March  12,  1903. 
221 
JOURNAL  -  OF  HORTICULTURE 
^edgeJ  for  M  ^urpo6e4. 
The  love  of  the  formal  garden,  once  so  pronounced  in  England, 
has  for  some  time  given  way  to  the  more  open,  free,  and  natural 
style  of  gardening  now  so  popular,  and  in  Avhich  the  garden  hedge 
doe.si  not  play  so  conspicuous  a  part  as  it  necessarily  did  in  tlie 
arrangement  of  the  more  formal  design.  Without  in  any  way 
drawing  invidious  comparisons  in  favour  of  the  one  style  or  tiu' 
other,  it  will  be  readily  conceded  that  each  has  its  distinctive 
charms,  and  each  in  its  way  is  better  suited  to  some  peculiar 
positions  and  characteristic.s  of  different  homes  than  the  other. 
It  is  not  difficult  to  call  to  mind  some  of  the  most  interesting  and 
quaintly  beautiful  of  English  gardens  which  owe  their  charm  in 
a  great  measure  to  the  quality  and  disposition  of  their  hedges. 
Huch,  for  instance,  is  the  delightful  garden  of  the  Hon.  Mrs. 
Boyle,  of  Huntercombe.  Take  away  the  hedges,  and  the  charm 
in  a  great  measure  would  be  gone. 
The  finest  Yew  trees,  once  no  doubt  a  formal  hedge  on  the 
terrace  at  Haddori  Hall,  helps  to  invest  this  old  historical  home 
of  the  Dukes  of  Rutland  with  perennial  interest.  .  The  rock 
garden  at  ('hatsworth  would  be  robbed  of  one  of  its  delightful 
charms  if  the  hedges  were  taken  away.  Among  more  modern 
gardens,  where  the  hedges  play  an  important  part  in  giving  in¬ 
terest  to  the'  garden,  the  lovely  garden  of  Mr.  Leopold  de  Roth¬ 
schild  at  Ascot  may  be  mentioned,  where  the  hedges  of  the  golden 
Yews  during  the  summer  give  such  a  rich  and  glorious  colour  to 
the  landscape.  Who  that  has  seen  the  great  hedges  in  the  garden 
of  the  Rev.  C.  C.  Ellison,  of  Bracebridge,  can  ever  forget  the 
surprising  interest  the  clever  disposition  of  hedges  invests  his 
garden  with — here  a  division  for  Roses,  there  one  for  water 
plants,  another  for  herbaceous  plants,  another  for  fruit  trees, 
focusing  an  unlimited  succession  of  distinctive  and  intensely 
interesting  aspects  of  gardening  into  a  comparatively  small 
space. 
Besides  being  an  adjunct  of  intere.st  and  charm  in  the  arrange¬ 
ment  and  disposition  of  the  ornamental  garden,  the  hedge  can  lay 
claim  to  many  other  services  it  is  capable  of  rendering.  One  of 
the  most  useful  is  the  shelter  it  is  capable  of  affording,  and 
another  is  the  service  it  can  render  in  screening  and  hiding 
objectionable  features.  Before  enumerating  the  various  trees 
and  shrubs,  both  evergreen  and  deciduous,  suitable  for  planting 
as  hedges,  it  will  be  well  to  point  out  the  necessity  for  the  proper 
preparation  and  liberal  cultivation  of  the  ground  beforehand  if 
the  highest  measure  of  success  is  desired.  This  is  at  once 
apparent  when  we  remember  that  a  hedge  once  planted  is  ex¬ 
pected  to  grow  and  thrive  for  at  least  a  lifetime  and  often  much 
longer.  Another  weakness  most  people  will  confess  to  in  rela¬ 
tion  to  a  hedge  is  the  fact  of  wanting  a  hedge  to  grow  to  a  good 
size  quickly,  and  the  be.st  and  only  way  of  securing  this  desirable 
issue  is  by  the  liberal  cultivation  and  manuring  of  the  ground 
beforehand.  Therefore,  before  planting,  see  to  it  that  the  ground 
isi  well  drained,  deeply  trenched  (2|ft),  and  liberally  manured  ; 
also  see  that  a  mulching  of  manure  is  laid  on  the  roots  every 
spring  until  the  hedge  is  well  established,  and  see  also  that  no 
weeds  are  allowed  a  lodgment  at  its  base. 
