FOUR] WATER SUPPLY 
plants will be benefited by a casual sprinkling. 
The earth must be thoroughly wetted, so that the 
moisture will reach the roots of the plants, or more 
harm than good will be done. 
The best time of day for irrigating is open to dis- 
cussion. If water be applied in the morning it is 
more readily evaporated by the heat of the day; if 
applied in the evening it is working at the roots of 
the plants, to feed them all night. Mr. Saunders, 
a skilled horticulturist, gives this rule: ‘‘ Water at 
any time when the plants need it, only water thor- 
oughly. When I am told that watering in the sun- 
shine, at noon, will burn up my plants, I answer 
that the plants will certainly burn up if I do not 
water them.”” The most important point is to see 
that the wet earth is mulched with dry. Cultivat- 
ing is often called soil mulching. 
It is equally important to use mulches about trees, 
in order to retain moisture and to keep the soil in 
a condition to absorb moisture. Many people use 
roulches in their strawberry beds, filling the paths 
with cut straw or other material that will prevent 
evaporation. The best material to apply about 
young trees is probably coal ashes. It is sufficient- 
ly porous, and yet, if laid thickly about the tree, it 
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