- JgricnlMreistkem^ hem*, the moot ueefid, and the most nobh employment of,nan.- Washington 
VOL. VII. 
NEW YORK, APRIL, 1848. 
NO. IV. 
A. B. Allen, Editor. 
THE OSAGE ORANGE FOR HEDGES. 
The Osage orange (Mnclura auraritiaca\ known 
also, by the names of w Osage apple,” u bow wood ” 
and bois dare, is indigenous to Arkansas, Texas, 
and Upper Missouri, and may be safely cultivated 
tor hedges or ornament wherever the Isabella grape 
vine will thrive and mature its fruit in open air? In 
its natural habitat, the Osage orange forms a beau- 
tituh deciduous-leaved tree, often growing to a height 
of 25 to 30 feet, with a trunk from 12 to 18 inches 
m diameter* and in very favorable situations, it 
sometimes attains double these dimensions The 
generai appearance of this tree greatly resembles 
that of the common orange * and when we viewthe 
oeauty and splendor of its dark, shining foliage, 
large, golden fruit, and the numerous, sharp spines, 
which the branches present, we are strongly im¬ 
pressed by the comparison. The juice of the young 
wood, leaves, and fruit, consists of a milky fluid, of 
an acrid or insipid taste, which soon dries, on ex¬ 
posure to the air, and contains a considerable pro¬ 
portion of an elastic gum. The fruit, however, in 
open culture, does not ripen its seeds north of 
Philadelphia. 
The most important use to which the Osage 
orange can be applied, is, for the formation of 
hedges; and there is no plant, in our estimation, 
better adapted for this purpose, in any part of the 
country, where this tree will thrive. Apprehensions 
have been expressed, by some, that, from its rapid 
growth, it will soon become too large for live 
hedges, which, it is thought will not endure for a 
great length of time. This, however, remains yet 
to be proved. We have no doubt, in our own 
mmds, that, if a judicious system be pursued, in 
trimming and heading down , they will serve an 
excellent purpose for twenty, and perhaps thirty 
years ; for there are hedges of this plant in the 
vicinity of Cincinnati, which are ten years old, and 
C. M. Saxton, Publisher, 205 Broadway. 
have thus far proved perfectly hardy, very uni¬ 
form, neat, and handsome in their appearance, and 
free from the attacks of insects or disease. 
The Osage orange may readily be propagated by 
seeds, from which it will grow sufficiently'large in 
three years to form a hedge. It succeeds best on 
land moderately rich, such, for instance, as will 
produce good Indian corn; but it will grow in 
aimost any soil that is not too moist. The line of 
ground, intended for a hedge, should first be du°* and 
well pulverized, say from 12 to 15 inches deep” and 
2 leet wide, along the centre of which the 
plants may be set at a distance of one foot apart. 
I he seeds, before sowing, should be soaked in 
water, in a warm room, for four or five days * or 
they may be mixed with equal parts, by measure, 
ot sand, and exposed a few weeks, in open boxes, 
to wintry weather, on the sunny side of a building, 
in order to freeze and thaw. It is preferable 
to sow them early in the spring, in a garden 
or nursery, where they will shortly germinate and 
form young plants. These should carefully be 
weeded or hoed during the first season’s °rowth, 
and transplanted in the hedge line in the month of 
March or April of the following year. 
CULTIVATION OF ONIONS.—No. 1. 
As the common onion {Allium cepa\ forms one 
of the principal crops of the kitchen garden and is 
somewhat extensively cultivated in the field for the 
supply of our home markets, as well as those of the 
West Indies and elsewhere, it is important to know 
what kinds are most profitable to raise, their adap¬ 
tation to particular markets, and the best modes of 
cultivation. For it is a well-established fact, that 
its mild or strong qualities depend more on climate 
and cultivation than to any inherent property of the 
onion itself; as those grown in Spain^ Portugal, 
Madeira, Teneriffe, &c., are more benignant in their 
