272 
Am, 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Osage Orange Hedges. 
The Machura aurantica, or Osage Orange tree, is found 
in portions of upper Texas, Arkansas, northern Louis¬ 
iana, aud the southern portion of the Indian territory, 
in a native state; and, in point of appearance, closely re¬ 
sembles the orange tree. It bears a large and beautiful 
fruit, which is remarkably tempting in appearance, but 
it is perfectly useless for man and beast. The foliage 
somewhat resembles that of the peach, but of a richer 
and more transparent green, and, in many respects, it may 
be ranked among the most splendid of the forest trees. 
Its growth is uncommonly prolific, so much so, that on a 
rich vegetable soil, it will throw out branches varying 
from three to ten feet, in a single season. The growth 
is so rapid, whilst the plants are young, that it matures 
its wood imperfectly; so much so, indeed, that in the 
center of each stalk of young growth, a pith is formed, 
closely resembling that of elder. Yet this influence does 
not extend beyond the second year’s growth, and as the 
wood perfects itself, it becomes nearly as hard as lignum- 
vitae, and is as incorruptible as the cedar. In its native 
clime, it ordinarily makes a growth of fifty feet in height, 
and, when grown separately as standard trees, will girt, 
at maturity, from eight to ten feet, four feet from the 
ground. Saw logs three feet in diameter, are frequently 
cut from this tree along the valieys of the Osage river; 
and the wood, though difficult to saw into lumber, and 
work with edge tools, is highly prized, from the fact that 
it not only makes a beautiful quality of furniture, but 
will take the highest and most perfect polish and finish. 
Among the other peculiarities of this splendid tree, its 
limbs are densely covered with thorns, so sharp that no 
animal can safely come in contact with its foliage; and 
owing to this peculiar quality, it has recently been intro¬ 
duced as a hedging plant, and the adaptation and manage¬ 
ment of which, demands a somewhat critical notice at 
this particular crisis. 
Being pretty thoroughly acquainted with the manage¬ 
ment of the English hawthorn for hedging purposes, 
which is known to be a dwarf or shrub, it was natural 
to look upon the introduction of a large class of forest 
trees for a hedging plant, with doubtful forebodings; and 
the more we investigated the subject, the more convinced 
we became, that those who planted largely for fencing 
purposes, would ultimately have reason to regret it. The 
objections frequently urged on our part, against the 
osage orange hedge, are clearly indicated in the descrip¬ 
tion given of the habits and character of the plant, at 
the head of this article; and although disposed to con¬ 
demn the whole mania as a modern humbug, yet the 
importance of introducing a successful system of hedging, 
became so apparent, from the great scarcity of fencing 
timber in many of the oldest states, and on the western 
prairies, that we were inclined, against our supposed 
better judgment, to look favorably upon a movement, 
that would either prove to be a great curse or a blessing 
to the agricultural community. The rapid and enor¬ 
mous growth of the tree; its tendency to throw off lat- 
teral branches in nearly a horizontal direction; the un¬ 
soundness of the wood at its heart, the large expense 
that would have to be incurred in keeping the hedge in 
proper shape and limits; the aptitude of the plant form¬ 
ing a standard tree, in spite of the numerous trimmings 
and prunings that may be employed, to convert it into a 
dwarf; and the natural tendencj 7 of the lower limbs and 
branches to decay, are among the prominent reasons that 
prompted us to look coolly on at the movement for ex¬ 
tending the propagation of the Madura for hedging pur¬ 
poses. The beauty of the plant, and its powers of re¬ 
sistance for fencing, aside from our apprehensions of its 
ultimate failure, prompt us to acknowledge that we are 
daily becoming more hopeful that the ardent friends of 
the speculation, may realise their most sanguine expecta¬ 
tions. Entertaining none but the most kindly feelings 
toward those who are engaged in the propagation and 
sale of Osage Orange plants, we shall without further 
criticising their qualities, take a more practical view of the 
subject. 
