MAKING READY 



to the " falling " of the dew that so cleanses and 

 refreshes vegetation In the country. Dew Is 

 merely the condensation of moisture In the air, 

 and Is caused by contact of the air with the 

 cooled surfaces of the earth. As the dew Is less 

 in town, the evening sprinkle takes the place of 

 It. But while watering should be copious once 

 or twice a week, It must not be overdone. In 

 a wet " spell " It Is not necessary at all. If our 

 plants exceed In food and drink, they will grow 

 fat and not fine; that is, they will run to stem 

 and leaf, and their blossoms will be few, or 

 atrophied. What's that? They are like some 

 human beings, then? 



In his hunger for the soil, that develops when 

 a man — or his wife — acquires a bit of yard, there 

 is a tendency to demand more of It than It can 

 give; to be overgood to It, expecting Impossible 

 returns; to spoil It, as we do some children. It 

 Is a real delight to play the hose over our garden 

 at sunset and see It brighten under the mimic 

 rain. How fresh and fair It looks, when we 

 have done ! Yet It can be harmed with too much 

 drink. Plants that are too much coddled grow 

 dim and weak when the coddling Is foregone for 

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