Watering can

“ Irrigation, or watering land, is a practice, he observes, which at first view appears the reverse of torrefaction; and, in general, the operation of water in nature is to bring earthy substances into an extreme state of division. But in the artificial watering of meadows, the beneficial effects may depend upon many different causes, some chemical, some mechanical. It may act as a simple supply of moisture to the roots, or it may carry into the soil foreign matter, or diffuse that which exists in it more equally through its substance. ”

“ The plant is too succulent to endure drought with impunity, and it is mere folly to toy with the water-can. Saturate down to the roots, and then leave the plants alone until more water is wanted. No hard and fast rule can be stated as to frequency. It depends on the condition of the soil, the period of the year, and the age of the plants. Borders and soil for pots should be made sufficiently moist in advance, so that watering will not be necessary immediately after the plants are transferred. The prevalent opinion that excessive watering generates disease is not confirmed by our experience. ”

“ How do under-drains increase the benefits of irrigation?
Irrigation does not come strictly under the head of inorganic manures, as it often supplies ammonia to the soil. Its chief value, however, in most cases, must depend on the amount of mineral matter which it furnishes.
The word "irrigation" means simply watering. In many districts water is in various ways made to overflow the land, and is removed when necessary for the purposes of cultivation. All river and spring water contains some impurities, many of which are beneficial to vegetation. ”

“ The rule should be to water thoroughly when watering at all, making sure that the whole of the potting material is moistened well, then not to give more water to that plant until the effect of the watering is seen to be passing, the plant being still moist but approaching dryness, when the thorough watering should be repeated. ”

“ Where proper arrangements for water are not made in a greenhouse or stove, it is a good plan to place the water wanted for the day's use in the sun along with the plants. A little bag filled with soot and tightly tied at the neck, and water, is a good method for rendering hard tap-water suitable for watering the roots of plants. ”

“ If the hole is not so large as it ought to be, the soil will not be kept moist all through. In this case, make it larger. A little observation will enable you to regulate matters in such a manner as to secure just the flow of water needed. By the "tin-can method" of watering basket plants, the trouble of watering in the ordinary way will be done away with, and the results will be extremely satisfactory.
Plants can be grown nearly as well in the window box as in the open ground if enough water is given to keep the soil moist, all through, at all times. ”

“ The system of saucer-watering is reprobated by every intelligent gardener; it is found by experience to chill vegetation; besides which, [pg 067] scarcely any cultivated plant can dip its roots into stagnant water with impunity. Exactly the process which we have described in the flower-pot is constantly in operation on an undrained retentive soil; the water-table may not be within nine inches of the surface, but in very many instances it is within a foot or eighteen inches, at which level the cold surplus oozes into some ditch or other superficial outlet. ”

“ The watering system may be either a wooden gutter extending along the front of each row of stalls or a cast-iron semicircular pan set between each pair of stalls so as to supply a cow on either side. Whether troughs or pans are used there should be an automatic cock and tank, which keeps the water always at the desired level, and check valves which prevent the water once in the trough or basin returning to the pipe and contaminating others. ”

“ The common watering of lawns by means of lawn sprinklers usually does more harm than good. This results from the fact that the watering is generally done in clear weather, and the water is thrown through the air in very fine spray, so that a considerable part of it is lost in vapor. The ground is also hot, and the water does not pass deep into the soil. If the lawn is watered at all, it should be soaked ”

“ Then as soon as the soil has dried out somewhat, stir up the surface so that the moisture is not lost by evaporation. The best way to apply water is by means of a sprinkler, throwing a fine spray, which can be left operating for two or three hours. This insures a proper wetting of the soil without washing away any of the loose soil on the surface. The next best thing is to use a hose. The watering-pot is of little use except in a very small garden, because one gets tired of toting water before the plants have been given nearly enough. ”

“ Every twenty yards along these small pipes a standard is erected about five feet high, on the top of which is a rose like that on a gardener's watering-pot. When the water is turned on at the tanks the pressure attained from its height forces it along the pipes up through the standards, and a few seconds later the whole field is being deluged with an artificial rainfall as if from a myriad fountains. Three times a day the clover crop is thus watered. ”

“ To insure success in the cultivation of plants in frames it is necessary to provide some means of applying water to the soil. Occasionally the supply of water can be obtained from the system of some city, but more often it must be pumped from a well or stream and stored for use in an elevated tank. Watering is gen [35] erally done during the late afternoon, but should be completed early enough to permit the foliage to become reasonably dry before closing the frames for the night. If the plants are young and very tender it will be important to avoid too great a degree of moisture. ”

“ There is one other condition upon which success is contingent, and that is in the proper watering of the soil or secondary crops. Water should be applied lightly and frequently with a spray nozzle, the object being to maintain sufficient moisture in the soil to supply the needs of the surface crop without soaking or flooding the soil to such a degree that it becomes unduly heavy or soggy. ”

“ The rule should be, to water as little as possible, and to wait as long as possible for nature's heavenly rain, which is better than any artificial watering. Plants should never be watered [Pg 101] during the middle of the day, but early in the morning, or when the sun is descending in the evening. Pump-water should never be used if rain or pond-water can be obtained. Much good often results to plants and seed-beds from the use of liquid manure. ”

“ All watering should be carried on in the evening or early in the morning, unless it be confined to watering the roots, in which case, transplanted plants, and others in a growing state, may be watered at any time; and if they are shaded from the sun, they may also be watered over their tops. Watering over the tops is performed with the rose, or dispenser attached to the spout of the watering-pot, or by the syringe or engine. Watering the roots is best done with the rose ”

