, as it grows wild in Siberia. In all its 
situations it will withstand poverty of soil and 
