Agricultural.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 15, 15 October 1874, Page 4

Agricultural.

HEDGE PLANTING.

The following interesting article on j tins t-nibjpct appears in a recent issue of j tbe • Melbourne Leader' >- r ' The autumn ploughing and sowing j having bpen brought to a close in the i latest districts the present is a suitable i time for reminding, the farmer that the j two coming months are . favorable for | planting hedgps. As to the import- < nnce of this branch of farm work, all ; who bavi* to do with the occupation of the land must be sufficiently impressed. ; In the old settled districts 'the cobling the fences have to undergo at this season of the year is becoming annually a more SPrion_t matter, while each year the supply of suitable timber for their renewal is becoming scnrcer. If this work, to the extent of a few chains yearly, bad been attended to at first, these old farms might have been enclosed with a permanent hedge, from which the decayed posts and rails could hays been removed for firewood. The necessity for hedge planting is no less -urgent in the new districts being taken up under the present Land Act. As a rule these new lands do not contain more timber than serves to erect such fencing as is needful for the barest •necessities of early occupation, and therefore should only be regarded as preliminary to a more permanent enclosure. The permanency of a good hedge is only one out of the many a Ivan tnjres it possesses over the usual post and rail or wire structure, which, iiowever substantially erected at first, can only be regarded as temporary at best. Stock sheltered by hedges will thrive upon half the food required by those exposed to the biting sleet of winter. A good hedge is the only fence that will prevent tbe communication of infectious diseases, and protect sheep from the ravages of dogs ; while the increase in the value of land resulting from its improved appearance may be mentioned among other advantages. With regard to what is the best hedge to plant, experiments . have been made iv different parts of the Colony. Cape broom has been tried in many places and grows well, but although affording some shelter it is utterly useless as a fence. Furz has also been tried, but it spreads much over the adjoining land. It also accumulates dry matter, which is subject to fire. The common olive (Olea- Europcea), and the several species of pittosporums make ornamental hedges and afford some shelter, but are not robust enough to resist stock. Of the latter, pittisporum undulatum is the strongest, but the plants are dear, running from L3to L 5 per 100. Gle--diuschia triacanthus make a stout fence, but its roots spread about and rob too much of the adjacent soil. The Otago orange (Macluria Aurantaica), makes a superior hedge under favorable conditions, but it does not . seem adaptable enough to meet general requirements. . Strong acacia (acacia armata) and kangaroo acacia (ac via undulata) have also been tried throughout the Colony, but are not to be recommended. Although they grow rapidly and look well at first they do not last. After a year or two they die out in patches and are subject to fire, while, like others of the same family, their roots spread and rob the adjacent soil. The hedge-plant that lias most satisfactorily stood the test, and proved itself best adapted to a variety of soils in this Colony, is the hawthorne (Cratceyus oxyacantha). This hedge, when properly managed, presents in a few years an impenetrable barrier to stock, affords good shelter, is pleasing to the eye, and is hardy and permanent. Many have been deterred from planting thorn hedges from a fear of the expenditure connected with the heavy band trenching commonly supposed indispcnsible. We can recommend the following comparatively inexpensive method as one that will prove successful in any ordinary soil. Let the land to be planted be ploughed with two ploughs, the second with the mould board removed, following in the furrow I of the first. If the surface is shallow the first plough must not go deeper than the good soil, but the subsoiler can go as aeep as it can get. In each furrow after the subsoiler let there be a dressing of wejl decomposed farmyard manure, or bone dust, given heavy or light according to the quality of the land, and on the top ci this let the succeeding surface furrow be turned. The land must be ploughed not less than four feet wide, beginning at, and turning the furrows towards the fence. After this, scarify and harrow till a ' fine surface mould is obtained. Then, with a single horse in the plough, turn a deep square furrow from close to the fence inwards towards the field. In this furrow, with the aid of a boy. the planter inserts the thorns nine inches apart. Add a little bone dust along with each plant, and fill back~ the earth into the furrow and round the plants with a spade. Attention to these and the following directions will ensure ft good hedge : — lst Obtain plants well rooted, and not less than two years old ; l?nJ. Keep the plants thoroughly free from weeds for the first two years; and 3rd. Let the first prunings be pretty close down. The first prunings should take place one year from the date of planting. Close pruning and nine-inch planting makes the hedge grow strong, and in no case should thorns bo planted at a less distance i«pjirr. Of course, a dry opportunity i-Jio-jM be taken -so as t:ot to work tlie

land wet, and stock should be kept off the young plants ns much as possible. Stock dp hot, however, trouble the thorn much unless severely pressed for food. But we are not dependent altogether on the hawthorn for a hedge. The willow, also makes an exceedingly good fence, grows quickly, and has other merits as well, which we shall presently notice. By substituting willow for thorn, hedges can- be. made profitable; they are, it is said, more effecti/e as a shelter, quite as strong, reared in a much shorter time, and at less than half the cost. The willow has been recommended for hedges by Linnieiis, Loudon, Miller, and other writers of note ; and the only way in which the neglect of such advice can be accounted for is simply that the matter has never been sufficiently brought under notice. A willow hedge, fays the '* Farist and Ppmologist," 200 yards lon<*, planted in ground well dug over, cleaned and manured — planted with cutting's 12in. long and 6in. apart, requiring 1200 cuttings, valne about 25s — become in two years a good strong hedge, capable of resisting any pressure an ordinary hedge is ii subject to. The willows being crossed diagonally renders it almost impossible for anything to break through. The dressings or sprays of the first two years were coarse and worthless, but in the" three succeeding years the dressing was sold to basket- makers for 20s each year, which has paid the entire cost of planting, labor, and rent of land, which the hedge occupies. Another hedge planted on the same principle has, at the second years' dressing, paid the cost of the pi ints. The above hedges are planted with the bittern willow, which neither cattle, game, nor vermin will often materially injure.