78 LUTHER BURBANK 



luxuriating. Where it is absent, we find the 

 deserts. There is no acre of soil anywhere that 

 might not produce its crop of vegetation if prop- 

 erly watered. And, on the other hand, some of 

 the richest soils in the world are those that are 

 absolutely barren and fully merit the designation 

 of desert lands because water is lacking. 



Of course the gardener in many regions is sup- 

 plied with water in adequate quantity for his 

 plants by the natural rainfall and may disregard 

 the question of artificial irrigation. But even in 

 regions where the rainfall is usually adequate, 

 there are almost certain to come periods of 

 drought and the wise gardener who wishes to 

 make sure of his crop will make provision for 

 the meeting of this emergency. 



Even where the soil is fairly moist, it is often 

 possible to increase the growth of a plant by 

 additional watering. 



You may readily test this for yourself by the 

 free watering of alternate plants in a row in a 

 time when the rainfall is only moderate. You 

 may thus produce giants and dwarfs, say in a 

 row of tomatoes, from the same lot of seed, under 

 conditions which are absolutely identical except 

 as to the matter of water supply. 



Of course it is possible to overdo the matter, 

 supersaturating the soil and so shutting off air 



