Year: 1866

And angel voices say to thee


Those things shall never die.


OSAGE ORANGE HEDGING.


,.. BY s. RoBB.
FURNISHED for publication in the burlington


ns sfae BY DR. M snnes soeety


Presuming that farmers generally
know as much about fencing of other
sorts as do, confine my remarks to
the Usage Orange; and it is hardly nee
essary to tell all Iowa farmer that hedg-
ing of some sort is an absolute necessity,
and having experimental on the orange
hedge the last fourteen years, with the
idea of making hedging science, I will
here give my ''modus operandi'' of max
ing hedge, with the "whys and where
fores" Of SO doing.


Break the ground for the hedge late in
the fall have the middle furrow deep
and exactly under the hedge, so that
the frost will mellow the ground through
the winter; early in the Spring throw
the earth back and raise ridge six feet
wide and eight inches in the middle
above the level of the ground, where it
is wet land, and six where it is more
dry, and four on rolling ground, and
thoroughly drain the wet land then
take sound plants and sharp knife,
hold the plant by the top-which should
not have more than two inches of green
stem-cut off the side roots one fourth
of an inch from the main root, and cut
off the end of the main root until it looks
clear and sound. It is necessary to have
the knife sharp, SO that you will not
bruise the bark, for the root-sprouts start
out between the bark and the wood.
Select the plants into two or three sizes,
50 as not to mix large and small ones to-
gether, for the large ones will overshad-
ow the small ones and cause an irregular
growth; then stake off the hedge as
near the middle of the ridge as possible !;
take long line and stretch it with the
stakes; then take a polished spade and
set the plants in six inches apart and a
little slanting to you when you 60 with
the line; you can plant with the line, or
make mark and take up the line and
plant with the mark-better have the
plants less than six inches apart than
over it-a little boy can insert the plant
in the ground as the spade is drawn out,
putting the yellow part one inch below
the surface; pack the earth well about
the plants, and if the earth is not quite
damp, the plants should be dipped in a
wash of clay and well rotted manure,
and then be mulched an inch deep with
loose earth or saw-dust to keep the
ground from baking. The plants should
be put out thus early for several seasons
they have moist earth to start in-have
all the season to grow in-have made
the first effort to grow in the right place
if they are left out until late they may
have dry ground to start out in and will
have made an effort in the acrong place
which will be all lost and the plant thu
less able to make the second effort; may
put out plants when the ground is quite
wet-as good stand as I ever had
could hear the water under the spade
some of my neighbors laughed at me fo
putting them out when the ground wa
SO wet, but had good stand and the,
lost all theirs by waiting for the groun,
to dry. l replant some the first year
but mostly the second-blIt never after
in replanting the first year, make


round hole and fill it with a manure an,
clay wash, and then put in the plan
and cover it with loose earth; the secon,


year spade up the ground and plant a


the first.


All the attention they will need tn


first season will be to break down tn


weeds on our common rich ground, an


when the land is somewhat worn Q


thin it should be cultivated some, an


on poor, gravelly ridges manure shoul
be added Il intend to get hoc-barro,
made to keep down the weeds, the hoe
Of which will throw the earth a.
towards the hedge and scrape the groun


clear p feet wide which will keep u


the ridge) late in the fall take a two
horse plow and throw the earth agains