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ON INCLOSING LAND

preferable to all other species of hedge plants. In wet soils,a hedge may be formed of the birch, the alder, or some spe-cies of willow. The birch or Belula alba is to be reared andplanted in the manner already described for the thorn. Thealder or Betula alnus, and the willows, are to be planted intruncheons or cuttings. When of a proper height, as threefeet high, they are to be interwoven, so as to form a stronghedge, and pruned afterwards above ; but most of these treesmust not be pruned too late in spring, as they are apt tobleed too freely.

The common whin, furze, or gorse, the Ulex Europccus ofbotanists, has been often used as a fence in Scotland , sownon the top of a bank. It comes very quickly to perfection,and grows in a soil where few other plants would thrive. Thebank ought not to be raised too high, and the plants mustnot be allowed to grow up too long, or open at their roots,otherwise a severe winter frost is very apt to destroy them. Ifthe whin be used at all, it ought invariably to be sown, as ithardly ever succeeds when transplanted j and it ought to beregularly and frequently pruned, which renders it close andeffective as a fence, protects it against severe frost, and pre-vents it from forming seed, to scatter over and poison the ad-joining ground. The best method of forming a whin-hedge,is by digging two parallel ditches of five feet wide, eight ornine feet asunder, raising an intermediate bank or mound be-tween, which should be sown tolerably thick with whin seeds.These come up quickly, and in three or four years will forma sufficient barrier against most animals. In course of train-ing, after the plants acquire some age and strength, those onone side of the bank may be cut over close to the ground,leaving the other side to serve as a fence for a year or two,when it likewise must be cut over in its turn. By these means,the bank will always have a strong hedge on one side, with-out ever becoming naked at the roots, or shedding seed. Theyoung shoots, bruised and given to horses in winter, make avaluable and nutritious green food, which will abundantly