Sufferings from Drought 



like other restoratives, must be used with 

 moderation. Too much water cakes the 

 soil and draws the roots to the surface, so 

 that, once begun, it must be continued or 

 the plants die. It is better, we find, to 

 water heavily two or three times a week 

 than to keep up a continued sprinkling. 

 If the water plays upon trees and shrubs 

 during hot sunshine, the leaves are apt to 

 scorch and shrivel, and the same is true 

 of vegetables, which are well known to 

 resent being watered on a hot day. 



At Overlea the garden, which lies low 

 along the edges of the meadow, can get 

 along very fairly without watering. Even 

 this year the strawberry crop, which is 

 very sensitive to a lack of moisture, did 

 not suffer from the dry weather, possibly 

 owing to heavy mulching with straw while 

 the ground was moist from showers. The 

 worst of droughts in June is never so bad 

 as the same dryness in July, for plants, 

 which are then in fullest vigor, can better 

 bear the strain upon their constitutions at 

 that time ; it gives them a set-back, how- 

 ever, which prevents a vigorous growth. 

 Grass is the greatest sufferer, and the first 

 '95 



