GARDEN DIFFICULTIES AND HOW TO MEET THEM 



and they like it in their adopted ones. Dame Nature is by- 

 no means as fond of what New England selectmen call "slick- 

 ing up" as most gardeners think she ought to be, and her 

 method of disposing of stray leaves, both winter and summer, 

 by blowing them into shrubbery corners, is a most tmhouse- 

 wifely practice, one must admit, but the plants Kke it. 



Sweet peas benefit much from a mulch of lawn-grass clip- 

 pings. 



All these practices save the water and the gardener's labor. 



The Best Way to Water Youk Garden 



The Lawn. — It may be a pleasing sight to see a sprinkler 

 throwing its spray in the sunshine, but your lawn will derive 

 much more real benefit if after sundown the hose is simply 

 laid down on it and the water let run slowly. When one place 

 is thoroughly soaked move it to another and so on until all is 

 thoroughly wet. In a very dry season it is better to let the 

 grass remaia a little long — ^it protects the roots. 



The Garden. — If the plants are in rows one of the best 

 ways of watering is to make a deep furrow with the hoe, fill 

 this with water, let it soak in; fill again and yet once more, 

 then replace the soil, and every drop of water has gone where 

 the plants most need it, and the excellent habit the roots have, 

 formed of extending down for water is not corrupted. If this 

 is not practicable soak the plants thoroughly after sundown, 

 then the next morning loosen the soil and make a "ground 

 mulch," and your garden is safe and happy for a week at 

 least. 



When Water is Scarce. — Drought in the garden is usually 

 the contemporary of a low cistern and a dry well. At such 

 times dish-water and wash-water should be religiously saved 

 for the garden, and applied as above directed. One farmer's 



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