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tions I advocated the abandonment of surface spraying 

 and watering, and the substitution of uniform watering 

 from beneath the soil. 



My experience in presenting new methods to those who 

 should presumably take the liveliest interest in them 

 does not lead me to be sanguine of much support. I am 

 often reminded of an attempt I once made to do a service 

 to some elderly persons who had lived in a small town 

 away from the direct lines of railway. Bananas were 

 practically unknown in that region, and upon visiting 

 them I carried some along at considerable inconvenience 

 to myself. I expatiated upon the merits of the new 

 fruit, but my friends would only take very small nibbles, 

 and promptly came to the conclusion that they did not 

 care for it, and said that I had better eat it myself, if I 

 thought it was good. Some years afterward, when the 

 town had grown and the shops were abundantly stocked 

 with imported fruits, I paid a visit to the same old folks 

 and found that bananas had become their special delight, 

 and to live without them was a hardship. 



So I had thought that sub-watering, especially in large 

 and progressive establishments, might come about in 

 time, and naturally have been greatly surprised and grat- 

 ified to learn that on the contrary it has been taken up 

 with promptness, both by large and small growers, and 

 not at all in a gingerly manner, but on a scale that is 

 likely to demonstrate its good and weak points with rea- 

 sonable clearness. 



The present paper is intended as a supplement to the 

 former one, to strengthen some of the theoretical points 

 and to amplify some of the practical details. In the first 

 place I wish to call your attention to an able paper by Dr. 