“ When a nine-inch pot is reached, a shift once in two years will be quite often enough, unless large specimens are required at the earliest moment possible. Extra care will be requisite in watering during the second year, to prevent them suffering from drought, without them being kept too wet. ”

“ The bottom being planted, the water may be introduced through a watering-pot, or poured against the side of the tank, so as to avoid any violent agitation of the bottom. The water should be pure and bright. River-water is best; spring-water will do, but must be softened by the plants for some days before the fishes are put in. ”

“ Soc., a singular instance of obstruction of drains by the roots of the mangold, as well as instances of obstructions by the roots of trees.
Obstruction by Per-oxide of Iron. In the author's barn-cellar is a watering place, supplied by a half-inch lead pipe, from a spring some eight rods distant. This pipe several times in a year, sometimes once a week, in cold weather, is entirely stopped. The stream of water is never much larger than a lead pencil. We usually start it with a sort of syringe, by forcing into the outlet a quantity of water. ”

“ Who that has been on the Pampas but can picture to himself this party as it left the little mud-hut on the plain? The cumbrous, oscillating galera, with its shaggy, straggling four-in-hand,—the caracoling Gaucho couriers,—the negro pricking on behind,—the tall grass rolling out on every side,—the muddy pool that forms the watering-place for beasts and men scattered over a hundred miles of brookless plain,—the great sun streaming up from the herbage just in front, awakening the voices of a million insects and the carols of unnumbered birds in the thickets here and there! ”

“ Tanks for drinking-water are objectionable; if indispensable, they must never be lined with lead, galvanized iron, or zinc. They should be constructed of iron, or wood lined with tinned and planished copper. The overflow should discharge upon the roof, or be trapped and discharge into an open sink, never into any soil or waste pipe or water-closet trap, nor into the drain or sewer.
45. Rain-water leaders must never be used as soil, waste, or vent pipes; nor shall any soil, waste, or vent pipe be used as a leader.
46. When within the house, the leader must be of cast-iron, with leaded joints ”

“ Washing and Steaming New cans, as well as old ones, should be thoroughly washed and steamed before filling. There is often a fine, light colored dust in new cans which a good strong spray of water properly directed into the inverted cans will remove. Through the same pipe which directs the spray of water into the cans, the cans can be steamed by means of a simple arrangement of valves on the steam and water pipes. A washing and steaming rack can easily be fitted up which will wash and steam a half dozen cans at once. ”

“ While palms require plenty of water, no plants are more fatally injured by overwatering. Above all must care be taken never to let water accumulate in saucers or jardinieres in which the pots are standing. Water will soak up through a pot as well as down through it, and water-saturated soil will quickly become sour. When you do water, water thoroughly and then see that the pots are kept where they can drain out, and do not water again until they show a tendency to get too dry. ”

“ Every well has its own particular level of water while steady pumping at a given rate is going on, and if that level is lowered by harder pumping, it may take months, or even years, for the water in the interstices of the rock to accommodate itself to the new conditions; but the permanent yield after such lowering will always be less than the quantity capable of being pumped shortly after the change. We have hitherto supposed the pumps for drawing the water to have been placed in the well at such a level as to be accessible, while the Pumps in boreholes. ”

“ For plants of from 75 to 150 horse power two 24-hour settling tanks will answer the purpose of a softening system. Each of these, capable of holding a day’s supply, provided with a soda tank in common, and with sludge valves, has paddles for stirring the contents. Large plants are operated on this principle, serving boilers of many thousand horse power. Such a system has an advantage over a continuous system, in that the exact amount of chemical solutions required for softening the particular water can be applied. ”

“ Spread over a large area of land, well cropped, evaporation is very active—especially during the summer months, when the flow of water in the brook that takes the effluent is as a rule at its lowest; and, in addition to this, the growing plants further abstract a considerable amount of the liquid that finds its way into the soil, so that the quantity of the effluent may not be more than from 30 [Pg 68] to 50 per cent. ”

“ These different devices are all designed to keep water near the surface of the soil from percolating into the well. To keep impurities from entering the well directly from the top considerable care is necessary. Such impurities are likely to prove the most dangerous because there is no earth niter to hold them back and destroy them before they can reach the water. Adequate protection above may be provided in several ways. The sides of the tiled wells should project above the surface and be securely covered with a water-tight lid. ”

“ Effluents from maximum standard treatment processes, for instance, can be injected into underground strata as recharge water for aquifers—a process mentioned earlier as one alternative in the emerging package of water supply techniques—or may be spread over the surface of large areas of rural land [Pg 54a] where they serve as irrigation water and fertilizer combined, as well as soaking down into underlying aquifers. ”

“ Rain water collected free from impurities, or clear river water, are most eligible; but if the situation of the operator does not permit him to procure these in a proper state, he should either use distilled water, which has been kept till the empyreuma is gone off, or at least such pump water as is free from any calcareous or saline impregnation. When poured on the Magnesia, it should be strained through a thick linen cloth, so as to intercept any accidental impurities which it may acquire in heating. ”

“ Water from moors and peat-bogs or from gravel or ferruginous sandstone is generally of small utility so far as plant food is concerned. River water, especially that which has received town sewage, or the drainage of highly manured land, would naturally be considered most suitable for irrigation, but excellent results are obtained also with waters which are uncontaminated with manurial matters, and which contain but 8 or 10 grains per gallon of the usual dissolved constituents of spring water. ”