The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1889-01-26
The Hedge Fence-Whatis Thought Oft

! county, it is well that those who are interested
in the undertaking should first acquaint them
selves with some facts in connection with these
fences and know just what is thought of them
by those who have given them trial. Thous-
ands of miles of this fence is now in use in
Ohio, Michigan and other Western states and
those farmers who have adopted them are
earnest in their praise of the great saving that
has been effected thereby. In York and Lam
caster counties Pa, and IN Frederick and
! Washington counties, Md, they are also being
extensively planted and number of companies
have been formed to introduce them
The editor of a Michigan paper, who accom-
! panied number of farmers on tour of in
! spection of some of these fences, thus describes
! them: THE plant used in building their hedges
is the Usage orange, which is not only shrub
that maintains its grandeur until late in the
season. but is very hardy plant that readily
withstands our cold tedious winters, and pro-
duces its beautiful foliage early in the spring.
1t usually takes four years to complete a fence.
The ground is first put in good condition for
planting by the farmer; the company then
| plants the hedge; the second year the company
goes over the hedge planted, and removes all
defective or dead plants, puts in new ones, and
does such trimming as is necessary. The third
year the same process is followed, keeping the
hedge uniform and even Generally the fourth
year the fence is completed by ''plashng" and
right here is the secret of the great success at
tanned by this company in furnishing good,
substantial hog-proof fences. What is meant
by 'plashing' is when the plants have attain
ed sufficient growth each individual one is bent
over at the roots, the roots being misplaced so
as not to bend the trunk of the shrub. Each
root is fastened down as it is bent by means of
hooks or links, which hold it firmly at the de-
sired position and helps to form a network.
After the fence is FLASHED it is considered ready
for use and continues to grow in beauty and
strength The cost of construction of these
handsome and substantial fences is but 81 IS
rod, paid in five installments of % cents
each, the last installment not being re-
| quired until the fence is FLASHED. When COM
pleted hog might as well undertake to crawl
through the eye of needle as one of these
hedges. Not only is this the cheapest fence
constructed but the most desirable for when
once obtained they are lasting benefit; they
do not decay or rot down; hogs do not root
under them and obtain access to other fields
destroying the well cultivated crops, and still
further they do not require near as much atten-
ton as the wooden fence. Twice year the pro-
cess of pruning them takes place, which is
readily and expeditiously accomplished by
knife constructed for that purpose In our own
presence man pruned twenty-five rods of
hedge in seventeen minutes. The plant does
not absorb the nutriment out of the ground as
to affect the crops as some might suppose We
saw crops in nearly every instance looking
thrifty and nicely, growing close up to the
hedge; While shoots to the plant do not run out
into the field as some might think. In fact
there is not a question but what they are the
fence for the farmer. Besides being cheap and
durable, they lend grandeur to the landscape
that is magnificent to behold; they are truly a
thing of beauty and ov forever The photos
ofthese fences exhibited by Mr.. Clafiin through
out the country really do them an injustice
while the statements made by this gentleman
~ agent are not an exaggeration of the truth of
the matter"
A correspondent of the Ohio Farmer writes
as follows about these hedge fences:
81 used to be very much down on hedge
fences in fact am now on hedges as ordinarily
grown. There was quite strip of Usage fence
ON some land | once bought, and the first thing
| did was to dig it all out so it was with no
great weakness for green fences that | started
out to examine this new style that we have
heard so much about lately. / found strong
neat fence, occupying practically just about the
same space that board fence would, and with
the grass growing up to it on either side just as
well, apparently, as though no hedge was there.
1t wonld stop chicken as well as COW, so
thick was it. My old idea of hedge fence was
that the soil must be exhausted or made so dry
on either side that paying crops would not grow
near 1t, but here was one practically without
side roots. dug down foot or so from the
outside line and found no roots to amount to
anything. The growth seems to be downward
and along the row. after he plants are FLASHED.
In time they may grow out sidewise to some ex-
tent, but probably not very much as long as
the hedge is properly trimmed, twice year.
