WATERING 49 



upon them at this time, especially if any happen to 

 be under a cloche or light, as the glass in either case 

 acts as a lens, and concentrates the rays of the sun 

 upon certain portions of the leaf surface. 



When crops are well established and in full growth 

 during the summer months, water is applied freely 

 by means of a hose attached to the nozzle of a stand- 

 pipe. Standpipes should be fixed about every 20 or 

 30 ft. to the 2 in. or 3 in. water-pipes running under- 

 ground along the main pathways. This enables one 

 to attach the hose to the nozzle of the most con- 

 venient standpipe, and if the latter is provided with a 

 good screw-valve, the flow and force of water can be 

 easily regulated. 



In French market-gardens an ingenious contrivance 

 is used to prevent long lengths of hose from trailing 

 over the plants in the beds or frames. An iron stand, 

 something like the capital letter H in shape, is pressed 

 into the soil at the corner of a bed or row of frames. 

 On the two upper arms, and on the cross-piece, is a 

 movable metal reel. The hose-pipe rests on the cross- 

 piece, and as it is pulled along, its progress is made 

 easy by the movement of the reels. In this way, no 

 matter how sharp the turn or bend, the hose-pipe does 

 not " kink," and the free flow of water is in no way 

 checked. 



SEED-SOWING 



Under the headings of the various crops mentioned 

 in this book instructions are given as to sowing the 

 seeds in each instance. It may be well, however, to 

 speak of seed-sowing in general a little more fully 

 here. 



4 



