Water Cress 



(439) 



Watering Engines 



For manure water, see LIQUID MANURE. 



'I'lit.- fertility of a soil depends to a very great 

 degree upon the presence of water in it. Stagnant 

 moisture is injurious, and the soils in which it is to 

 be found usually clayey in composition, or situated 

 in low-lying districts are cold, unkindly, and 

 sometimes absolutely unable to sustain crops of 

 vegetables or fruit. Such soils may be helped by 

 draining. (See DRAINAGE.) On the other hand, 

 light, shallow soils that soon parch are assisted by 

 irrigation, and by the addition of humus to the 

 soil, the humus acting mechanically as a water 

 holder. One of the great advantages of cow 

 manure is that it contains great quantities of 

 water ; hence its suitability for applying to soils 

 of a shallow nature. 



'WATER CRESS (see CUESS and NAS- 

 TURTIUM). 



WATERFALL. 



Various methods whereby the ornamental 

 qualities of water may be turned to account have 

 been referred to in parts of this work. The water- 

 fall is one of the most effective of them all. In 

 some estates natural waterfalls occur, and although 

 these may sometimes be scarcely improvable, their 

 effectiveness may usually be enhanced in a variety 

 of ways. Much may be done by the judicious 

 clothing of the sides with Ferns and sub-aquatic 

 plants which Nature has not already supplied. 

 The deepening of a pool here, or the removal of a 

 slight obstruction there, although simple in them- 

 lelves, may be great improvements. The clearing 

 of the channel will also react favourably upon the 

 clearness of the water. Where a series of orna- 

 mental ponds is present, situated at different 

 levels, it is an excellent idea to connect them by 

 means of miniature waterfalls, the results being 

 that the water is kept from stagnation, increased 

 opportunities for growing sub-aquatic plants are 

 obtained, and an agreeable feature is added to the 

 grounds. In outdoor rockeries of any size it is 

 usual to include a small waterfall. Where a large 

 quantity of water is not obtainable, or not desired, 

 it suffices to have a little trickling over the stones, 

 and dripping slowly into a pool below. Similar 

 waterfalls are to be seen in large under-glass 

 rockeries and ferneries where the Ferns are 

 planted out instead of being grown in pots. They 

 are always much admired, and might well be 

 extensively copied, seeing that such artificial 

 waterfalls are not difficult to construct. The main 

 thing is a constant supply of water, and this, un- 

 fortunately, is not always at command. 



WATERING. 



Without careful watering success in gardening 

 is not attainable. To be able to tell when a plant 

 needs water, and to supply it at once, are two chief 



Water A loc (see Stratiotcs aloides) . 



Water Arbiter ( l^ni/illiiriii sagittiffllia,}. 



\\'utiT Ash, Carolina ( f 'ra j-imis naroliniana) . 



Water Aveni (Geitm rirale). 



Water Bean (see Nclumbium). 



\\'ali'r lietony (see Scrophularia). 



Water Caltrops (sri' Trapa, natans). 



\\Hlir K/drr (set- Viburnum Opnlut). 



\Vnli-r Kim (XIT Zelkmra). 



\\'nli'r Flity (see Iris PtmdaOOTVl). 



Water Gladiole (see liutomn* ttnbgttatut). 



items in the cultural routine, whether of plants in 

 pots or in the open ground. Deciduous subjects 

 need very little water in winter, as is easily under- 

 stood when the fact is grasped that the organs of 

 transpiration are no longer there. Even evergreen 

 plants need only a lessened supply. Many bulbs, of 

 which Tulips, Hyacinths, and Freesias are familiar 

 examples, receive no water at all for a certain part 

 of the year ; they do not need it. 



Pot Plants. If a plant has been properly potted, 

 enough room will have been left between the 

 surface of the soil and the level of the pot brim to 

 hold sufficient water to soak the ball. In such 

 cases watering is easy, one application being gener- 

 ally sufficient. Where potting has been improperly 

 performed, and the pot filled too full, the plant 

 must be gone over twice or thrice. Giving water 

 in driblets is disastrous. The surface soil only is 

 wetted, the lower strata are dry, and the roots in them 

 are perishing, yet the owner of the plant is fondly 

 supposing that all is well. The usual method of 

 finding out whether a pot plant needs water is by 

 rapping with the knuckles. If the sound given 

 out be hollow, water is wanted ; if the sound be 

 dull and heavy, the plant is wet enough. With 

 some hard-wooded plants, notably Heaths, this 

 system does not answer. The only plan is to lift 

 the pots in the hand. With practice, it can be 

 told immediately by the weight whether water is 

 required or not. 



Outdoor Plants. The watering of lawns, bedding 

 plants, herbaceous borders, and even trees and 

 shrubs, will keep the outside staff busy in dry 

 seasons. Here also the common practice of 

 watering in driblets must be condemned. The 

 temperature of the soil is lowered thereby, the 

 roots are drawn to the surface, the soil becomes 

 ' baked," and the roots with it, and many of the 

 latter perish. All well appointed gardens are 

 supplied with hoses and sprinklers, in addition to 

 plenty of water cans. The hose should, however, 

 be employed wherever possible, and the cans only 

 where the hose will not reach. Watering plants 

 overhead in the middle of hot, bright days will 

 sometimes result in scorching of the foliage, but 

 scorching is not nearly so frequently caused by 

 this as is generally supposed, or we should find it 

 more prevalent when we get, as we often do, 

 alternate spells of showers and bright sunshine. 

 The lowering of the temperature that results from 

 overhead watering is a stronger reason to urge 

 against it than the fear of scorching. 



WATERING ENGINES. 



These include all kinds of force pumps, of which 

 numbers of different makes are employed to supply 

 water to gardens and glasshouses. A very in- 

 genious lawn sprinkler is, however, commonly 

 spoken of as a watering engine. It consists of 

 lengths of metal piping perforated along their 

 whole length, and mounted upon low wheels for 

 greater ease of locomotion. The lengths may be 

 joined to each other by short pieces of hose pipe, 

 so that coupling and uncoupling are speedily 

 performed. The apparatus is attached to the 

 garden hose, and the number of lengths of the 

 perforated piping used will depend upon the 

 w;ili ! pressure. The last length of the sprinkler 

 will, of course, have a closed end. The water is 

 cjcrtrd with great force from the perforations, 

 anrl forms a rather coarse spray. The sprinkler 

 may be kept at work by night as well as day, as no 



