HEDGES.
THE BEST HEDGE PLANTS.
The first emigrants from England to the American shores brought with
them memories of green hedge-rows, like those which still adorn the
motherland. But they found the country whither they had come covered
with a dense growth of timber, which furnished abundant material
for fences. Hedges were almost unknown in this country until after
civilization had reached the treeless prairies. Then, the want of
fencing material turned attention to hedges, and they became so popular
that many miles of them were planted, not only in the prairie region,
but also in the more eastern States, where cheaper fencing material
was plenty. Now the invention of barbed wire supplies a material so
cheap and easily put in place, that hedges have ceased to be regarded
as economical for general farm purposes. But they have by no means
gone wholly out of use. As a boundary fence, especially upon the
roadside, there is much to be said in favor of the hedge. Nothing gives
a neighborhood such a finished rural aspect, as to have the roads
bordered by hedges. The grounds around the summer cottages on the New
Jersey coast, and other popular summer resorts, are largely enclosed
with hedges. For interior divisions, as they cannot be removed, they
are not to be commended. An orchard, the most permanent of all the
plantations upon the farm, may be appropriately enclosed by a live
fence. Hedges are either protective barriers, really live fences, or
merely ornamental. In properly regulated communities, where cattle are
not allowed to run at large, the roadside hedge may be ornamental,
while one around an orchard should be able to keep out animals and
other intruders. After many experiments and failures, the Osage Orange
(_Maclura aurantiaca_), has been found to make the best hedges. Being a
native of Arkansas, it has been found to be hardy much farther North,
and may be regarded as the most useful hedge plant in all localities
where the winter is not severe. Where the Osage Orange is not hardy,
Buckthorn, Japan Quince and Honey Locust are the best substitutes.
Honey Locust is a most useful hedge plant, as it is readily raised from
seed, grows rapidly, bears cutting well, and in a few years will make a
barrier that will turn the most violent animal.
PLANTING AND CARE OF OSAGE HEDGES.
[Illustration: Fig. 106.—BADLY PLOWED GROUND.]
[Illustration: Fig. 107.—HEDGE PLANT ON HARD RIDGE.]
[Illustration: Fig. 108.—PROPERLY PLOWED GROUND.]
[Illustration: Fig. 109.—HEDGE PLANT IN MELLOW SOIL.]
The first requisite for a hedge of any kind is to secure thrifty
plants of uniform size. Osage Orange plants are raised from seeds by
nurserymen, and when of the right size, should be taken up in autumn
and “heeled in.” The ground, which it is proposed to occupy by the
hedge, should be broken up in autumn and then replowed in spring,
unless it is a raw prairie sod, which should be broken a year before
the hedge is planted. It is a very usual, but very bad practice, to
plow a ridge with a back-furrow, as shown in figure 106. This leaves
an unplowed strip of hard soil directly under the line upon which the
hedge is to stand. When harrowed, it appears very fair on the surface,
but it is useless to expect young plants to thrive on such a bed of
hard soil, and its result will be as seen in figure 107. The first
growth is feeble, irregular, and many vacant spots appear. The land
should be plowed as in figure 108. When the sod is rotted, the land
should be harrowed lengthwise of the furrows, and the dead furrow left
in the first plowing closed by twice turning back the ridge. There
is then a deep, mellow, well-drained bed for the plants in which the
roots have room to grow and gather ample nutrition. Figure 109 shows
the effect of this kind of cultivation. As a barrier against stock, or
a windbreak, it is best to plant in double rows, each row being set
opposite the spaces in the other, thus:
* * * * *
* * * * *
It is highly desirable that the hedge should be in true, uniform rows,
either straight or in regular curves. This can be done only by setting
closely to a line. Osage Orange plants may be raised from seed, but as
this is a difficult operation, it is usually best to buy young plants
from a reliable nurseryman. They are best cut down to about six inches
high, and the roots partially trimmed. It is an advantage to “puddle”
the roots, which is done by dipping them in a mixture composed of
one-half earth and half fresh manure from the cow stable, wet to the
consistency of a thin paste. There are various methods of setting the
plants. Some use a trowel with a blade about ten inches long; others
a dibble, and a larger number than either of the others, a spade. For
setting long lines, in situations where appearances are of secondary
importance, young Osage plants are set very rapidly by running a furrow
where the rows are to stand, laying the plants with their roots spread
on the mellow soil, one side of the furrow. A furrow is next turned
upon the roots, and the plants which may have been disarranged are
restored by hand. A tread of the foot will consolidate the earth around
each plant. Unless the subsoil is naturally very porous, the ground
must be thoroughly underdrained. A line of tiles should be laid six
or eight feet from the line of the hedge. The ground for four or five
feet on either side of the hedge, should be kept thoroughly cultivated
the first three or four years after planting. This cultivation is to
be done early each season and cease the first of July, to give the
new wood a chance to ripen. The plants should be permitted to grow
the first year undisturbed. The following spring, the hedge should
be cut off close to the ground with a scythe or mowing machine, and
all vacancies where plants have died out or been thrown out by frost,
should be filled. The ground on both sides of the ridge is to be kept
well cultivated. Figure 110 shows the difference in root growth in
cultivated and uncultivated ground.
[Illustration: Fig. 110.—EFFECT OF CULTIVATION.]
A thick growth of young shoots will appear, and these are to be cut
back to four inches high, the middle of summer and again in September.