The fences | saw were something less than
twelve inches through at the base and two or
three inchess wide at the top and nearly four
feet high. This very small amount of top
would not require very wide root growth.
No one wants to pillow nearer to a fence than
three feet, and 1 can not believe this fence
would affect crops any at all at that distance;
so that point is disposed of.
But now about keeping this fence down to
this very small space 1sn'tit great job to keep
it trimmed twice year | thought so before I
ta1 tha R1fT do frly 60
now. for saw with my own eyes man trim,
neatly, nine rods, on both Sides in seven and
one half minutes by the watch. He took
steady, easy gait that he could have kept up for
hours. OfcOurse he had had much practice in
this line and knew Just how to make every
stroke count. He used long knife made for
the purpose and struck upwards. If | hadn't
seen it done could hardly have believed that
it was possible for man to trim hedge so rap
idly and at the same time so neatly"
A Good Story-How Corn Thief was
Cured.-The following story was told by a
Baltimore county farmer, who vouches for its
truthfulness:
9TH cutest trick l ever seed played ON thief
was one John Wiley. neighbOr of mine got
up. Ye see, John had been missin' corn for
some time. Every night somebody WIZ payin'
the crib visit. John thought over it long
time and didn't know hardly what t. do about
it, fur, We see, he thought he knde the poor
to expose i'm, specially as they lived right
'joinin' most. At last he thought of way to
stop the thievin' without settin' traps er any
thing of that sort.
He tux an he whitfield out a hull lot ov
| little pegs bout an inch thick and two inches
long. Then he drov these pegs into two or
| three ears of corn, hammerin peg into tn
butt end ov each ear. These ears he sprinkled
aroun' over his pile ov corn near the crib door.
"Well, tn mex day wuz Sunday an John
fI,afa I,oIh aav, cfo Co
he puts on his go to meetin'si an walked over
to his neighbor's little place. They talked and
smoked, you know and John kept kinder saun-
term along until they were at the fellers stable:
There Wiley saw pile NV fresh cobs witch had
list been thrOwd out. Still tallIln' unconcerned
like, John picked up a cob an commenced
Within on it. Purity soon peg dropped to
"7Hello,' says John, funny kind of corn,
this. Got wooden peg in tn end NV it. Then
loOkin', up. Why, Tom, what's tn matter?
You look pale
1.-The Teller didn' answer. He knde he wuz
caught, an he stood there trembEn' an waitin'
fur Wiley to accuse him NV stealth tn corn.
But that wuznt Johns way. He jest went on
talkin' an whitfield several more pegs outen tn
cobs then he bid his neighbor good day an
went home.
well, sir, Wiley never mentioned tn matter
agin, but kept on neighbOrin' with tn Teller
same as ever. But you bet he didn't lose any
more GOTH. DOuI d year Illdt III ulslu
came to John an told him with tears in his
eyes that the peg business WIZ tn kindest trick
he'd ever had done him; that tn corn he tux
from John wuz the first stealin' he'd ever done,
and tn last.
Like enough he said to John, EFF you'd ex-
posed me, I'd NV been thief the rest NV my
days, but you sayin' nothin' bout it, an your
treatin me so nice afterward, made me ashamed
Nv myself, an I've been tryin' to be better
man since I'll starve before I'll ever steal
agin.n
Two Very Old Law Suits.-Testimony was
taken before board of arbitrator at Belair,
several days last week, in the case of Mr.. James
Boyce, of Baltimore county, against Joseph NJ.
Simmons. The 4Egis says 1.-THE suit was
brought in 1864 and grew out of heavy trans
| actions in coal in Havre-de-Grace, in 1868 and
1864, in which the parties were jointly interest
ed, the amount at issue being about S24, 600
with interest from 1864. 1t has frequently been
| called in court and submitted to arbitration,
and great mass of testimony has been taken,
but has not yet been adjusted. The original
counsel were Henry d. Farnandis and Orville
| Horwitz for Boyce and Henry w. Archer and
| Col Stump for Simmons. Messrs. Archer and
I'LL, ill .@ff