144 
Mat. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Planting Osage Hedges. 
* 
[We commend the following valuable practical re¬ 
marks on planting hedges of the Osage Orange, to the 
attention of all our readers who intend to adopt this 
kind of fencing, and who wish to avoid all openings 
and gaps occasioned by the dying out of single plants ] 
In the Co. Gent, of Feb. 25th, I find an article on 
Osage Orange hedges, which fully agrees with the re¬ 
sults of my own experience. To the excellent sugges¬ 
tions made by Prof. J. B. Turner, I beg leave to add 
a few practical hints. 
The two main difficulties are to obtain an even stand 
at the first planting, and to preserve the young hedge 
through the first winter. 
It is very important to have all the plants start even 
at the first setting, since replanting is extremely diffi¬ 
cult. The second year the plants of the first setting 
grow so strong and throw so much shade, that newly 
set young plants are often suffocated. There ought, 
therefore, no plants to be set out but such as are perfect¬ 
ly sound and vigorous. Nowit is almost impossible to tell 
weak plants apart; I therefore prepare a little garden- 
bed early in the spring, dig it up deep, pulverize it 
, finely, dig a little trench across at an angle of 45°, and 
lay into this trench a course of plants. Then I sift on 
some fine dirt and lay another course, arranging it so 
that my plants are covered two or three inches deeper 
than they stood in the nursery. If the weather is dry, 
I sprinkle occasionally. In two or three weeks the bed 
begins to change its color. As soon as the buds are 
one-fourth inch sprouted, I take my plants up and 
transplant them to the hedge-row, dipping them into 
a puddle of thick mud as fast as I take them up. Now 
if there is any plants among them, that either have 
not sprouted at all or show but feeble signs of life, then 
I throw them aside. In this way I have set out half 
a mile without missing one single plant. I have some¬ 
times, under the pressure of spring work, been obliged 
to leave plants in the sprouting-bed until the sprouts 
were two inches long; and have set them out in such 
a condition during the hottest part of the day, without 
having a single sprout wilt. In setting out, I set two 
inches deeper than the plant stood in the nursery. The 
cut-worm frequently is very troublesome, not only 
biting off the stem of the young sprout, but eating out 
the whole bud. In this case, new shoots will appear 
from the buds below the ground. And if ever the tops 
should winter-kill, a new growth will be obtained with 
greater certainty. 
This secures an even growth at the beginning. Now 
as to winter-killing of the young hedge, it is not the 
tops, but the roots, that are exposed to such danger. 
Our prairie soil is very apt to heave. Porous itself, it 
absorbs water readily, while the substratum of clay 
prevents its descent into the subsoil. I have seen ap¬ 
ple trees, that had grown vigorously during a whole 
season, raised in this way, till at the settling back of 
the ground they were left lying flat on top. Young 
hedge plants, if not protected, will in like manner in 
the spring show the yellow root above ground. This 
root absolutely bears no freezing when unprotected by 
dirt. And to this cause can I trace every case of win¬ 
ter killing that has come under xny observation. Now 
this danger is easily avoided. Take in the fall a strong 
team and a good plow. For the first furrow let you» 
horses straddle the row ; at the second, run your plow 
in to the beam. Throw up three furrows on each side. 
If you cover up some plants entirely, it will be all the 
better. This operation drains the water off, so that 
the ground will heave but little, and protects the plants. 
In the spring the dirt is easily rolled back. Some talk 
of covering with litter, but this is much more expen¬ 
sive and not half as good. 
I set my plants seven inches apart, but am inclined 
to think that ten inches would be better, since the 
plants would grow faster and stronger. Will Prof. 
Turner give us his experience on this point ? W. Laer. 
Garden Grove } Iowa. 
Colza or Rape —Brassica campesiris. 
This is a plant producing seed of the greatest im¬ 
portance in agriculture and manufactures, as will be 
explained hereafter. It requires a good loamy soil, 
preferably a clay loam, although it will do equally well 
on sandy or gravelly loams. 
In the north and middle of Europe it is extensively 
raised, and is one of the best preparations for wheat. 
The best way to prepare the land for it, is by plowing 
it in the fall, and then again a short time before sow¬ 
ing, manuring the land with from 10 to 20 loads of 
manure per acre. The seed should be sown in July or 
August, either broadcast or in drills 3 feet apart; an¬ 
other good mode is to sow the seed thick on a rich seed 
bed, to plant out afterwards in drills on land where the 
grain stubble has been manured and plowed in deep; 
the plants having 3 or 4 leaves are taken up carefully 
and set out as cabbages are in the rows about one foot 
apart. This can be done as late as September or be¬ 
ginning of Octobor, either by hand, or, what saves 
much time and labor, they can be put in furrows after 
the plow, taking care to put them upright in the fur¬ 
row, and cover them by the return of the plow, leaving 
the leaves above the ground, and in such a manner 
that no earth falls in the heart of the plants ; taking 
care to go over the piece to dress all plants that may 
be covered too deep, which is easily done by a man or 
boy walking along the furrows and pressing the plants 
with his foot or the hoe. The rows should be hoed 
either with the cultivator, as soon as weeds make their 
appearance, or with a small plow or the hoe, giving the 
plants a slight hilling once or twice, the last time as 
late as the weather will permit in November or De¬ 
cember. They will remain and pass the winter unin¬ 
jured by frost. 
The next year they should again be cultivated or 
hoed, and another slight hilling will greatly strengthen 
the plants. 
The quantity of seed to be used may be from two 
to four pounds, taking care to use seed enough. 
The Rape is ready to be cut or pulled up when the 
upper branches and pods turn brown, which will be in 
June or July of the second summer, before the pods 
are all evenly ripe, for if all are perfectly ripe when 
gathered, the loss by shedding might be very serious. 
Or it can be reaped the same as wheat, by the sickle 
or scythe, but no cradle ; the handfulls should be laid 
singly and lightly upon the stubble, behind the reap¬ 
ers, and thus it should lie without stirring, until all is 
ready to thrash out, which will be in a short time, about 
four to six days generally ; at that time the weather is 
warm and dry. 
When it is ready, prepare a floor in the middle of the 
