PLANTS FOR HEDGES.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 376, 12 June 1889, Page 3

PLANTS FOR HEDGES.

Writing on the be&b plants and shrub? for hedges an English writer says hedges may be formed of plum trees or mediars, and states that at Sawbridereworth great use is made of these foi shelter to the smaller trees. He goes on to say : — " They may also be formed of different kinds of evergreen trees and -shrubs. Spruce fir trees make good hedges, and stand cutting into shape very well. I have seen good hedges of these. The common laurel also makes a good hedge-plant in some soils. Holly grows beat in a deep, sandy loam ; on heavy soils it grows slowly. Various kinds of conifers may also be used ; they are very ornamental, and aflord shelter in a very few years. Yew makes a fine hodge", but should not be used where stock are kept. Thuja, or the American Arbor-vita\ grows fast, and the varioty called Thuja lohhii makes a fine hedge-plant, and, being very cheap, it can be purchased a good size at a small outlay. Fine plants, three to four feet high, can be bought at any good tree nursery for 75s per 100, and smaller plants at a much cheaper rate. This plant will grow very freely in any ordinary soil, and will form a good hedge in a very few years ; it stands clipping in year by year. I should only recommend hedge? being: used when the ground is to be kept cultivated among the trees. For orchards on grass trees of a more permanent nature should be used on the south and east sides and protected by iron fencing, or in some other substantial manner. For such planting the different kinds of vines are very de- [ sirable, Pinus austreaca and Laricio, both j grow fast and soon aflord shelter, but they require considerable spaed. Spruce and Scotch fir could also be used. Several kinds of poplars might be planted among the conifers ; these could always be cut away, to allow the others to grow. The Lombardy, Ontario, and silver - leaved poplars are very suitable for this kind oi planting, as they make very rapid growth. | Evergreens may also be planted for^underJ growth, such as laurels, privet, box, yew, i <fee. "Before planting, the ground should be well prepared by trenching at least three feet deep, and if a good quantity of rotten manure is mixed with the soil the trees will grow all the faster. It is very remarkable what a difference it makes to trees when planted in rich soil. I will give one instance that came under my notice a few ' years ago. A farmer ordered a supply of fruit trees from a well-known nurseryman, and when the trees arrived he found half-a-dozen conifers as a pi'esent among them. One day just before going off to market he showed his man the six places selected for these trees, and told him to dig a hole and mix some manure with the soil ; imagino his surprise when he returned and found his man had dug in about half-a-load of rotten manure for each tree. Well, the trees were planted in this, and when I saw them last, more healthy trees could not possibly exist. One, a Picea jnnsapo, made such close, thick growth, that you could not see through the branches. Another plant, of Wellingtonia giganiea, made equally rapid growth, and they were all healthy and growing fast, proving that conifers are amenable to good treatment. In preparing the ground for the fruit tiees, do not be afraid of making it too good or rich for them, for you cannot expect fine fruit from half-starved or stunted trees. I maintain that it is alwaj's better to giow a few trees healthy and well than a host of half-starved, Btunted bushes, which are any eyesore and anything but an ornamont to your surroundings.'