30 
HOUSE & GARDEN 
Next to privet, we might call the barberry the most popular hedging shrub in America. 
On either side of this driveway it appears in its best usage-, as a boundary line of year- 
round beauty 
specimen both in flower and fruit—though 
the latter drop soon after ripening. 
Add to these the scarlet haw, Cratcegiis 
coccinca, which by nature tends to keep 
towards the sea from Newfoundland down 
through New England, though it works 
west also as far as western Quebec, and it 
would seem that there is very little excuse 
for the absence of those hawthorn hedge¬ 
rows which are so conspicuous to the ob¬ 
servant cross-continent traveler. 
The red haw is perhaps a little too tree¬ 
like in habit to be as suitable for hedge 
planting as either of the other two, though 
pruning will, of course, overcome in almost 
anything, the natural tendency to form a 
single trunk. The one regarded as best of 
them all for hedge planting, Crataegus criis- 
golli. grows to be a 40' tree, if left to itself. 
The long spurs or thorns of this latter 
variety make it a particularly sturdy bar¬ 
rier, once thick growth is established; and 
though it cannot be said that a hedge of 
any kind is as impassable to everything as 
a stone wall, there is no reason why it may 
not be true of this thorn that it is next to 
as impassable as a stone wall for every¬ 
thing bigger than a jack-rabbit or a chicken 
—])roviding, of covirse, that it is kept in 
good condition, and pruned when and as i*’ 
needs it. It has not to my knowledge be'‘:i 
tried out in this country as has the r.-jly 
Osage orange, and so its value is not defi¬ 
nitely proven. But this may coiuf rix)Ut. 
This Osage orange is probably f' miliar to 
everyone throughout the lenydi 8i.d breadth 
of the land. That it is stn ■ , .^nd that it 
is sturdy and persistent—a ■' i '^erbearing 
—no one who has ever had ..aydiing to do 
with a hedge of it will deny lb it I doubt 
if anyone has the temerity io claim that it is 
beautiful; and certainly thtre are fe v plants 
that deplete the soil as i‘a])!dly and ;is thor¬ 
oughly as this; it is next ic imposrble for 
anything to flourish near it. 
So it is the one hedge plant that I shall 
eliminate altogether, and advise against con¬ 
sidering for any situation, i )ig it out rather 
than plant it. If a native haw will not do 
in place of it, there is the sharp-thorned 
honey locust that makes a good successor. 
The merits of the wood of the locust are 
proverbial; but usually it is to another spe¬ 
cies. Robinia pseudacacia, commonly called 
black or yellow locust, that the reference 
is, when timber is being discussed. The 
honey locust, however, is strong and sound 
and durable also, although it is only a sort 
of cousin. The relationship does not ap¬ 
pear at all in the botanical name, for honey 
locust is Gleditschia triacanthos instead of 
Robinia Something-or-other; but in com¬ 
mon speech it does reveal itself—twice, as 
a matter of fact. For in addition to being 
called sweet or honey locust, ' this Gledit¬ 
schia is also called three-thorned acacia; and 
locusts, you see, are pse.iidaca.cias. 
As a matter of fact, neither yellow nor 
honey locust is an acacia; but this name 
of another species may have attached itself 
to the botanical designation of the yellow 
locust through an association of odors. Its 
delightful fragrance does suggest the won¬ 
derful scent of the true acacia; and from 
being thus brought into the family, as it 
were, the name came to be applied to the 
honey locust also, simply because that was 
a relative, however distant. 
The honey locust has neither very fragrant 
nor very showy flowers; but the pulp of its 
great fruit pods is as sweet as honey while 
these are fresh; hence the name is applica¬ 
ble. Planted thickly and forced into a dense 
growth by severe pruning, Gleditschia tria- 
canthes will form as impenetrable a barrier 
as Osage orange, and an ornamental one as 
well. It is too much to claim for it the 
beauty of flower or fruit of the hawthorn, 
of course ; but the delicacy and loveliness of 
the foliage compensate to a considerable 
degree for what it lacks in floral display; 
■ {Continued on page 56) 
Cost of 50' 
Cost 
Name 
Apart 
Per 100 
of Hedge 
Planting 
Cratcegus crus-galli (Cockspur thorn). 
18" 
$30 
$10.20 
2 days’ labor 
Cratcvgiis mollis (Red haw). 
. 18" 
25 
8.50 
2 “ 
Cratcegus coccinca (Scarlet haw). 
. 18" 
30 
10.20 
2 
Gleditschia triacanthos (Honey locust). 
. 9" 
2 
1.34 
3 “ 
Rhamnus catharticus (Buckthorn). 
. 18" 
25 
8.50 
2 “ 
Ligustrum ovalifoliiim (California privet). 
. 9" 
5 
3.35 
2-3 “ 
Berberis Thunbergii (Japanese barberry). 
. 9" 
10 
6.70 
2-3 “ 
Berberis purpurea (Purple barberry). 
. 10" 
15 
9.00 
2-3 “ 
Fagus sylvatica (Beech). 
. 15" 
25. 
10.00 
2 “ 
F. sylvatica purpurea (Purple beech). 
. 15" 
30 
12.00 
2 “ 
Buxus sempervirens (Tree boxwood). 
. 8" 
25 ■ 
12.75 
2-3 “ 
Buxus suffruticosa (Dwarf boxwood). 
. 4" 
8 
12.00 
2-3 “ 
Ilex opaca (Holly). 
. 15" 
30 
12.00 
3 “ 
CONIFERS 
Thuya Sibirica (Siberian arborvitae). 
. 15" 
35 
14.00 
3-4 “ 
Thuya occidentalis (Native arborvitae). 
. 18" 
15 
5.15 
3-4 “ 
Tstiga Canadensis (Hemlock). 
18" 
50 
17.00 
3^ “ 
Pinus Austriaca (Austrian pine).,. 
18" 
50 
17.00 
3-1 “ 
Finns sylz'cstris (Scotch pine). 
18" 
25 
8.50 
3-4 “ 
Finns strobus (White pine). 
18" 
25 
8.50 
3-4 “ 
Ficea alba (White spruce). 
18" 
35 
11.90 
3-4 “ 
Ficea excelsa (Norway spruce). 
18" 
20 
6.80 
3-4 “ 
FLOWERING 
HEDGES 
Rosa rugosa (Rugosa rose). 
15" 
15 
6.00 
2-3 “ 
Hibiscus Syriacus (Rose of Sharon). 
9" 
18 
12.06 
2-3 “ 
Deutzia gracilis (Deutzia). 
. 9" 
12 
8.04 
2-3 “ 
Hydrangea paniciilata gr. (Hydrangea). 
15" 
15 
6.00 
2-3 “ 
Spircca Van Houttei (Spirea). 
12" 
15 
7.50 
2 “ 
Spircea opulifolia (Ninebark). 
12" 
15 
7.50 
2 “ 
Viburnum dentatum (Viburnum). 
10" 
15 
9.00 
2 “ 
