122 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ June, 
P. japonica rosea: very distinct, with the flowers of a lilac-rose, and having a crimson 
ring round the eye. 
Of the hardiness of the Primula japonica there can be no doubt, since plants 
which have been standing all the winter, fully exposed, in the trying atmosphere 
of London, are perfectly healthy, and came into bloom about the middle of May, 
some two or three weeks later than the plants which had been potted and flowered 
under glass.—T. M. 
WATER SUPPLY FOR DRY SEASONS. 
IROUGHTS have come upon us of late with alarming frequency, and abnormal 
force; for scarcely have trees and plants recouped themselves from the 
effects of one dry season, than another has come upon them, threatening to 
wither their sap and exhaust their energy. Vegetable-growing has had 
to be prosecuted under difficulties. The fierce glare of the sun has arrested 
growth, while the little forced forth under such circumstances has run into wood 
rather than succulency. Toughness has taken the place of tenderness, dry woody 
fibre that of crisp, jelly-like cellular tissue. For water, essential to all plants, is 
the warp and woof, and mainly the bulk and substance of vegetables. If we 
would have their heads or produce tender, their feet must be kept within reach 
of water. Therefore the water supply of gardens is a matter of paramount im¬ 
portance ; and|the old proverb, “Waste not, want not,” is peculiarly applicable. 
The late Mr. Loudon had a theory upon this, as upon all other subjects ; and 
experience has justified its wisdom and truth. His principle was that every dwell¬ 
ing collected enough water to supply its inmates, if it were properly stored. He 
held the same to be true of gardens, if I remember rightly. In most gardens 
there is a lamentable want of facilities for the storage of rain-water. The rain 
that falls on glass roofs is not infrequently run off into the main drains, and lost; 
and until the invention of the Chatsworth Conduit Tile, all the water that fell on 
gravel walks was wasted, or often worse, left as a source of weakness, wetness, 
and ruin to good paths. But it is not of such means of collecting or storing 
water that I wish to write now. Every garden ought to be well furnished with 
water-tanks, of sufficient capacity, and in handy positions for facile access and 
convenient use ; but all such arrangements are costly. A cheaper and better store¬ 
house of water is at hand, and often sadly neglected. I allude to the earth itself. 
It is common to see deep tanks excavated to hold water, which the earth would 
have held better, had it only been deepened and broken up. Shallow soils are 
most wasteful of water; they are too flat to hold it; it falls upon them, runs 
through, and so passes away. Take a piece of dry sponge, press it firmly together, 
and pour water over it; most of the water glides off, while little is absorbed. 
Remove the hard pressure, gradually moisten the sponge, until it becomes ex¬ 
panded ; then pour water upon it, and it will hold it like a vice, and only part 
with any at the bottom, after it is super-saturated. 
