2372

arboretum and fruticetum.

PARI' III

the hedge bill, had actually detached itself from the parent stock, and was nowgrowing grafted on the other, with the lower part of it pointing upwards intothe air !” {Laud, Gilp., i. p. 157.)

A Larch Hedge, which immediately became a Fence, was formed, in the springof 1831, to enclose a four-acre field of high, dry, and rather poor land, in thefollowing manner : — A ditch was dug, 4 ft. wide, in the direction of the fence;and Mr. Gorrie having some plantations of larches, of nine years’ standing, onan adjacent eminence, which required thinning, it occurred to him that itmight be possible to construct of them a live fence that would have imme-diate effect; and, with this view, he had them taken up carefully, as markedout for thinning, about the beginning of March. He employed two other menin planting them among the earth thrown out of the 4-ft. ditch ; he holdingthe tree, and giving it the intended position. It occurred to Mr. Gorrie thatwind-waving was one principal preventive of the growth of larches transplantedat that age, which would be avoided by laying the trees in a slanting direction ;besides, fewer trees would form an efficient fence, than if standing perpen-dicularly. “ The trees were from 10 ft. to 12 ft. long, and were laid at aboutan angle of 30° with the horizon, the tops inclining a little over the ditch tothe interior of the field, whence the danger from cattle attempting to breakthrough was to be apprehended; the surface of the ditch bank being aboutfrom 1 ft. 8 in. to 2 ft. above the ordinary level of the ground, and the upperpart of the roots about 3 in. below that surface, when the earth was dressedoff. The plants were well feathered to the bottom with side branches, whichwere all allowed to remain on the trees ; and at the surface the roots werefrom 2 ft. 6 in. to 3 ft. distant, but the stems, or centres, of the trees, from thesloping direction given them, were only from 1ft. 3 in. to 1 ft. 6 in. distant,centre from centre, which, with the branches, presented an obstruction appa-rently more formidable than really so ; and which had the effect of preventingany of the enclosed horses or cattle from making an attempt at taking a leap.The expense of digging the ditch and planting did not exceed 1«. per Scotch fall( 18 ft. 6 in.) ; and thus an effective live fence was put up, at less than wouldhave erected a 3-railed paling, the decay of which would commence the dayon which it was erected; while the living larches, that otherwise would havebeen almost useless, will acquire yearly strength, which will soon present aninsurmountable barrier to the passage of live stock ; besides affording imme-diate shelter, which will be annually increasing. This year I find (as was to beexpected) the leading shoot begins to assume a perpendicular direction ; andevery fourth or fifth tree, I intend to allow to grow to full maturity, whenthe proprietor of future times may find it convenient to have them cut up fornaval timber. I did not expect that every plant transplanted at that ageshould grow; and the dry weather which followed in the summer of 1831was by no means favourable to their success: about 80 plants died of 760.These I, this spring, interlined with young plants of about 3 ft. in length, trans-planted larches from the nursery, inserted under the back-gone plant, thedead branches of which gave the young plant, with a little assistance, theproper direction. In order to make assurance doubly sure, I planted a rowof young transplanted larches from the nursery at about 1 ft. apart, and 1 ft.separate from the old plants, to which they had a contrary direction giventhem. Here I should have taken blame to myself, if I had to record thedeath of a single plant. The whole are now in a thriving condition; and Ican, with some degree of confidence, recommend the process to those whomay have upland fences to form, and thinnings of larches of 9 or 10 years’standing to spare. — Arch. Gorrie. Annat Gardens, Oct. 1 . 1832.” Mr. Gorrieinforms us (December, 1837) that these larches have thriven amazingly, andthat the trees placed in a slanting position now form most beautiful curves.

Dead Fences of larch branches, wattled between large stakes, have beentried in different parts of Scotland, and found to last many years. Young larchtrees have also been planted (after being killed by being left several monthsout of the soil) in the form of a hedge, for shelter in a garden; and found to