WLENSILS USED IN HORTICULTURE. 106 



by which the operator holds the pot, the water instantly escapes, 

 and can be stopped in a moment : /, an overhead watering-pot, for 

 watering plants close under a glass roof, and above the head of the 

 operator. 



The best kinds of watering-pots for general use are those with tall 

 and narrow bodies and large spouts, the -p. -^ 



roses having a great number of perfora- 

 tions. A very good type of watering-pot 

 is that used by the market-gardeners of 

 Paris. The pipe being very wide, and 

 the rose broad and freely perforated with 

 large holes, the water is discharged almost 

 in an instant, and the workman again 

 proceeds to his barrel close at hand, 

 and always kept filled from the pump. 

 Thorough watering is thus effected, but it Watering . pot ^ed bythemarket- 

 involves a considerable expenditure for gardeners of Paris. 



labour, one or two men being nearly al- 

 ways employed at it in each little garden during the summer months. 



In gardens where a force of water is at command, watering-pots are 

 but little used. With a few lengths of gutta-percha tubing attached 

 to the supply-pipe, a stream of water may be directed to each pot or 

 plant with unerring certainty and great despatch. By the use of a rose 

 on the end of the pipe, or a skilful employment of the finger, an over- 

 head shower can likewise be given of the gentlest or heaviest character 

 at will. 



Sieves for sifting soil, and screens ot wire for separating the larger 

 stones and roots from soil to be used in potting, are required in most 

 gardens, though much less used than formerly, as all soil is used much 

 rougher for horticultural purposes. It has now become a common 

 practice to screen or sift out the fine soil and 

 use only the coarse. The screen, fig. 72, is 

 not only used for mould, but also for gravel, 

 and sometimes for tan. It consists of a 

 wooden frame filled in with parallel wires half 

 an inch apart, surrounded by a rim of three 

 or four inches in breadth, and supported by 

 hinged props, which admit of placing the ^ 

 screen at any required angle. The soil to be 

 screened must be dry and well broken by ^ire-screen, for soil, old tan, 



>_ f - - i J or gravel. 



the spade before it is thrown on the screen. 



For gravel two screens are sometimes required ; one with the wires 

 half an inch apart, to separate the sand and small gravel from the 

 stones \ and another with the wires one inch apart, to separate 

 the larger stones from the smaller ones ; those which pass through the 

 screen being of the fittest size for approach-roads and carriage-drives ; 

 while the largest stones which do not pass through are adapted for 

 common cart-roads. A barrel revolving-screen is likewise used for 

 these purposes, as well as for separating cinders from ashes, &c. In small 