The seed are gathered mostly by the Indians, in north¬ 
ern Texas and the Indian territories, and with much 1 
difficulty and expense are separated from the pulpy 
parts of the fruit; and its value ranges from $20 to $40 
per bushel. Its appearance resembles cucumber seed, 
and a quart of sound seed will produce 5,000 plants. 
These plants of one year old, command a price ranging 
from $5 to $10 per 1,000, which will plant nearly one 
mile of fence, placing the plants a foot apart in the rows, 
or a half a mile if planted in a double row six inches 
asunder, and a foot between each plant in the row, mak¬ 
ing them alternate, so that plants will be only six inches 
from each other, in the direct line. Double rows for 
small enclosures, are thought better than single ones,, 
even supposing that it took an equal number of plants 
to make the hedge, on account of the closeness that the 
bottom of the hedge row may be made, when it presents 
a broad base of thrifty growing young plants. On the 
prairies of central and southern Illinois, the propagation 
of the osage orange plant for hedging purposes, has been 
engaged in more extensively than in any other portion 
of the union; and latterly, the practice of planting only 
one row and placing them a foot asunder, finds favor 
among the practical farmers generally. 
The seed are somewhat difficult to germinate, and the 
practice almost universally adopted, is to scald it with 
hot water, before being planted in drills, and after being 
thus treated it is put into a cask or vessel, and allowed 
to remain in a damp condition for twenty-four hours be¬ 
fore being planted, by which treatment it will come up 
regularly, and if the seed be of good quality, but few 
will miss in producing healthy plants. The seed should 
be sown two inches apart, in rows, about eighteen inches 
asunder, and the horse hoe or cultivator by being passed 
between them, about three times in the season, will tho¬ 
roughly free the ground from weeds, and a simple and 
cheap process of cultivation of this kind, will, in ordi¬ 
nary cases secure a fine growth of plants the first year, 
averaging two feet in height. The period for planting 
seed may be safely delayed till the ordinary season for 
planting corn, but no precise time appears necessary, as 
the plants are hardy, and early planting answers a good 
purpose providing the soil be warm, and the sun has 
power sufficient to push forward a healthy growth ; and 
in 40 degrees north latitude planting has frequently been 
done as late as the 10th of June with admirable success. 
The hedge row, previous to setting out the plants, should 
be brought into a high state of cultivation by frequent 
plowings and harrowings, and a neat furrow may be 
made with the plow in the exact line where it is intended 
to plant the hedge. The planting may then commence, 
and by placing the plant along perpendicularly against 
the furrows, the plow may again be employed in cover¬ 
ing the roots, and in the hands of an expert workman, 
the work may be as perfectly done as if the spade alone 
were used. The first year the only thing requisite to be 
done, would be to keep down the weeds by working the 
land some three feet each side of the row with a plow 
and cultivator, for the purpose of subduing weeds and 
grass, and bringing the soil into a perfect statetilth, 
so as to secure a luxuriant and rapid growth. Some 
adopt the plan of heading down the plants even with the 
surface, the first season they are removed to the hedge 
row, and when this is done, they push forth a stun¬ 
ted growth, and the object sought for is not so per¬ 
fectly attained, as if they were left unmolested till the 
spring of the second year. The great thing to be accom- 
plished in rearing an Osage Orange hedge, is to get a thick 
and thrifty growth near the ground, and this may to a 
certainty be obtained by cutting down the plant the second 
year, before the leaves make their appearance in the 
spring, quite even with the ground, and by covering the 
stubs with about two inches of finely pulverised vegeta¬ 
ble mould, each plant will send forth some six or eight 
shoots, which, in an average of cases, will attain four 
feet in height during the succeeding summer. The third 
year, a sharp pruning hook may be used to head it down 
some thirty inches from the ground, and the fourth year 
the hedge will form a perfect protection against all kinds 
of stock, and even the smallest bird cannot pass through 
it without risking its life. In a wood country, where 
i land is valuable, and timber is of but little consequence, 
