An Ancient Country Craft

Cromwell Argus, Volume LXVIII, Issue 3484, 30 August 1937, Page 7

An Ancient Country Craft

Keeping Britain’s Hedges Beautiful. A good many country crafts are in danger of extinction to-day (writes a craftsman). Among them are the arts of “hedge-laying” and “stone-walling.” Indeed, already some look upon them as “lost mysteries.” Britain’s live hedges, of hawthorn, blackthorn, and similar bushes, are among its unique glories, and our Continental neighbors always look upon them with envy. In like manner the limestone walls of our northern and westerly countries, and those of Wales, when mellowed with age and covered with lichens and creeping plants, such as the bramble, are extremely attractive. Since the war both hedges and walls have been sadly neglected, yet they are essential to farms carrying livestock. Fortunately attempts are being made to revive the art of maintaining them, and among the outstanding efforts is that of the Agricultural Education Department of the Derbyshire County Council, which has been giving attention to the instruction of farmers’ sons in some necessary crafts of the countryside which are being neglected. The trouble is that not always is it easy to discover men competent enough to teach the craft. In most cases they are over 50, for the craft cannot be acquired in a day. When live hedges are being dealt with autumn and early spring are the busiest times. In spring they are pruned to stimulate growth, and in autumn the "holls” or ditches beside them are cleaned out and the rank growth of summer cut back.

The importance of a close, welltrimmed hedge cannot be exaggerated, for it is a barrier against trespassers, both animal and human. To obtain an impenetrable hedge is the craftsman’s object. He endeavors to keep his hedges “clean.” with flat top, straight and firm like a ploughman’s line, and not choked with dying weeds that would block the ditch, so holding up drainage and turning the land sour. His tools are nothing more than a “stone” for sharpening his sickle, and perhaps a pair of stout gauntles gloves. First of all he cuts back all the dead wood, which is jerked out with a quick flick of the wrist. All long, straggling pieces are severely dealt with, being cut back close to stimulate shorter, thicker growth. Sometimes a hedge is found to be very thin at the bottom, and then ordinary cutting in that way is insufficient.

The hedge has to be pleached. The craftsman selects some of the strongest looking stems, and with a sharp downward stroke of the hook he nearly cuts them through. There is a knack in doing this, for the stems must not be cut quite through, or too far through, because then they would not grow any more. On the other hand, they must be cut through sufficiently enough to render them pliable. Then they are bent over to fill the weak places in the gaps. If the cuts are made properly, when spring returns the sap flows again, and the pleached stems sprout out green, strengthening and getting stouter daily, and in this way the weak places are filled. Hedge-laying must be learnt from boyhood, and the same is true of stonewalling. Just as the essential of the former is to obtain a firm, level top, so that of stone-walling is to get a firm, level foundation on the earth so that the wall will stand securely. If this is not done the slightest shock will send it toppling. First of all, the largest stones are placed at the bottom, and as the wall rises it tapers slightly in width. There is an art in selecting the right stones to place with their faces lengthwise to the wall, and the proper ones to use as “throughs," which are laid transversely to strengthen It. Pew of the old stone-wallers will use a hammer for chipping the stones into the required size and shape. They rely on iheir judgment just as the hedge-layer uses nothing else but his sickle. It is in choosing the right stone for the right place and leaving sufficient for the coping, that the acquired skill of the stone-waller shows itself. In some parts one sees the top of a wall finished off with concrete. The oldtime craftsmen frown upon this, and declare it is unnecessary, for a wellbuilt wall will stand for over a quarter of a century without repair, and with no need for binding materials such as concrete.

When properly built, the stones themselves bind the wall together. The small stones are put in the middle, the “throughs” bind the courses, and by careful selection of stones, one being placed over two others, the same effect is obtained as in bricklaying.