80 IRRIGATION. 



a day or two before seed is sown or plants are transplant- 

 ed, that it may be in a finely pulverulent condition, and 

 when the supply of water is always under the control of 

 the operator there is no danger in sprouting the seed and 

 thus hastening germination. After sowing or trans- 

 planting, the chief care should be to water only very 

 moderately, and never allow the water to flow over the 

 seed or plant rows, lest the surface should become hard 

 and need stirring, and the young plants be endangered by 

 one or the other of these alternatives. Moderate, frequent 

 waterings are best for young, growing plants. There is 

 far greater danger of giving too much rather than too 

 little water at this time. During early growth the appli- 

 cation of water at a lower temperature than that of the 

 soil is injurious. For this reason, when well-water is 

 used, it should be exposed to the air in open tanks or 

 reservoirs for at least one day before it is used. For the 

 same reason watering during a clear sunny, or a windy 

 day is to be avoided, and it should only be done in the 

 evenings, or when the sun is obscured with clouds. The 

 effect of wind is to increase the evaporation, and thus 

 reduce the temperature of the soil immediately after its 

 saturation. The quantity of water to be applied will 

 depend upon several circumstances that have already been 

 referred to. For garden crops, frequent moderate water- 

 ings are preferable, and intervals of five days are usually 

 allowed. The soil is then kept constantly moist, and the 

 growth of the crops continuous. Of course when rain 

 falls, a sufficient allowance must be made, but, judging 

 from the quantities of water that may be safely applied 

 to- crops in the market garden, unless the rain is unusual- 

 ly heavy and continuous, it may safely be ignored. The 

 quantities used in garden culture in different countries, 

 as mentioned in many works upon irrigation, are exceed- 

 ingly irregular. It would seem as though the abundance 

 of water, and the porosity of the soil, measured the sup- 



