Year: 1866

1ss
next spring take . hoe and level the
ground around the plants, then take o.
sharp knife {not a scythe) and cut them
off the way they lean, close to the
ground, taking care not to loosen the
roots, and this the second year keep the
weeds down as usual. Now begins the
most diflicult part In making good
hedge. AS soon as a few sprouts start
three inches long clip them off with a
knife or o pair of sheep shears, leave
none larger than three inches, and If but 4
one sprout starts on stalk do not leave
more than two leaves on it, so as 10 get
as low stool as possible, and In four
days go over It again and you will And
quite quantity more three inches long
which clip at three inches, and so on
until the plants are foot high, and
some of them will be foot high before
others; in that case the large ones must
be kept back somewhat SO as to let the
weak ones come up. It is necessary to
go over it thus often for the following
reasons: First, to force it to stool on the
ground; second, to loose as little growth
as possible; and third, to dwarf the
plants as soon as possible-that Is by the
time the plant is foot high the brush
should all be fine-there should be no
center stem, for if there is center stem
it will take an undue amount of the sap
and continue the habit of the tree. It's
absolutely necessary to force it to be a
shrub. Whenever the hedge is a foot
high you may take sharp, light corn
cutter, and allow it to grow four inches
at q growth, and when two feet high,
five inches, and when three feet,
six inches at a growth, and should never
be more than four feet high. The prop
er size of finished hedge is four feet
high and four feet wide, Of a regular
oval. This is my theory and practice of
making hedge, but theory alone will
not make good hedge; he who tries it
will find he must have practice aided by
little mate Judgment. It is folly to
put out hedge without it is tended to
in the right manner and at the right
time. In my earlier practice in hedg-
ing | doubted the practicability Of get
ting good hedge On account of the
plants dying out and leaving gaps in the
hedge, but since took the pains to
thoroughly drain the ground (some
eight years since,) I have not noticed a
single plant in all my hedge (some seven
hundred rods, after the first winter. I
expect to go into the business in the
spring for the neighbors. a.


A HEDGE TRIMMER.


I have trimming machine in my
minds eye which I think will trim a
young hedge from foot high until
grown, at one going over, and when the
hedge is finished it will trim but one
side at a time {; and also trim neglected
hedge if the brush is not more than an
inch thick. IL Has@ - = se +


OTHER PLANS OF MAKING A HEDGE.


l Twill now give some other theories of
hedging. Some say let it grow six years,
then take an axe and cripple it at the
ground and lay them on each other SO as
to form a brush fence, and lay rails or
cord-wood on them to hold them down.
Others say, let them grow six years, then
trim the sides, and lay them down as
before, and still trim the sides as at first.
And yet another, is to plant them one
foot apart, and in three years trim the
limbs all off the best sprouts on each
plant, and cut the balance off at the
ground; then leave every third or fourth
one stand, and cripple the others and
bend them down and fasten to the stand
ing ones SO as to be about 80 inches from
the ground. Now am of the opinion
that this last one would succeed, provid.
ed, the plants are put but six inches
apart, and expect to try some on that
plan as soon as l get any old enough.


CUTTING.


have tried cutting sprouts in the
Fall and putting them in the ground il
the Fall, to see whether they woule
grow in the Spring and planted them
and got two to grow in one hundred
and last Fall l cut some before frost, an,
put them away with the potatoes, AM
will plant them in the Spring.


GOPHERS.


My experience is that hedge canno
be made where the gophers are in th
ground; and that the best way to ge
them out is to kill all the wild grass an


thoroughly cultivate the ground-wil'
grass must not be left in the fence row


for if it is left even there the gophers vii
stay many years, but where the groun


Is all cultivated, the gophers will 500


leave. They are sometimes killed b


putting poison in vegetables and droI


ping it in the holes, or by placing stee


traps in the bottom of their paths. an


covering up the hole SO as to make


uuita dark