HEDGES FOR THE SOUTH.
thick hedgeFig. 112.—Cactus Hedge.
Fig. 112.—Cactus Hedge.
Fig. 112.—Cactus Hedge.
The Osage Orange is a native of the Southwestern States, and flourishes on good soil anywhere in the South. Yet there are certain succulent plants which grow so rapidly in the South, and require so little care, that they are very successfully employed for hedges in the Gulf States. One of these is theYucca gloriosa, or Spanish Bayonet. Its natural habit of growth is to produce a dense mass of leaves on a long stem. But by cutting back the growth of the stiff, armed leaves is produced low down, and a hedge of this soon becomes an impassable barrier. Large panicles of beautiful white blossoms are produced at the summit, making such a hedge very ornamental during the flowering season. Various species of cactus are also employed in the Southwest for hedges. In some of the Middle-Western States may be seen a hedge likefigure 112. At some distance from the highway, a field had been enclosed with the tree cactus, which there grows only from four to ten feethigh. The plants that were in the line of the fence were left growing, and those cleared from the field were woven into a formidable barrier to anything larger than a rabbit. While no two rods in this fence are alike, its general appearance is like that shown in the engraving.