HEDGE-PLANTING

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 384, 22 August 1874, Page 3

HEDGE- PLANTING

The following interesting article on thi3 subject, appears in a recent issue of the Melbourne "Leader": — The autumn ploughing and sowing having been brought to a close in the latest districts, the present is a suitable time for reminding the farmer that the two coming months are favorable for planting hedges. As to the importance of this branch of farm work, all who have 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 serious matter, while each year the supply of suitable timber for their renewal is becoming scarcer. If this work, to the extent of a few chains yearly, had been attended to at first, these old farms might now have been enclosed, with a permanent hedge from which the decayed posts aud rails could have been removed for firewood. The necessity for hedge planting is no less urgent in the new districts being taken up under tha present Land Act. As a rule these new lands do not c mtain mora 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 advantages it posses ;es over the the usual post and rail or wire structure, which, however snbstatially 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 the 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 in 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 too much over the adjoining land. It also accumulates dry matter, which is subject to fire. Tlie common olive (Oka Murojpcea), and the several species of pittosporuma make ornimental iiedges and difbrJ some shelter, but are not robust enough to resist stock. Of the latter, pittospomm undulatum is the strongest, but the plants are dear, running from L 3 to L 5 per 100, Glediuschia triacanthus make a stout fence but its roots spread about aud rob too much of the adjacent soil. The Otago orange (Alacluria Aumntiaca), makes a superior hedge under favorable conditions, but it does not seem adaptable enough to meet general requirements, fcjtroug acacia {acacia armaia) and kangaroo acacia (ac cia undulata) have also been tried throughout the colony, but are not to be recommended. Although they grow rapidly and look Weil at ftrst, they do not last. After a year or two they die out in patches, and are subject to lire, while, like others of the same family, their roots spread and rob the adjacent ground. The hedge-plant that has most satisfactorily stood the test, aud 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 year an impenetrable barrer to stock, affords good shelter, is pleasing to the eye, and is hardy and permauent. Many have been deterred from planting thorn hedges from a fear ol the expenditure connected with the heavy hand trenching commonly supposed indispensible. We can recommuud 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 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 deep as it can get. In each furrow after the subsoiler, let thei-" * uress * n g of well de---...^Obuu farmyard manure or bone dust, given heavy or light, according to the quality of the land, and on the top of 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 aud harrow till a tine surfacG mould is obtained. Then with a single horse in the plough, turn a deep square furrow from close to the feme 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 eaoh 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 a good hedge :—lst: — Ist Obtain plants well rooted, and not less than two years' old. 2nd. Keep the plants thoroughly free from weeds for the first two years ; and 3rd. Let the first prunings be pretty close down. The first primings should take one year from the date of planting. Close pruning aud nine inch planting makes the hedge grow strong, aud in no case should thorns be planted at a less distance apart, Of course, a dry opportunity should be taken so as not to work the land wet, and stock should be kept off the young plants as much as possible. Stock do not, 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 effective as a shelter, quite as strong, reared in a much shorter time, and at less than half tbe cost. The willow has been recommended for hedges by Linn&us, 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, says the "Forist and Pomologist," 200 yards long, planted in ground well dug over, cleaned and manured -planted with cuttiugs 12in long and 6in apart, requiring 1200 cuttings, value about 25s — became in two years a good strong hedge, capable of resisting any pressure an ordinary hedge is subject to. The willows being crossed diagonally rendered it almost impossible for anything to breakthrough. Tlie dressings or sprays of the first two years weie 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, labour, and rent of land, which the hedge occupies. Another hedge planted upon the same principle has, at the second years' dressing, paid, the cost of the plants. The above hedges are planted with the Bittern Willow, which neither cattle, game, nor vermin will often materially injure.

A Word foe, Tobacco. — Tt is only fair on tobacco to point out that it is gradually clearing itself from many of the serious charges brought against it. It has been frequently and persistently alleged that among other ill effects ("besides death and madness) produced by tobacco is destruction of the teeth. This, it appears, is entirely a mistake. Instead of tobacco causing the teeth to decay, it is the very best thing in the world for them, and those who wish to preserve their teeth should immediately taketo smoking, if they have not already indulged in the habit. At a lecture on teeth, laughing gas, and electricity as connected with dental surgery., delivered recently by Mr Thomas Brown at the Barnsbury Hall, the lecturer observed that it was popularly considered that the practice of smoking deteriorated the teeth. "There could," he added, " be no greater fallacy. It was true that it sometimes discolored the toeth, but it it did not csuise decay ; on the contrary, it prevented decay on account of the disinfecting properties of tobacco smoke." This leaves the British Anti-Bacco Association and other kindred bodies in a very disagreeable position, for it|destroys all confidence in the awful predictions they are in the habit of uttering as to the fate of smokers.