LIVE FENCES.

Dunstan Times, Issue 299, 17 January 1868, Page 3

LIVE FENCES.

THE OSAGE ORANGE. (From The Australasian.) It has boot! stated that tho fences in America have cost as much as the amount of the National Debt of England, and that in some parts of the country tho fences cost double the value of the land they enclosed. Both these assertions are in all likelihood true, for American farmers are “tall” at fences. They know the value of them, and at times put up very expensive boundariesPerhaps in America the farmers rather overdo it for when the cattle and sheep are foddered or stall-fed for many months in the year, there is not that great need for protection in the shape of hedges or fences. The American farmer is so fond of fcncingt that upon some farms where the cattlo are always soiled and are never allowed to ream he still insists upon dividing his land into

s mall paddocks, and planting fences round them. We do not recommend such extravagance. Nor do we see the utility of such very small paddocks, especially' grain padj docks. Grass may and ought to be divided for a hundred acres of grass, divided into four paddocks of twenty-five acres each, will carry nearly, if not quite, twice asmany head of cattle as it would with no subdivisions. The cattle require more shelter than the corn in Victoria, under the present system of culture, when the grass lands are kept for grazing only, with no prospect of intrusion on the part of the plough. We will, therefore, once introduce the plant which, according to report and past experience, has proved itself most effective as a fence plant, not only in America, but also in a few individual cases in Victoria—the Osago orange. It appears this plant is indigenous to that part of America watered by the Osage River inhabited by tho Osage Indians, and the small fruit bears some little resemblance to our common orange. In a practical littl treatise issued by Messrs. Law, Somner & Co. last year, upon this plant, very plain guidance is given to those who desire to raise the plant from seed, and the most efficacious plan seems to be as follows :—"ln August immerse the seed in tepid water for two days, after which mix the seed in about four times its bulk in sand or wood ashes, moistened, but not too wet. Spread this mixture on some sacking three or four inches thick, covered so as to exclude thelight and protect it from extreme cold; turn it over at least once in thetwenty-fouv hours, to prevent fermentation, and keep the whole epually moist; prevent the moisture from becoming too dry, and only keep up a moderate moisture. If made too wet the seed will rot. The germ will easily be observed when it is put forth, and the seed may now be sown in a properly prepared bed, or on the line where the fence is to be. The young plants will appear in about three weeks after this, and then will require weed ing. The seed ought to be sown in drills and a few long scarlet radish are recommended to be sown in the rows, the radishes being quick growers will soon indicate the position of the rows, and permit tho process of weeding to be carried on much earlier and without much danger to the young plants in the drills. The radishes may be used as soon as they have effected the purpose for which they wore sown." The Osage orange nearly always sends down a large tap root ? and in transplanting, especially upon heavy soils, it is found better to shorten this tap root, the bast way to do this is while taking up tho plants in the rows to put the spade (which ought to be verv sharp) down obliquely and sever the tap root about six inches beneath the surface; this will induce a more fibrous growth of roots, but i:i light sandy and our ordinary suits this root priming is unnec3ssary. The line of ground to be occupied by an Osage orange fence must bo well trenched and earef dly prepared, and if the bottom bo wit, draining will be necessary. A double line of plants will be better than a single one. as in a thorn fence, and if the roots are cut the tops or heads of tho plants may be cut d >\v;i, as w.i advised with the " quicks'' to within two inches of thy crown. Should a double line bo determined upon, each line should have its plants so put in that their crown should have a sloping direction inwards. Kcjp tho yoil"g rows from weeds, and dig up both sides of the fence where possible every yearuntil they become independent of your attention excepting as regards pruning. As with other fences, pruning this plant demands particular attention. At the first outset it has a rapid growth, and severe pruning, if carefully performed, is insisted on for the first year or two, that the lower laterals may be encouraged and the bottom of tho fonc2 made linn and dense. This plant will soon throw out conic most formidable prickles, and its vertical and deeply penetrating roots enables it to stand the severest drought. It has a wonderful tenacity of life, so much so, that the shears or hook may be applied for pruning during any season of the year. Another point in its favor is, that the leaves are unpalatable to tho cattle in consequence of the presence of a strong aromatic juice. Unlike those hedge plants usually employed in this Colony, and which spread their roots over a largo area of land on both sides, to tho great detriment of the soil and inconvenience to the owner, the Osage sends its roots perpendicularly down, and draws its subsistence from a great depth. Tho peculiarity fully explains its ability to withstand the effects of our withering hot winds. Planting may be commenced with our first rains in April, and may be continued until September, but no later. Plants of a year old will rarely be over six inches high, but theso plant, if allowed to grow uncheek ed, Would make a shoot of five or six feet tho second season. The efficiency of the fence depends almost entirely upon the management the first year. At no stage is more care required than at this. Any neglect or mismanagement at the start will be manifest throughout after years. The pamphlet we have referred to advises the pruning the second year, or one year from the transplanting, to be within three inches of the ground. The shoots grown after the first cutting, made at period of transplanting, will now number three or four. A second cutting may take place in the December following. During these processes the weeds should be kept down. If these prunings bo carefully performed, and not too great anxiety displayed towards preserving long shoots each time, the fence ought, at tho end of the fourth year, to be a most formidable one, and will well repay all the trouble bestowed upon it. Although some American growers boast that they can make it impervious to even a rabbit or rat, it will bo quite satisfactory to our farmers, we prssumo, if sheep, and poultry and be

kept in their places. Permanence in a fence is one of the most desirable points to obtain, and this quality the Osage orange possesses to an eminent degree. Andit will also not only withstand our hot winds, but a bush fire is not so destructive to it as to the evergreen acacia or others possessing essential oils in their composition. A cor. respondent writes in 1862 from Mooroobark " that a bush fire at Christmas spread and ignited the dry grass in his Osage orauge fence and burned the leaves of several plants which he expected to find destroyed, but that they soon after put forth fresh foliage, and were growing as vigorously as ever, not evincing any ill-effects from the accident. The value of the plant for fences is considerably enhanced by this proof of its power to resist the effects of bush fires." We have seen no evidence of disease in the plant in Victoria, although in America, we understand that an old fence is sometimes subject to a species of blight; but we won't anticipate evil, it is time enough to combat this visitation when it appears. As a proof of what may de done with a fence which from misfortune or early bed management had become open to trepass at bottom, a grower with a bill-hook cut each plant half through at the ground, and in one season it became, as he termed it, "pigtight, bull strong, and horse high ;" the plants sprouted all x-ound the crown and along the stem, thus making it perfectly close and defiant to almost every living animal. A mile will require, if only a single rowbo planted, about eight thousand ; in a dou ble row the plants may be a trifle farther apart, and we think that fourteen thousand will be ample. No one can grudge twelve or fourteen pounds for the material of a mile of good, beautiful, and durable fencing. For cheapness and economy the advantages for, say twenty years, are at least four to one in favor of the Osage orange as a fence in comparison with posts and railss