36 



THE MOISTURE SUPPLY 



late crops is also frequently delayed while the gardener is waiting 

 for a rain to soften the soil so that a suitable seed bed may be pre- 

 pared and germination take place. Plants ready for transplanting 

 may become worthless during the wait. If the delay is too long 

 the crop, though finally planted, may not have time to mature. 



Gardening is thus a somewhat precarious business where the 

 clouds constitute the sole source of the moisture supply. For this 



Fig. 17. — Overhead pipes in Skiniur .-.s .-;» 



a;- LwaJwn, 



Ontario. 



reason, even in humid climates, market gardeners operating on 

 high-priced land, where it is imperative that no time be lost be- 

 tween succeeding crops, are more and more equipping their gardens 

 with facilities for artificial watering. The old practice of carrying 

 water in buckets or hauling it in tanks to keep plants from dying 

 that were recently transplanted, is giving place in some of the 

 more intensive gardens to facilities for applying suflicient water 

 to make the plants thrive — and not merely live — in spite of a 



