The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-01-13
agricultural.
Live Hedges.

In an article from the pen of DIR. J. "A.
Warder, in the August number of the
Western Horticultural Review, on Live
Hedges In Ohio" we find the following
notice of the farm and hedging operations
of Jas. McGrew, of Montgomery county:
"After many months of anticipation,
l have at length been able 70 visit the
hedge of Mr.. James McGrew, at Alexan-
dersyille, near Dayton, Ohio. This gen
tleman has become well known in our State
as a warm advocate of the Maclura; in
deed he is so from interest as well as con-
viction, the result of experiment. At the
last December meeting of our State Board
of Agriculture, at Columbus, he was OBJ
hged almost alone to battle the wall inits
defense, against fearful odds of grey heads
and dignitariesof the body someo of whom
confessed that they had never seen prop
erly managed experiment. The honest,
straightforward account given by Mr. Nc
Grew, induced the sagacious editor of the
Ohio Farmer to call upon him for a COM
munication, which elected the best paper
we have had upon the subject of hedging;
indeed. it should be incorporated In the
Agricultural Report of the State. Mr..
McGrew is so earnest in his devotion to
hedging, that he has rented his farm, and
devotes himself almost exclusively to the
business; not only has he induced his
once unbelieving neighbors to plant miles
of hedge, but he and his associates have
large contracts, amounting to hundreds of
miles. The Central railroad of Illinois
alone has contracted for one hundred
miles of hedge on either side of their high
way through the prairies.
Passing through the rich bottoms of
the Great Miami, where everything, even
the corn, is wont to look up, approached
Maple Grove Farm with some misgiv-
ings, it must be confessed; for l have
been so often disappointed in hedges.
that l expected nothing else then, like
most others, this too would be open at
the bottom. How great and how agree
able was the disappointment when l be-
he'd mass of green leaves and twigs ;
no longer wall of perpendicular green,
with broad, fiat top. growing wider to
shade the more useful branches below,
but mass impenetrable to booted foot,
, or rabbit or pig, and of just such pro-
portions as to extract exclamations of ad-
miration; six feet at the base and three
feet in height Here, now, at last, Is a
perfect fence of beautiful green /" Eure-
ka was the exclamation-here, indeed,
is premium hedge-no need of stone
wall, nor base board" which some
one has said-and good reason, too, in
many cases-would be necessary to per-
feet the fence-nor is any needed. A
single row of plants, set upon ground we'll
prepared, and kept well cultivated, the
plants cut off close to the ground at one
year from the planting, and repeatedly
cut back, at the end of two moro sum-
mers will have covered the ground for
two or three feet wide, and will be one
foot to eighteen inches high and after
that will efectually smother the grass
and weeds, and prevent all egress, except
to such animals as can jump high and
wide at the same time /; but with four
seasons growth and trimming, win make
what any person may see at Maple Grove
"a perfect fence of the most beautiful
character, with noble corn on one hand
and herd of farm stock grazing within
ten feet upon the other side.