support, they could be laid towards the hedge, which would answer the purpose of ftakes perfectly well, and admit of their being pulled with the utmost facility.

If these pease are of the early sort, and the foil and fituation favourable, they may be off the ground in fufficient time to admit of rearing in perfection a crop of winter turnip upon the fame ground. And, as this plant ferves to meliorate the ground more than almost any other, there is little doubt but the nursery could be kept, for any length of time that could be neceffary, in very high order, by this fucceffion of crops, without almoft any expence of manure whatever.

By this, or fome fimilar mode of management, the nursery will always afford its owner very profitable crops, and the thorns will be reared to the utmost perfection, and have their roots formed as properly as could be desired, at little or no expence. But, as it is impoffible to purchase fuch

plants

plants as these from an ordinary nursery garden, and, as the young thorns always fuffer very much by being long kept out of the ground, not to mention the expence that would attend the transporting fuch large plants from any confiderable diftance, it is of much confequence for every improving farmer to rear plants for himself: Or, if he buys them at all from a nursery, to take them when only one or two years old, and nurse them afterwards for himself.

The only thing that can make the plan here propofed mifcarry, is the neglecting to make the nursery rich enough before the thorns are planted in it; for, I have frequently obferved, that gentlemen in the country, or farmers, who are at a distance from manures, err exceedingly in this respect. I therefore again repeat it, that it is of the utmost confequence, on all occasions, to have the nursery as rich as poffible. And indeed, unless this be the cafe, he who fhall

attempt

attempt to rear thorns in the manner above described, will certainly be a lofer, and, therefore, had better not attempt it at all, than do it in an imperfect manner: For a poor foil could never produce to advantage the crops above enumerated. But, if the ground is once put into proper tilth, it may be continued as a nursery ever afterwards, without almost any expence at all.

To put the ground into that high tilth the year before you intend to turn it to a nursery, give it a fallow in the beginning of summer, and a very thick dreffing of dung, and lime, if it needs it, and take a crop of winter turnips. This will clean, enrich, and mellow the foil. If it has been in good order before, this will be fufficient; but, if the foil was naturally poor, it may be proper to repeat this fame dreffing a fecond year, which will affuredly effect the purpose. Starve not your plants at firft; for the richer your foil is at first, the more quickly and abundantly will it repay you.

§ VIII.

If

§ VIII.

Rules for chufing the Plants.

you wifh to have a good fence, free of gaps, and of an equal degree of strength throughout, pick your plants with great care, fo as to have them all as nearly as poffible of one fize, and of an equal degree of healthiness. But, if you fhould have occafion for fo many plants at one time, as makes it necessary for you to take them as you can find them, you had much better affort them into feveral lots of different fizes, and plant each of these lots in a place by itself, than plant the whole promiscuously; it being much better to have two inclosures fenced with hedges of different degrees of ftrength throughout their whole extent, but equal in every part, than one which is in

fome places ftronger than in others; because, fo long as any one part of it is weak, all the ftronger places can be of no use as a fence; and if, with a view to remedy that evil, you plant your weak plants by the side of the strongest, they are apt to be overtopt by these, and stinted in their growth; so that the hedge, in thefe places, continuing always weak, is liable to be broke down by cattle, hogs, &c. ; which occafions these unfightly and irremediable gaps that farmers so generally have reafon to complain of But, if all the plants are at firft quite equal, their first shoots will be nearly equal in vigour, and will continue to advance at the fame rate, fo as to form a hedge equally ftrong in every part.