CHAP, m.] MODES OF. 51 



preserved from death, but restored to full health 

 and beauty. 



Watering appears an extremely simple opera- 

 tion, yet nevertheless there are several points re- 

 lating to it that it is necessary to attend to. The 

 water should never be suffered to be stagnant; 

 as, when the soil is so completely saturated with 

 water as to exclude the air, the decomposition 

 of the vegetable matters it contains is stopped, 

 and instead of becoming w r holesome food for 

 the plants they are changed into a kind of peat. 

 Water, to be in the best state for beino; taken 

 up by the plants, should be kept in detached 

 globules by the admixture of air ; and it should 

 be only slightly impregnated with carbonic acid 

 gas and other nourishing matter from decaying 

 animal or vegetable substances, as it is found 

 that plants can only take a small portion of 

 food at a time. Nothing can be more admirably 

 and wonderfully adapted for supplying plants 

 properly with water than rain. In falling through 

 the atmosphere, it is thoroughly mixed with the 

 air, and conveys the nitrogen and carbonic acid 

 gas contained in it into the soil ; thus supplying 

 plants in a state of nature with those necessary 

 elements, which in a state of culture they ob- 

 tain chiefly from animal manure. 



It is a very common mistake, in watering, to 

 pour the water down close to the stem of the 

 plant. This is injurious in every respect. Water, 

 when poured profusely on the collar of the 

 plant, which is the point of junction between 

 the root and the stem, is likelv to rot or other- 

 wise seriously injure that vital part; while the 

 spongioles, which alone can absorb the water, so 



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