196 THE FORCING GARDEN. 
they do in the summer, nor half so much during dull 
and sunless days in summer as they do when the sun 
bears upon them and in windy weather. Never give 
water when the plant is damp; most plants except the 
Heaths and some Ferns will beara little drought ; when — 
they are watered give them enough to soak quite through 
the pot, but never (except in the case of aquatics) allow 
the saucers to hold the water under the pot longer than 
it has drained from the pot after watering. 
In the case of watering plants in the ground, one 
thing should be observed, and that is, when beds require 
water they should have it so as to thoroughly soak the 
soil. Never water over the ground a second time during 
the same watering ; do all that is required for the sub- 
jects as you go along, and do not go over the ground 
twice at the same time, for you will find that by doing 
so the surface gets into a muddy state, and when it 
becomes dry it will get baked under the action of the 
sun, forming a surface impervious to the air. This 
applies to all ground watering among annual crops, bed- 
ding plants, &c. For this reason I condemn all those 
waterpots that let out the water over large areas by 
driblets ; they are simply injurious, by first damping the 
surface and then working it into a mud pool, which 
should be studiously avoided. But the old-fashioned 
rose gives out the water over a small area, and by hold- 
ing the pot pretty close to the surface (as close as you 
can), the water can be controlled at pleasure by moving 
the hand slowly or quickly in a regular way according 
to the quantity required; the watering is thoroughly 
done without injury to the soil. 
After beds and crops are watered, the next morning 
at furthest, they should be Jightly hoed over to form 