The  Beech  and  the  Hornbeam 
make  the  strongest  and  hardiest  of  all  hedges.  They  are  fre¬ 
quently  made  use  of  in  nurseries  for  dividing  large  quarters  into 
.smaller  sections  in  order  to  secure  warmth  and  protection  for  the 
growth  of  young  and  semi-tender  stock.  Being  of  a  deciduous 
nature  the  Beech  is  not  so  suitable  as  a  hedge  for  the  pleasure- 
ground  as  an  evergreen  one,  but  anyone  wishing  for  a  strong 
boundary  fence  to  tlieir  grounds  cannot  do  better  than  plant  the 
Beech  or  Hornbeam.  The  colour  of  the  young  growth  is.  a. 
delightful  green  in  spring  and  summer,  and  the  rich  brown  of  the 
dying  leaves  in  winter  affords  a  pleasing  bit  of  colour  for  some 
months.  A  single  row  of  trees  is  sufficient  to  form  an  ordinarj^ 
hedge,  but  if  an  extra  strong  one  is  desired  a  double  row  may  be 
planted  with  advantage.  Trees  of  any  size  from  3ft  to  10ft  high 
may  be  planted  according  as  to  whether  a  high  hedge  is  wanted 
immediately  or  not.  For  ordinary  planting,  trees  3ft  in  height  are' 
the  best.  They  may  be  planted  2ft  apart.  It  is  well  to  sliorten 
the  .stems  at  the  time  of  planting  from  Sin  to  12in,  but  in  after 
years  this  will  not  be  necessary,  as  the  Beech  spreads  laterally, 
and  will,  naturally  form  itself  into  a  mass  of  branches.  The 
Beech  hedge  is  best  cut  with  the  knife  rather  than  the  shears, 
and  this  should  be  done  in  the  autumn  or  early  .spring. 
The  Yew. 
For  the  division  and  subdivision  of  a  garden,  especially  if  the 
garden  be  a  lawn,  into  many  sections,  the  Yew  is  par  excellence 
the  best  of  all  trees  in  my  opinion.  It  is  not  so  suitable  for  a 
boundary  hedge, where  by  any  possibility  cattle  may  have  access  to 
it,  on  account  of  the  poisonous  nature  of  its  foliage  and  bark,  and 
therefore  should  never  be  planted  abutting  on  a  field.  The  Yew 
AXL>  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
Sutton  d-  Sons. 
Arctotis  grand  is.  (Page  235.) 
in  time  will  attain  to  any  size  or  height  desired,  and  by  clipping 
may  be  formed  to  any  shape  wanted.  Those  wishing  to  make 
their  Yew  hedges  more  ornate  may  do  so  by  grafting  the  golden 
Yew  on  the  other,  at  distances  apart  as  may  be  desired.  A  single 
row  of  Yew  makes  the  best  hedge,  and  those  should  be  planted 
18in  apart,  the  trees  being  about  3ft  high.  The  tops  should  be 
cut  off  at  the  time  of  planting,  the  matter  of  about  lOin.  in 
order  to  induce  a  good  basal  growth;  afterwards  the  shortening 
of  the  terminals  at  the  annual  clipping  will  be  .sufficient.  This 
duty  should  be  carried  out  in  September. 
The  Common  Holly 
is  pre-eminently  (he  plant  to  form  a  boundary  hedge  with.  It 
is  as  impregnable  when  well  establislied  as  a  wall  and  infinitely 
more  handsome.  The  Holly  will  succeed  on  any  well-drained 
soil,  but  is  averse  to  a  damp  situation.  It  i.s  rather  an  expensive 
hedge  to  plant,  and  is,  as  a  rule,  a.  long  time  in  establishing 
itself,  but  once  it  has  secured  a.  proper  hold  of  the  soil  its  pro- 
gre.ss  afterwards  is  rapid.  In  the  ease  of  large  hedges,  whether 
of  Yew.  Holly,  or  any  other  plant,  flu'  apex  should  be  clipped 
ridge  sliape,  iii  order  to  throw  off  snow  deposits  in  winter, 
otherwis“  the  weight  of  snow  will  damage'  and  -disfigure  the 
hedge. 
The  Thorn  or  Quick  Hedge. 
This  is  more  suitt'd,  ja'i'Iiaps,  for  the  field  than  the  garden. 
It  is  easily  grown,  the  first  essentials  (o  forming  a  good  (luiek 
hedge  being  planting  a  double  row  at  1ft  aparl  angle-ways, 
cutting  low  down  at  planting-tinu'.  and  i)runing  the  annual 
growth  half-way  back  each  year  afti'rwards  until  the  height 
desired  is  secured.  As  a  giuden  hedge  it  should  be  clipped  twice 
a  year,  once  at  the  end  of  June  and  again  in  S('i)tembcr  or 
October.  As  a  field  hedge  one  cutting  in  October  vill  suffice. 
The  Privet. 
The  narrow  leaved  variety  (Ligustrum  angustifolium)  is  the 
be.st  sort  to  plant.  If  makes  a  closer  and  a  prettier  hedge  than 
the  broad  leaved  variety.  As  a  suburban  garden  hedge  this 
