The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1873-05-15
Agricultural.
The Usage Orange for Hedges.

tlt AuFut dtuDdVttuft, tuhu lHt Usage
orange plant C.Maclura aurantiaca), and
/ may add, more abused without just
cause. True, it requires INT time and
trouble TO make a defensible hedge Of
this plant as well as Of anything else
and this time and trouble We southern
ers don't like to expend on anything
except cotton. Like many other enter
prises, if it does not grow up into per-
feet success after having once been star
ted, We have ne sort Of use for tit
won't dots a humbug! know moth
ing after hsving tried them all, that will
make a better protective roadside hedge
in a shorter time than the Maclura. For
inside fences there may DO something
/ better-for outside ones, nothing.
In the formation Of the hedge with a
view 10 a durable and effective fence
there are a few important items that
must be perfectly understood and kept
constantly in view, Here they are di-
vested Of all pedantic phrases and COM
plicated details. The hedge row should
be at least twelve feet wide, thoroughly
plowed and ~subsoiled, and freed from
all surroundings that will make or cast
a shade on the row. In long lines Of
hedge row there will occasionally occur
poor spots, and these should be manur-
ed so as TO equalize the fertility Of the
bed as far as possible. A failure to at
tend 10 this point is n cause OF failure
in the Usage Orange aA a hedge plant.
Even after attending TO this matter as
carefully az We may, it will be necessary
to occasionally dress up those plants
that seem to linger in growth, and thus
prevent all breaks and irregularities in
our matlrcd hedge row. The hedge
bed having been properly prepared, set
a row OF stakes in the centre OF the
whole length Of the bed, 50 as 10 keep a
straight base for the future hedge.
Now stretch a strong line along the row
Of stakes, and we are ready to plant.
Having a good lot of we'll grown ono
year old roots at hand and an iron-shod
dibble some eighteen inches long, pro-
coed to dibble in the plants five or six
inches apart, following the line closely
and pressing the earth well in around
the plants. These should be set a little
deeper than they grew in the nursery.
In this way the work can be quickly
and effectively accomplished in ordi-
nary seasons not one per cent. Of the
plants dying. As the plants come from
the nursery they are usually cut back
to about six inches of stalk, and, in
planting, this need not be shortened.
Cultivate deeply and thoroughly the
first season. In the following spring,
cut the plants down to the ground,
leaving any side shoots that may start
out below this, uncut. The second
year cultiy ate rs before. In February
Of the second year cut down again TO
four or five inches, slightly shortening
the side shoots, especially those that
seem disposed to outgrow the others.
Now we have two seasons growth, and
from this time we cut back to within a
foot of the last cutting each season I'M
til we get our hedge up to five feet, al
ways being careful to keep the side
growth III advance of the top. In after
treatment, it is only necessary to keep
the top in subsection to the sides, and
to see that no one plant or part of the
row outgrows another, in order to main
tain the hedge in proper shape and full
efficiency. The shape of the hedge Mt
maturity should be something like the
roof of "A house. The best trimming
instrument is a good strong pair of
hedge shears, and with these the hedge
should be clipped about the middle of
June and August. No FLASHING. knife
should be used, as the hedge cannot be
kept in uniform shape, etc, by plash-
ing.
If an Usage Orange hedge is started
on this plan, there is no plant that will
make n better aud more lasting fence.
This thing of hedge making is an old
profession of mine, and in the course
Of my experience and observation | have
seen almost everything imaginable used
as a hedge plant, but nothing that bet
ter suits the purpose in different soils
and situation han the Maclura. No
worm works in its root, no stock will
browse it injuriously, and the only
thing necessary TO keep its roots from
spreading is n good sharp coulter run
deeply within four feet of the row once
or twice n year. This is the plan we
used to adopt years ago in old Ken
lucky, and | know of no better plan
now for a strong, defensive, everlasting