GLASS STRUCTURES 113 



sufficiently watered. If plants are wilting for want of water 

 in the soil give it to them no matter what time of day, but 

 it is always a great advantage in such cases to shade as well 

 as water them if the sun is shining. If a long continued 

 spell of cloudy weather is followed by a period of bright 

 sunshine, it is not uncommon to see plants wilting that 

 have plenty of water in the soil surrounding them. In 

 such a case it may be desirable to shade them somewhat in 

 the middle of the day until they get used to the sunlight. 



The leaves of lettuce and some other plants are liable to 

 burn if watered when the sun is shining brightly on them. 



In cold weather it is a poor plan to water most of our 

 plants at night, since the water will cool off the air, and the 

 plants may be checked in growth; but in hot weather the 

 reverse is true and plants seem to get more benefit from a 

 good soaking in the evening, when they can have all night 

 to take the water in, than if it is applied in the morning and 

 followed by a hot sun. In watering hotbeds in very cold 

 weather use a fine rose sprinkler and, if practicable, tepid 

 water. At other seasons good lake or cistern water is per- 

 fectly safe, and is generally used by commercial growers at 

 all seasons of the year. Avoid getting the soil water- 

 soaked. 



The soil should vary somewhat in texture for different 

 plants, but all garden vegetables will flourish in much the 

 same kind of soil. For use in glass structures a light, friable, 

 rich sandy loam is best. This is easily obtained when one 

 has been using hotbeds, by mixing some of the old rotted 

 manure which has been used for heating them the preceding 

 year with any good sandy loam. If sandy loam cannot be 

 had, clay loam may be used and sand added to the mixture. 

 The manure from old hotbeds is especially good for this pur- 

 pose, and should form about one-third of the bulk of the soil. 



