38 
JOURNAL OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 
the time that Hopton's horse surrendered at Tresilian Bridge) as 
abounding in the " hollowe high way es " of Devonshire. The 
soldierly foxglove makes a dashing appearance on the hedge-bank, 
sometimes a mere scout, and sometimes cresting the ridge in fair 
battle array. On the hedge-bank the early primrose and the violet 
are followed by the snowy stitch wort, red robin, and blue bell, 
until the meridian beauty of May and June culminates in the 
wilding rose and flaunting woodbine, which in their turn are suc- 
ceeded by the berries and nuts of brown September. Even winter, 
if he takes a grace, lends a charm peculiar to his sombre reign ; 
and under the friendly lee of some old earthmound, " which time 
has half-mouldered, half- clothed into so great beauty," the hedger 
or the woodman often takes his simple meal, where, cheered may- 
hap by the noontide sun, he enjoys for one short hour the sweet 
solace of pasty and pipe. 
In later times it has often been asked whether these bulky 
hedges of ours are worth the room they stand upon. In dis- 
cussing the question, and expatiating upon " so many acres 
gained," we must also remember the "per contra" in the very 
tangible shape of shelter, fodder, and fuel. The glorious woodfires 
of the old-fashioned chimneys throughout the country are mainly 
supplied from these hedges. 
On sheltered farms through the winter months cattle glean a 
great part of their sustenance from the hedge-side twigs and grass; 
and the shelter these wood-crested earthworks afford to both cattle 
and crops in winter and early spring, and the grateful shade they 
offer the panting flocks in summer, have never been popularly 
made known or fairly computed, simply because they have been so 
long in the land ! 
The early potato crops of the west are more effectually pro- 
tected by the multiplication of light fences than by any other 
device ; they cut the draught. 
And is it wise " to add field unto field after the modern, but not 
the picturesque or homely fashion"? Is it wisdom to make small 
farms into big ones? That policy has never answered in the 
history of the world. 
In England it is no longer a question with thinking men, 
whether small holdings or large ones may be most prosperous to a 
state, for the truth has long been patent. It lies in a single 
sentence — a man will work harder for himself than for another. 
