ABOUT FRUITS, FLOWERS AND FARMING. 365 



of grass and weeds, and add a little earth to the roots at 

 each hoeing ; clear away the leaves at autumn ; trim the 

 side branches carefully, and leave the main stems to nature 

 till they are six feet high, then crop off the tops to the 

 lu'i-ht you mean to have your hedge. It will look like a 

 wedge with the sharp end upwards, and will exhibit a most 

 beautiful appearance." 



WATERING TREES, ETC. 



WE have observed many persons copiously watering 

 young trees and garden plants. 



1. In many cases much water is a positive injury. The 

 roots draw up a larger supply of liquid than there is vigor 

 in the tree to digest or appropriate. In such cases the 

 tissue is enfeebled, the roots decay, and the tree perishes in 

 the trying heats of July and August. 



2. It often happens that wetting the tree itself is much 

 better than watering the root. Take a watering-pot and 

 drench the leaves, and limbs and trunk, several times in a 

 day. In a small tree a large bunch of cotton or rags may 

 be put in the crotch and saturated with water. It will gra- 

 dually trickle down the stem, and also evaporate, keeping 

 the leaves in a moist medium. This trouble is worth while 

 in case of rare trees difficult to be obtained. A tree per- 

 spires as really as an animal or a man. Every leaf is fur- 

 nished with stomata or pores, the number and size of which 

 determine the amount of perspiration. Of course, as they 

 vary in different plants, there is a corresponding difference 

 in the amount which they perspire. Plants which grow in 

 exposed situations, scorched by the sun, have a structure 

 which admits but slight perspiration, while those which grow 

 in the sha<U i ami in moist places perspire copiously. 



It is upon this state of facts that watering the tree itself 



