SITRUES AND TREES. 
117 
care is required in making hemlock, than arbor-vitae hedges, as 
they are not so tenacious of life, and require a soil of greater 
moisture. 
There should be a small reserve of trees kept in one’s own 
garden for the purpose of filling the gaps the next season following 
the planting. It is desirable to obtain plants not more than one 
foot high which have been twice transplanted in the nursery. They 
may be planted from one to two feet apart, according to the size of 
the hedge intended. The larger the hedge is to be, the greater the 
distance that may be allowed between the trees. The hemlock 
loves a cool, as well as moist soil, and does well in partial shade, 
though if the roots be in cool\ moist soil, its greatest luxuriance and 
beauty is developed in the most sunny exposure; that is to say, it 
should have its roots in the shade and the top in the sun. Its own 
boughs trail naturally on the ground to make such a protection for 
the roots, and in forcing the tree into a hedge form it should be 
allowed, and even forced, to make the greater part of its growth 
laterally. For some years after planting, the top growth should 
be continually cut back, and the side branches allowed full license. 
At the end of three years the hedge should be pyramidal, and 
not more than three feet high, and the same width at the bottom. 
For a hedge from five to eight feet high, a width of four feet is suffi¬ 
cient, and the top should not be allowed to increase faster than six 
inches a year till the required height is attained. Where a hedge 
of greater altitude is desired, we would allow the hemlock to attain 
the full breadth required for the perfected hedge before permitting 
much increase in height. If, for instance, a screen fifteen feet high 
is wanted, then the trees that compose the hedge-row should 
be allowed to grow until they cover five feet in breadth, while the 
top should be kept back, so that in four years after planting its 
section will present the form of an equilateral triangle. Thereafter 
the bottom should be kept nearly the same width, and the top 
allowed to increase in height at the rate of not more than a foot a 
year until the required height is attained. The hemlock and arbor- 
vitae may be trimmed at any time from the middle of June to the 
first of October. June and September are, however, the best 
periods. The soil along young hedge-rows should be cleanly cul- 
