OF WATERING. 123 



whether artificial watering of plants in the open air is 

 advantageous, unless in particular cases ; and most as- 

 suredly, if it is done at all, it ought to be much more 

 copious than is usual. It is chiefly in the case of an- 

 nual crops that watering artificially is really impor- 

 tant ; and with them, if any means of occasionally de- 

 luging ground can be devised, by means of sluices or 

 otherwise, in the same way that we water meadows, it 

 may be expected to be advantageous * Mildew, which 

 is so often produced by a dry air acting upon a delicate 

 surface of vegetable tissue, is completely prevented in 

 annuals by very abundant watering.! The ravages 



of the surface soil should always be removed, the trees watered 

 copiously, and the earth replaced before the surface dries. This 

 will prevent evaporation and encrusting of the ground, and the 

 moisture will be retained for a much longer period A. J. D.] 



* " In the vicinity of Liegen (a town in Nassau), from three to 

 five perfect crops of grass are [annually] obtained from one meadow ; 

 and this is effected by covering the fields with river- water, which 

 is conducted over the meadow in spring by numerous small canals. 

 This is found to be of such advantage, that supposing a meadow not 

 so treated to yield 1000 lbs. of hay, then from one thus watered 

 4-6000 lbs. are produced. In respect to the cultivation of meadows, 

 the country around Liegen is considered to be the best in all Ger- 

 many." Liebig, Organ. Chem., p. 105. — G. 



f The mildew which attacks the young fruit of the foreign 

 grape, when reared in the open air, is one of the most troublesome 

 to the cultivator in this country. An effectual remedy is the flowers 

 of sulphur dusted over the bunches with a dredging-box (or the 

 solution applied with a syringe), when the grapes are of the size of 

 small peas. But the most certain prevention of this, as well as most 

 diseases to which plants are subject, consists in keeping the vines in a 

 thrifty and vigorous condition. The first crop or two of a young 

 thrifty vine is almost invariably fine and free from mildew ; but 

 every subsequent year (if the common mode of pruning is followed), 



