Watering

“ The first time the land is watered it takes from two to five times as much water as is required later, and now we find the best results are obtained by watering about 10 days before cutting, using three or four inches of water. ”

“ Watering.—So far as practical gardening is concerned, feeding by the roots after they have been placed in suitable soil is confined principally to the administration of water and, under certain circumstances, of liquid or chemical manure; and no operations demand more judicious management. The amount of water required, and the times when it should be applied, vary greatly according to the kind of plant and the object for which it is grown, the season, the supply of heat and light, and numerous other conditions, the influence of which is to be learnt by experience only. ”

“ 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. ”

“ A great deal of the good produced by watering depends on the state of the ground; as when the ground is hard and compact, it is very possible to throw a great quantity of water upon it without doing any service to the plants. ”

“ When watering, be generous. Soak the plants to the roots; wet all the earth around them, and do it late in the afternoon, when the sun is low. How often have I been obliged to chide the men for watering too early in the afternoon, and not doing it thoroughly, [173] for, upon stirring the ground, I would find that the water had penetrated but a couple of inches. During long periods of dry weather, the garden, without water, will simply wither and burn.
Rhododendrons, Ferns and Lilies suffer in dry time, even though well mulched, and must be kept moist. ”

“ It is always advisable to have the water at least as warm as the plants to be watered; and for this reason the water to be used in hot-houses and green-houses, is generally kept in an open vessel in the house some hours before using. [Pg 69] Watering with warm water is very efficacious in forwarding the flowering of plants. ”

“ 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 ”

“ In winter, one good watering a week with lukewarm water, applied in the morning, will be sufficient. In spring, when the plant is more active, more water will be needed, and in summer constant attention must be given to watering. ”

“ If the land is deeply prepared in the first place, so that the roots strike far into the soil, there is rarely need of watering unless the place is arid, the season unusually dry, or the moisture sucked out by trees. The surface sprinkling engenders a tendency of roots to start near the surface, and therefore the more the lawn is lightly watered, the greater is the necessity for watering it. ”

“ I put three inches of sand over the whole slate surface of the tanks, using a part for cuttings, and the rest, (say 100 running feet of the three feet wide table) , for standing pot plants upon the surface of the sand. The plants dried rapidly, and required watering every morning. The result was, that in watering the plants, and of course the sand on which they stood, to some extent, it was like pouring water upon a flue, or upon hot pipes: a constant steam was given off; all the moisture in the sand was rapidly converted into steam; so, also the water in the pots was quickly expelled. ”

“ In the case of a soft-wooded plant, just before the leaves begin to show signs of wilt, is the time for Watering. When plants are taken up from the ground, or when plants have their roots cut back in repotting, gardeners rely, after the first copious Watering, on syringing the tops of the plants two or three [238] times each day, until a new root-growth has started, Watering at the roots only when absolutely necessary. ”

“ This will refresh the little root fibres, make them “take kindly to the earth,” and, in short, put the little tree in a fair way for its long life. And as boys may frequently have occasion to water their gardens, as well as other people, we may assure them that one thorough good watering is better than a dozen bad ones. A bad watering is one in which the surface of the soil is merely wetted, and if you poke down a little way you find the soil quite dry: a good watering is one in which the water descends deep and far into the soil, as deep or deeper than the roots go, in fact. ”

“ The system of watering founded on this principle depends upon the assumption that if the gardener or the farmer could always turn on the rain when he has a fairly good wind he would never lack for seasonable moisture to nourish his crops. ”

“ WATERING TREES, ETC. We have observed many persons copiously watering young trees and garden plants.
1. In many cases much water is a positive injury. The roots draw up a larger supply of liquid than there is vigor in the tree to digest or appropriate. In such cases the tissue is enfeebled, the roots decay, and the tree perishes in the trying heats of July and August.
2. It often happens that wetting the tree itself is much better than watering the root. Take a watering-pot and drench the leaves, and limbs and trunk, several times in a day. ”

“ Watering becomes requisite in gardens for various purposes, as aliment to plants in a growing state, to support newly transplanted plants, for keeping under insects, and keeping clean the leaves of vegetables. One general rule must be ever kept in mind during the employment of watering a garden ”

“ Everything must be sacrificed to the cattle. One lesson it taught me, however, and that is that no [Pg 176] matter how much water you irrigate with, one good downpour from Nature's fertilizing watering-can is worth more than weeks of irrigation. Rain water has a quality of its own which well or tank water cannot supply. Plants respond to it at once by adopting a cheery, healthy aspect. ”

“ Nor yet in their pastures will they ever drink at any but the usual watering-place, and they make it their care to find some dry path by which to get at it. They will not pass over a bridge either, when the water can be seen between the planks beneath.1936 Wonderful to relate, too, if their watering-places are changed, though they should be ever so thirsty, they will not drink without being either beaten or caressed. ”