The object is to obtain a dense growth close to the ground. The third
year the pruning is to be repeated, only the shoots must be left four
to six inches above the last previous cutting. The lateral shoots which
are near the ground, are to be left undisturbed. The trimming should be
such as to leave the hedge broad at the base, with a regular slope to
the summit like a double-span roof.
[Illustration: Fig. 111.—HEDGE “PLASHED.”]
Another method is to permit the hedge to grow untrimmed for four or
five years. It is then plashed, or laid over sidewise. This is done by
cutting the plants about half through on one side with a sharp axe, and
bending them over as shown in figure 111. The hedge is first headed
back and trimmed up to reduce the top. In a short time new shoots will
spring from the stubs and stems, making a dense growth of interlacing
stems and branches. Another method of laying a hedge, is to dig away
a few inches of earth on one side of each plant to loosen the roots,
then lay the plant over to the desired angle and fasten it there. The
earth is then replaced around the roots, and tread down firmly. We
believe that a patent is claimed for this process, but its validity is
seriously questioned.
It is essential that hedges, whether planted for ornament or utility,
shall be kept in shape by trimming every year. It is less labor to trim
a hedge three times during the year, when the branches are small and
soft, than once when the branches have made a full season’s growth. If
the hedge is trimmed once in June and again in August, it will be kept
in good shape, and the labor will be less than if the trimming was put
off until spring. In August the branches can be cut with shears or a
sharp corn knife. The foliage on them will aid in their burning, when
they have dried a few days in the sun. The thorns are not so hard as in
the spring. The brush will be less, and on account of their pliability
and greater weight, will pack into the heap much better. If trimmed
in August, the hedge will not make any considerable growth during the
fall. August trimming does not injure the hedge, rather helps it, as
it tends to ripen the wood, preventing a late Autumn growth to be
injured by the winter. The loss of sap is less than when the trimming
is done in the early spring, as then the wounds are larger, and do not
heal before the sap flows. Do not neglect to burn the brush as soon
as it has dried sufficiently. If allowed to remain on the ground, it
will harbor mice and other vermin. Trim the hedge in August and burn
the brush. The trimming should be done in such a manner as to expose
the greater amount of foliage to the direct action of the light, air,
rain and dew. This is attained by keeping the sides at every trimming
in the form of sloping walls from the broad base to the summit like a
double-span roof. They are sometimes trimmed with vertical sides and
broad, flat top, but this is not a favorable plan for permanency. The
lower leaves and stems die out, leaving an unsightly open bottom of
naked stems, with a broad roof of foliage above. Such trimming and its
results have done much to bring hedges into disrepute.
HEDGES FOR THE SOUTH.
[Illustration: Fig. 112.—CACTUS HEDGE.]
The Osage Orange is a native of the Southwestern States, and flourishes
on good soil anywhere in the South. Yet there are certain succulent
plants which grow so rapidly in the South, and require so little care,
that they are very successfully employed for hedges in the Gulf States.
One of these is the _Yucca gloriosa_, or Spanish Bayonet. Its natural
habit of growth is to produce a dense mass of leaves on a long stem.
But by cutting back the growth of the stiff, armed leaves is produced
low down, and a hedge of this soon becomes an impassable barrier. Large
panicles of beautiful white blossoms are produced at the summit, making
such a hedge very ornamental during the flowering season. Various
species of cactus are also employed in the Southwest for hedges. In
some of the Middle-Western States may be seen a hedge like figure 112.
At some distance from the highway, a field had been enclosed with the
tree cactus, which there grows only from four to ten feet high. The
plants that were in the line of the fence were left growing, and those
cleared from the field were woven into a formidable barrier to anything
larger than a rabbit. While no two rods in this fence are alike, its
general appearance is like that shown in the engraving.
ORNAMENTAL HEDGES AND SCREENS.
[Illustration: Fig. 113.—BRANCH OF JAPAN QUINCE.]
[Illustration: Fig. 114.—FRUIT AND FLOWER.]
Hedges and screens for ornamental purposes alone, do not come strictly
within the scope of this work, but we will briefly mention a few
desirable plants for the purpose. The Japan Quince, _Cydonia Japonica_,
of which figures 113 and 114 show a branch, flower and fruit, is one
of the best deciduous plants for an ornamental hedge. It will grow in
almost any soil; if left to itself it forms a dense, strong bush, but
it may be clipped or trained into any desired form. Its leaves are of
dark glossy green, they come early in spring and remain until late
in Autumn. This is one of the earliest shrubs to bloom in spring;
its flowers are generally intense scarlet, though there are varieties
with white, rose-colored, or salmon-colored flowers. A hedge of this
plant is not only highly ornamental, but its abundant thorns make a
good barrier. Privet, _Ligustrum vulgare_, makes a very neat screen,
but will not bear severe cutting back, and is therefore suitable only
for grounds of sufficient extent to admit of its being allowed to make
unrestrained growth. The common Barberry, _Berberis vulgaris_, also
makes an exceedingly pretty screen in time, but it is of slow growth.
The Buffalo Berry, _Sheperdia argentea_, has been tried for hedges, but
for some reason it has never attained any popularity. In the Southern
States, the Cherokee Rose has been found quite successful for the
purpose, and nothing in the shape of a hedge can exceed, in striking
effect, one of these in full bloom. For evergreen screens nothing
is better than the Hemlock, _Tsuga Canadensis_. The Norway Spruce
is of rapid growth and bears cutting well. The Arbor Vitæ, _Thuja
occidentalis_, is also very successfully employed for the purpose.