THE AQUAEIUM, JANUARY, 1895. 



153 



afar, come up to the surface to taste, 

 find little or no moisture, and are 

 caught at the worst possible jilace by a 

 scorching sunbeam which cripples them 

 for life or withers and destroys them on 

 the spot. These mock waterings are 

 repeated until there are no more surface 

 roots to be destroyed, and until the 

 mass of roots below have utterly per- 

 ished from thirst, daily, under the spe- 

 cious veil of a sprinkled surface. 



The first canon in the art of good 

 watering is to water thoroughly, and in 

 such quantity as to thoroughly soak the 

 whole mass of roots and moisten all the 

 soil that surrounds them. In a word, 

 a good watering means a flooding — so 

 that the farmer who turned the river 

 over his Mangel was really a scientific 

 waterer on a large scale. But the next 

 point of moment is promptly to turn 

 off the water when enough has been 

 given, and not turn it on again until 

 the foots be dry and need it. Next to 

 the surface dribblers the incessant 

 soaker is the worst plant waterer. He 

 gives enough, but he gives it when it is 

 not needed, or whether it is needed or 

 not. After thoroughly watering a plant 

 the waterer should see that no more is 

 given until it is quite dry. Watering 

 at fixed hours, regardless of condition, 

 kills its thousands. 



The second canon in the art of good 

 watering is never to water a plant until 

 it is dry. The degree of dryness at 

 which it is safe and right to water is 

 often a most difficult point to deter- 

 mine. Rapid growing plants, such as 

 Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, etc., generally 

 show by the surface soil when they are 

 dry, but this is not always a sure test. 

 Experienced florists can tell by the 

 weight of the pot, but a surer way is to 

 strike the pot a sharp blow with the 

 knuckles. If the sound is heavy or 



dead the pot needs no water, but if, on 

 the contrary, it rings — in a measure as 

 clear as a bell — it needs to be watered 

 thoroughly. 



The next important point is the sort 

 of water used. This should be pure 

 and soft. Hard water will often kill 

 hard- wooded fine rooted plants. There- 

 fore, rain water is the best, and next to 

 this river water. If spring water must 

 be used, it should be exposed in open 

 tanks or barrels several days. Cold 

 water is almost as injurious as is hard 

 spring water. Hence the chill should 

 always be taken off, and if this be done 

 in the sun it is yet more beneficial. 



Evening is undoubtedly the best time 

 to M^ater plants, because that water 

 given in the morning is quickly dissi- 

 pated and the rapid evaporation pro- 

 duces an amount of cold that checks 

 rather than stimulates growth. When 

 watered in the evening the roots have 

 time to absorb their drink all night 

 long. Every part of the plant is thus 

 filled with moisture, and the morning 

 finds it in renewed health and vigor. — 

 Villa Garden. 



FRESH WATER POLYPS. 



In most brooks and ponds we find 

 adhering to stones, plants or dead 

 leaves, and, indeed, to any secure 

 foothold, numerous minute creatures 

 which appear, when viewed with the 

 unassisted eye, like miniature flowers, 

 either of a grayish, or more commonly, 

 of a green color, the latter of which is 

 called Hydra viridis : the former H. 

 fusca. It is called Hydra, on account 

 of some fancied resemblance to the 

 many-headed creature of mythology 

 bearing that name. The fresh water 

 hydra, however, has really but one 



