The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1871-08-18
HEDGE-GROwING-NEW IDEAS

1
most intelligent and prosperous farm
ers, furnishes the following article to
to the Kansas Farmer, for August, on
Hedge growing. The article contains
some suggestions on hedges which we
have not seen elsewhere:
EDITOR FARMER: Your correspond
ent from Cloud county desires to hear
from some successful hedge-grower in
Kansas. 1 have been at it twelve
years, on my farm only, and am willing
| to be iIdged by my works.
| AS Il the cultivation of plants / will
not speak now, as am convinced, by q
trial both of planting the seed and rails
| ing my own plants, and buying the
plants from those who make raising
! them business, that the latter is bet
ter way for any man fencing his farm.
The process of setting the plants and
tending the hedge is very simple, and
success certain. Different persons have
various ways of putting in the plants,
and various times of doing it. Any
| time after the frost goes out of the
ground till the LIST of July, will do; but
April and May is the best time. 1
think it best that the buds be started,
so that Il may know positively that
the pls@ is alive; and it is well to heel
them l.. till they do start. If the
sprouts have reached q length of one or
two inches they will grow, but not so
well.
have practiced different ways Of set
| ting the plants in the hedge-roE =. 1t
you are = very nice man, and want
| your hedge very straight, and to look
very nice when young, get long line
Ga piece of fence wire will do), tic 4
stake to each end, and stretch it along
your hedge-row, having first staked it
off from end to end. Now put in your
plants put them we'll down don't leave
any yellow in sight. 1 take it for gran
ted that your row is plowed deep and
well narrowed. Put in with spade,
one foot apart.
If you are not so nice, after deeply
blowing your row and pulverizing il
veil, open a deep, straight furrow, and
lay your plants in it in an inclined po-
sition, and turn the dirt on them with
little. They will not look so well at
first, but you will see no difference in q
few days.
Now, keep the weeds out of the row
with hoe and pillow, and don't cat the
plants back at all for fee gears and
let them grow ten years without cut.
ting back, if you have enough other
work to employ your time. l would
not let diVision-fences grow without
pruning more than five years, as they
would appropriate too much land.
side-prune them even earlier than this.
am aware that this is contrary to the
''books," and therefore | will give my
reasons
lst. You get fence that will turn
stock two years earlier than when you
prune according to the orthodox teach
ing.
Sd. You get much stronger, thicker
hedge.
Sd. You can take the brush you cut
from your hedge at the ages mention,
and tie them to old, rickety wood fen
ces, and make them perfectly secure
against all stock, or tie them to very
cheap and inferior posts, to enclose
new fields and protect young hedges.
4th. A great deal of labor is saved,
by dispensing with two or three annual
trimmings, for from five to ten years.
My method with a division-fence is
as follows: At about five or six years
old-having side-trimmed it for, two
years where the branches reach out too
far-take q light AK, and cut it down
tw feet above the ground, and remove
the brush. Cut off all side branches to
within six inches of the main stem.
Amy gaps that may have been OCCASION
ed by the failure of plants, can now be
filled up by hacking the bushes next to
them, {, laying them down; and be-
fore the summer is ended you would
not notice them.
This work may be done any time
when convenient, but spring is the best
time for the hedge.
The treatment of boundary fences is
the same, only they may not be cut SO
low, as stock might get over them at
first.
Now prune them back rigidly, three
or four times during the spring and
summer; and at the end of the grow
ing season you will have fence thick
enough, and high enough, and stout
enough, for any purpose. The weeds
should be kept from along the sides, SO
as to give the sprouts that start from
the stur at the root chance to grow
and thics Cd up; especially if it Is desir-
able to make fence that will turn hogs
and rabbits.
Now, measures should be taken to
dwarf the hedge. This may be done
by running q sharp Golfer as clos by
the side of it as possible, as deep Us four
horses can draw it. This will prevent
tho roots from drawing the moisture
from the growing crops in its vicinity.
1t is now very desirable to get blue
grass sod about the roots of the hedge.
This, together with the cutting of the
roots that reach out in the cultivated
soil, will save much labor in pruning.