Richland beacon., 1873-10-04
The Treatment of Young Hedges.

Thomas Meehan, in the Weekly Press,
says: "Of late years discovery has
been made in the treatment of hedges
of supreme Importance. 1t was the uni
versal advice and the general practice
to cut the plants to the ground at plant
ing, and this part is still right. But
the practice went further. The follow
ing summer the growth was cut back to
make the shoots sprout, and perhaps
the succeeding winter they were cut
again, and the next summer and winter,
and so on but this we now know is all
wrong. Not only is it wrong so far as
the making of a good, stout hedge is
concerned, but it takes a good deal of
money and labor to attend to it and it
was very natural for the farmer to saw
that this labor was his great bugaboO,
and if he was to be continually bothered
In this way he would rather pay double
or treble for lumber fence and be done
wife it. Many who kept to the faith in
constant trimming in the hedges youth
ful period found to their sorrow that
with all their labor there would be
bOles which would admit dogs, and in
time larger animals ; and only those who
had knowledge an skill enough to boot
to look well after their hedges kept on
with this way of making them. The
FLASHING system followed this. In this
way the plants were allowed to grow
straight up for three or four years after
planting, and then each one cut half
through near the ground and bent over.
This presented a series of horizontal
stems along the hedge line, and made a
successful barrier against intruders.
Only half cut, they live, although of
course making weakened growth; and
from below the cut lot of sprouts
come up which help to thicken the
mass. But although this way is much
superior to the old-fashioned plan, in
this, that involves no labor for the first
two or three years. the FLASHING itself is
labOrlous process, and moreover, the
result does not always prove perfect
hedge. The new plan was foreshadowed
in speech by the agricultural editor of
the Press at Harrisburg some six years
ago, and of which an abstract is given
in the Pennsylvania Fruit Growers So
ciety's report. It was there shown that
VIC oiu iucd tAhb pruning SlTenptneneU
tree was wrong. The branches seem
to grow more vigorous after pruning,
it is true, but few years of this treat
ment show the true state of affairs. A
dozen willows lett to grow unpruned
will make trunks to enormous size, and
probably last fifty years while the
same willows annually cut down for bas-
ket-making purposes die out in twenty
five, and hardly ever make trunk more
than foot or so in diameter. Knowing,
then, how pruning weakens, we apply
the knowledge to hedge culture. We
want to weaken it after it has been
made into perfect hedge, but not be-
fore. For few years we desire to give
it all the vigor possible. This is OBJ
tanned by tting it alone. In this way
the roots become very strong after a
growth of four or five years. Then in
the winter, or in the spring before the
leaves have pushed, We saw or chop it
off close to the ground. The result is a
mass of strong, vigorous growth, which
surprises every one. 1t can be moved
into shape with scythe the next sum-
mer, and perfect hedge is made at
small cost.