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 bear a 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 lightly hoed over to form 



