ANNUAL REPORT—MISCELLANEOUS. 
39 
of course, only be adopted where it was required to have a hedge in the 
shortest possible time. The most economical mode is to plant cuttings taken 
from two or three year old shoots, and not more than 12 inches long; these 
should be pushed into the ground at the same distance apart, viz., G inches, 
or closer, if the hedge is intended to be game-proof, and at the end of the 
first year, if the shoots have not grown sufficiently strong, they should be cut 
to the ground, when the subsequent growth will be found strong enough to 
train into a permanent fence in any form that might please the fancy of the 
grower. 
“As regards the monetary value of a fence of this description, my own ex¬ 
perience leads me to estimate its annual produce, based upon a low calcula¬ 
tion, at 5s. per chain. The weight of cuttings obtained from a hedge at 
Toton, 200 yards in length, and of two years’ growth, which was cut Febru¬ 
ary 21, 1871, amounted to 1 ton 15 cwt. 1 qr., and which, at the moderate esti- 
mete of 50$. per ton, comes to £4 8$. 3 %cl. In this case the fence was allowed 
to grow two years before cutting, as it was desirable to leave it as a screen for 
more tender plants; whereas, had it been cut each year, which -would have 
been the case under ordinary circumstances, the crop would have been more 
valuable. 
“ It should not be overlooked that, owing to the rapidity of its growth, a 
willow fence forms an excellent shelter for plants and cattle in an almost in¬ 
credible short space of time; whilst as a protection against game it possesses 
this advantage over every other description of fence, that by attention, and 
getting it sufficiently close—which may readily be accomplished by inter¬ 
weaving the shoots—it can be rendered perfectly game-proof, for whereas rab¬ 
bits would burrow under netting, the roots of the willow would present an 
insurmountable barrier to their ravages. 
“ I should recommend a temporary protection of posts and rails, similar to 
that used for the defence of a thorn-hedge, but which would not be required 
so substantial, in consequence of the shorter time it would be necessary for it 
to remain, as, wdthout some such safe-guard, it would, of course, be liable to 
be trodden down by cattle. A hedge so planted must be kept clear of weeds, 
and the soil maintained in a friable state, to admit of freedom of growth, un¬ 
til such time as it becomes perfectly formed, when no further attention or 
protection will be requisite. I should not advise the line of hedge-row to be 
encumbered with timber-trees, as they must, necessarily, stunt the growth of 
the hedge. The description of willow I recommend for the above purpose is 
the Salix kersii. The substitution of willow for thorn in the formation of 
hedges is not, by any means, a novel idea, its peculiar properties, in this re¬ 
spect, having been noticed by eminent authorities for years past. The prop¬ 
erties of the bitter willow are thus described by Miller, the well known 
author of the Gardner’s Dictionary: The extreme bitterness of the leaves 
and twigs renders it valuable for many purposes; when used as a band or 
withe it is never eaten by vermin, no?-, when formed into a hedge, is it 
browsed on by cattle.” 
