Bisbee daily review., 1909-05-23
CAR|NGFORTREES AND PLANTS
Continued from Page Nine :,


 sible the soaking of the water to con siderable depths in the ground where it cannot readily escape through evap- oration. It is well known fact that the roots of plants go where there is moisture in the soil, and if this mois- ture is deep seated the roots are also quite certain to be.
 The varieties or species planted re- quire different amounts of water for their successful growth. Umbrella trees, cottonwood trees ana similar yarieues require more water for good growth than such trees as the black locus or Russian mulberry. OA the other hand. olives, oleanders. palo verdes, wild chinaberry anl tamarisk can get along very well with mini mum amount of irrigation, thosgh of course doing much better with noder- ate watering. In general, rapid grow ing varietes and those having a large spread of leaf surface requ re more water than those not So constituted.
 From what the writer has seen from time to time, oyerwatering Of plants is a common practice in our icty. This amounts practically to wasting water and is not just; with us water should be made to do all the dut possible. For some reason or other, perhaps it is due to long residence n this arid region, many of us have a mania for using excessive amounts of water in
 irrigating our yards. We water near ly all day long, and then for good measure let the hose run all night When our plants fail to grow as fast as we think they should, when per 1 chance they are undergoing . period of rest so as to be rather inactive,
 when they wilt slightly during the day beo0se of heat and excessive trans ] piration, instead of cultivating We ap- | ply more water.
 Perhaps few examples concern ing tns matter will not be out of or
 der. Three years ago the writer's at tention was called to some pepper
 trees that were not doing as well as
 they should, beng yellowisn in color
 in place of a bright green. The own <, CT stated in all seriousness that the basins in which the trees were grow | ing. which were four and oneaaif to five feet in diameter and six inches 1 deep, were filled with water every
 second or ct most every third morn
 ing, and that he did not believe that
 they were suffering from lack of wa ter, to which 1 heartily agreed. When | these trees were gwen water only once
 in two weeks, and the surface of the ! ground cultivated so as to enable more
 air to come in contact with the roots | they began immediately to make a
 very fine growth. They were being | given seven or eight times as nucn
 water as they should have had. Last
 summer late in July the writer saw a | person on Third street standing in the | hot sun diligently spr-nkling a lawn 1 only two hours after a rainfall Of one
 and one-fourth inches had taken place. After such a downpour as this to ! which we are selodm treated. especial ! ly when the heavy rains Of the pre- i yious days were taken into eoasidsTa- ! tion, no sprinkling of lawns nor wa tering of flower beds was necessary | for week or ten days, and the ordi- nary well-planted tree would take no | harm for double or treble that time | Not uncommonly roses are Watereq
 to the extent that even in dry Ar.zona i the leaves bacCtne badly miidswed l from the excess of moisture about ] them, and in certain lawns the sprink.
 Ter is ever present and ever active It is a mistake to believe that we [ must forever stand over plants with
 a watering pot to keep them alive and
 make them grow. Soak the ground ' thoroughly in the case of well-rooted | trees, shrubs or vines. running the | water for an hour or more at a time ] preferably in a basin around the plant ! loosen the soil on the following morn | ng to a depth of four or six inches with a pick, hoe or other tool. which ] exercise by the way, will be an excel ! lent morning tonic, and then let the | tree alone fer the next two or three | weeks. Grasses cut from the lawn,
 weeds from the garden or rotted ma
 nure or cheap dirt if at hand can be used as a mulch. For best results | this may be raked off when the tree | is watered and spread over the sur | face again after the usual stirring of | the ground. Cottonwood and perhaps ! umbrella trees are about the oniy va reties that will need watering oftener | than once in three weeks with this | plan. The writer plans to water trees | in his yard once a month throughout the year. with the exception Of the dry, | hot months of May and June. when they are usually irrigated twice. Water | is run to them through threefourths
 inch hose fer an hour or longer at a
 time according to ther needs, deter mined by past observation. so that
 eacn tree receives between 25 and 400 | gallons a month. The trees are usual
 ly provided with a heavy mulch, and
 at any rate the groand about each | plant Is loosened after watering.
 | As concerns lawns, where there is | a reasonable depth of soil. heavy ! sprinkling once a week is or should
 be entirely sufficient Here again one
 through watering is worth two or | three lighter ones, as the water sOaks
 deep the soil where it remains until i taken up by the plant. The Bermuda
 grass lawn about the main university
 building and the blue grass lawn about
 the west approach of the grounds are /, not sprinkled oftener than every week
 or ten days, and these present, on tne
 whole, a very good appearance. On
 the other hand, the writer has in mind clover and blue grass lawns that re- quire watering every other day on ac-
 count of the rapid drying cut Of the shallow soil. which is but four or six Inches deep. But these are not fair
 examples of what should be expected from lawns as they represent nasty ' T H.. Il.