96 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



long drought ; but, even if all the gardens and all 

 the fields could, in such a case, be watered with a 

 watering pot, I much question, whether it would 

 be beneficial even to the crops of the dry season 

 itself. It is not, observe, rain water that you can, 

 one time out of a thousand, water with. And, to 

 nourish plants^ the water must be prepared in 

 clouds and mists and dews. Observe this. Besides, 

 when rain comes, the earth is prepared for it by 

 that state of the air, which precedes rain, and 

 which makes all things damp^ and slackens and 

 loosens the earth, and disposes the roots and leaves 

 for the reception of the rain. To pour water, 

 therefore, upon plants, or upon the ground where 

 they are growing, or where seeds are sown, is 

 never of much use, and is generally mischievous 

 for, the air is dry ; the sun comes immediately and 

 bakes the ground, and vegetation is checked, rather 

 than advanced, by the operation. The best pro- 

 tector against frequent drought is frequent diggings 

 or, in the fields, ploughing^ and always deep. 

 Hence will arise di fermentation and dews. The 

 ground will have moisture in it, in spite of aU 

 drought, which the hard, unmoved ground will not 

 But always dig or plough in dry weather, and, the 

 drier the weather, the deeper you ought to go, and 

 the finer you ought to break the earth. When 

 plants are covered by lights, or are in a house, or 

 are covered with cloths in the night time, they may 

 need watering, and, in such cases, must have it 

 given them by hand. 



188. I shall conclude this Chapter with observ- 

 ing on what I deem a vulgar error, and an error, 

 too, which sometimes produces inconvenience. It 

 is believed, and stated, that the ground grows tiredf 

 in time, of the same sort of plant ; and that, if it 