“ When the weather is dry, water should be applied at morning and evening, and after that time, once daily until the plants have taken root, after which, occasional waterings, varying with soil, weather, and kind of plant, must be given. In dry weather, and with a soil poor in humus, one watering every second or third day may be necessary, whereas with a soil rich in organic matter, and in a moist atmosphere, watering may be entirely dispensed with. ”

“ Arrangements for watering should be made as convenient as possible, as this work is almost sure to be more or less neglected during the hot months when it needs frequent and thorough attention. The soil used should be porous and very rich, as many plants will have to get their nourishment from a very limited space. ”

“ Watering in the middle of the filling-in operation washes the soil into all the crevices around the rootlets, and insures a supply of moisture around the plants. Putting in the dry earth above it prevents evaporation, so that the roots have valuable food while they are recovering their hold on Mother Earth. ”

“ The storing up of the water permits of irrigating a much greater area of land, and has the advantage of allowing the watering to be effected intermittingly, this being better than if it were done continuously. ”

“ 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. ”

“ WATERING.--Keep up a regular moisture, but do not deluge your plants until the roots rot. Avoid giving very cold water in the heat of the day or in the sunshine. Even in England some gardeners in a hot summer use luke-warm water for delicate plants. But do not in your fear of overwatering only wet the surface. The earth all round and below the root should be equally moist, and not one part wet and the other dry. ”

“ We do not wish, however, to undervalue the benefits of water. If the plants are well mulched with straw, salt hay, or any other litter, frequent watering is very beneficial. When not mulched, the watering should always be followed by the hoe, in order to destroy the baking of the surface. ”

“ Watering, which, except during the resting period, should generally be copious, is best done in the forenoon; while syringing should be done early in the morning before the sun becomes too powerful, and late in the afternoon to admit of the foliage drying moderately before night. ”

“ 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. ”

“ This was a watering place, perhaps a never-ceasing watering place—and to his desert-born-and-bred race all water was a spirit gift never to be taken for granted. ”

“ Water arising by land-floods brings along with it much of the most soluble parts of the manure from the higher lands to the lower ones. River-water in its clear state and those springs which are called soft are less beneficial for the purpose of watering lands, as they contain less earthy or saline matter; and water from dissolving snow from its slow solution brings but little earth along with it, as may be seen by the comparative clearness of the water of snow-floods. ”

“ 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! ”

“ Thus the Well-waters by consequence share in the good or bad Effects of such Soils that they run thorough, and the very Surface of the Earth by which such Waters are strained, is surely endowed with the quality of the Air in which it lies; which brings me to my intended purpose, to prove that Water drawn out of a Chalky, or Fire-stone Well, which is situated under a dry sweet loamy Soil, in a fine pure Air, and that is perfectly soft, must excel most if not all other Well-waters for the purpose in Brewing. ”

“ I want you to water them, Tom. Water one with salt and water (brine) , the other with tap-water.”
Tom did as he was asked.
Plants watered with Fresh and Salt Water.
“See,” said Uncle George, “the one which you watered with brine is drooping. It is bending over the pot. That is because the water outside its root-hairs is denser than that which is inside the plant.”
19
“How does the water get up from the roots to the leaves?” Frank asked.
“Just in the same way as the oil travels up the wick of the lamp. Water will always travel up through small spaces.” ”

“ The vapors of the marshes, and of the exposed manure heaps of the thriftless farmer, are gently wafted to the well-drained fields of his neighbor, and there, amidst the roots of the well-tilled crops, deposit, at the same time, their moisture and fertilizing wealth. ”

“ Pipes run under the streets from the river to all the buildings of the town. There are big pumping stations on the river bank to pump the water out of the river through pipes to the houses. Millions of gallons of water are pumped each day into the homes, schools, mills and factories. For what is this water used?
7
Plants need more than good soil to make them grow. They will wither and die unless they have plenty of rain to keep the earth soft and moist. There are many places in the world where no trees, nor grass, nor plants of any kind can grow. ”

“ A part of the rain-water is there held, until it returns by evaporation, to the clouds, while a part slowly percolates downward, finding its way into swamps and springy plains, and finally, after days or weeks of wandering, slowly, but surely, finds its outlet in the stream or pond. ”

“ Ditches are cut, ponds are made, and men are engaged day and night in dipping it up and having it placed where it is most needed. The two processes adopted by which to raise this water are the shâdûf and the sâkiyeh. Long lines of women are sometimes seen with heavy earthen jars on their heads distributing this precious fertilizing water over the thirsty land. ”