and of mingled evergreen and deciduous
plants are generally quite a failure. It is right to mention, however,
that if a mixed hedge is planted the best results are from White Thorn,
Holly, and Common Beech. The best evergreen plants in their order of
merit are Holly, Yew, Arbor-vitae (_Thuya occidentalis_), _Thuya
gigantea_ or _Lobbi_, Common Box, _Cupressus lawsoniana_, _C.
nootkatensis_ (_Thujopsis borealis_), Privet (_Ligustrum_), Common
Laurel, Portugal Laurel Pyramid Laurel (_Prunus lusitanica myrtifolia_),
_Berberis Darwinii_, and _Osmanthus ilicifolius_.

HOLLY.--The Common Holly makes one of the best evergreen hedges. Its
growth, though somewhat slow, is regular, and it does not mind the
shears, but it is costly to use to any extent. It does not move readily,
so that for the first year or two there will probably be a few gaps to
fill up, but when the hedge is once established it is there practically
for ever, and with proper attention will never become rough or
unsightly. Before planting the site should be marked out, and the ground
trenched 3 feet wide and deep, breaking the subsoil with a fork, and
working some well-decayed manure about half-way down. This will tend to
draw the roots down, and keep them from running out on either side to
the injury of neighbouring plants. Plants should be obtained in the
early autumn, as soon as it is safe to move them, and planted at once
before the ground gets cool. If this be done they will make fresh roots
and get established before winter. Some prefer to move Hollies in May,
but much depends on whether artificial watering can be done. If it can,
May is quite as good a time as September or October; if not, then choose
the autumn.

The size of the plants used depends upon taste and the depth of the
pocket, but good plants, 1-1/2 to 2 feet high, with a leading shoot or
two on each, placed from 12 to 16 inches apart, can be recommended, as
they move readily at that size, and are not so costly as larger plants.
Holly hedges should be clipped in late August or early September, when
they will make a short growth before winter, and keep in good condition
without further attention until the following autumn. The height of the
hedge is entirely a matter for the owner to decide, one 30 or 40 feet
high, properly feathered to the ground, being quite possible, as we know
from some already in existence. When grown to this height, however, the
top should be cut to a point to throw off