JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
June 14, 1883. ] 
485 
14th 
Tn 
South Essex Show, Leyton. 
15th 
F 
York Floral Fete (last day). 
16th 
a 
17th 
Sun 
4th Sunday after Trinity. 
18th 
M 
19 th 
TU 
Leeds Show (two days). Worcester (three days). 
20th 
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THE ALT OP KEEPING THE SOIL MOIST. 
is not so much how to make dry soil wet 
i as 1° consider how best to counteract 
excessive heat and drought that is the 
purpose in view. The weather is dry 
now. If rain falls before these notes 
are printed so much the better ; it will 
do more good than all the papers, still the 
art of keeping the soil moist should be 
learned by all cultivators. 
In hot seasons heavy land suffers least from 
drought, but unless the soil of such is very 
thoroughly pulverised it is certain to crack deeply and 
shrink into compact blocks, which first prevent tender 
rootlets travelling, and secondly become parched lumps. 
When well pulverised, however, and when the subsoil 
is damp, heat and drought only make the plants thrive 
the faster. As clay soils which are dug in autumn and 
early winter are in most districts pretty solid by spring, 
unless thorough forking is done, drought soon proves 
disastrous. Dug in spring and broken up then drought 
tells but lightly or not at all. 
It is exactly the opposite with light sandy or gravelly 
soils. It is working much mischief to fork or dig these 
up lightly in spring or early summer, for they are thus 
prevented from exercising that capillary attraction 
which draws water from below and maintains a steady 
moisture when such soils have become somewhat 
firm by lying long or by being artificially firmed. 
Those who advise a liberal use of the fork will find it 
quite right on heavy soils which naturally become com¬ 
pact ; but those who on gravelly or sandy soil take 
such advice will find that “ someone has blundered,” 
for it will be found that it would be as hopeful to water 
the Sahara as to moisten such soil. 
While the mechanical condition of the soil has 
much to do with its moistness or dryness, it not un- 
frequently happens that plants apparently suffer from 
want of water, when in fact it is nitrogen that is want¬ 
ing. A week ago the writer met a farmer bemoaning 
the want of rain. His hay crop was a failure, ap¬ 
parently with drought. Over the fence was the finest 
crop ever seen, and the owner of that other field was 
hoping “ we wadna hae rain, it wad lay the hey.” The 
first field was suffering from starvation, the second had 
been, if anything, overfed by liquid manure from the 
farmyard. Garden crops take up much nitrogen; 
usually the manure is not over-rich in that, and bad 
treatment makes it worse. Those who are suffering 
“from drought ” might do worse than use a little sul¬ 
phate of ammonia or nitrate of soda next time watering 
is done. In nine cases out of ten it will be found to 
almost do instead of water. 
At present those who have summer beds to fill and 
winter vegetables in want of planting will not be in an 
easy frame of mind. "When there is water in abun¬ 
dance laid on in pipes and applied with a hose matters 
are all right; but those who have to carry it in cans, 
even though it is plentiful, are to be pitied, for such 
work is comparable to that of Mrs. Partington’s when 
she tried to keep back the tide with a mop. If any¬ 
thing we can say could induce owners to lay on plenty 
of water and hose for applying it we would say it 
earnestly, for they are mis-spending money if they are 
paying for carrying water, when it would a thousand 
times more effectually run itself. 
When planting must be done in dry weather and 
watering appliances ineffectual it is more than half the 
battle to have strong plants with a mass of earth and 
manure adhering to their roots. Plants put in deeply, 
planted firm with the dry soil, a little cup-sliaped basin 
left round each to be filled with water, and after that 
soaks away with soil will not suffer for a long time, 
for the loose earth will be the means of preventing the 
water escaping into the air. On a large scale, such as 
the planting of Cabbages, it will be found a good plan 
to draw a deep furrow in which to insert the plants 
(from beds where they were pricked-out previously 
among half loam, half manure) without the loss of a 
fibre if possible, and then to fill each furrow with water. 
The evening is the best time to do this. In the morn¬ 
ing dry soil should be made to cover the moist surface to 
prevent evaporation. No matter how fierce the heat, 
we have never found plants so treated suffer, and when 
in a week the roots have pushed it has been found of 
incalculable advantage to give each a little liquid 
manure. 
Strawberry beds are most likely to suffer in hot 
weather. If so the surface should be deeply hoed, 
nitrate of soda sprinkled between the rows, and not a 
sprinkling but a flooding of water given. If the beds 
have been mulched with ordinary manure some time 
before, they are not so likely to suffer; if not, a good 
mulching should be given as speedily as possible. 
Long grass is as good as anything, short chaffy 
lawn grass the very worst. Tan is very good, as it 
keeps the fruit clean, does not prevent water descend¬ 
ing, but keeps it from ascending, and after one good 
washing is very clean. 
In the vegetable quarters nothing will keep the soil 
moist equal to a good coating of partly decayed manure, 
and often manure so applied is much more effective 
than when dug-in in the usual manner. Machine grass 
between the rows of Cabbages is very effective, a very 
little thoroughly protecting the soil. 
In beds and borders leaf soil is of incalculable ad¬ 
vantage applied an inch thick over the surface. Soil 
moistened now and so protected will enable the plants 
to grow luxuriantly without further watering for a long 
time. After the surface is covered with vegetation and 
the roots have burrowed 18 inches drought is not likely 
to do more than to cause a denser inflorescence. 
Cocoa-nut fibre is even better still, though hardly so 
neat, but the luxuriance following its use speedily puts 
the fibre out of sight though not of usefulness. 
Even common soil makes a good mulch. Wrong 
though it be to turn the body of the soil into a loose 
mass, it is of great benefit to have an inch or so of loose 
I 
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He. l$s.—Y ol. VI., Third Series. 
No. 1811 .—Vol. LXIX., Old Sdribs. 
