The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1911-08-01
WATERING PLANTS.

II rev persons realize that the water
ING Of q plant Is task whica require
both experience and ability to perform
properly There Is all the difference
IN the world between tne vigor OF
plant which Is watered properly an,
one which Is Watered improperly
Watering OF plants Is not like th,
feeding Of animals III which regularit,
Is OF prime Importance. Roots do no
take up water at intervals but con
stantly, and vet watering Is something
more than seeing that the soil around
the plant is kept at uniform degree
Of moistness. The principles whicl
underly the art Of Watering plants arc
The principles OF plant growth
The great mistake usually made Il
! TO water too often and too little at 4
time, The ground around plant
should be allowed to get dry, not
baked and crnsted, but thoroughly dry
on the surface, before water is ap-
piled, Then the watering should be
thorough. The ground should be
soaked. Few persons realize how
much water it takes to thoroughly
soak soil None OF those who outline
irrigation reservoirs for their gardens
make these reservoirs large enough
unless they secure expert advice I
have known people who were foolish
enough TO think they could pump
enough water to supply half an acre
lt garden during a dry season In
watering either gardens, lawns or
potted plants do not water so often
but water thoroughly. Set your ro
tary lawn sprinkler in one place and
let 1t run all night, (if moi against
the rules of Your water company and
even longer IL necessary in order to
enable the water to penetrate several
inches into the soil Then. regardless
OF how dry the weather is, let il 20
for az least week Ten days is
none too long even in che hottest
weather II the grass shows eYi-
dence of suffering before this time
has elapsed you may be sure that the
watering was not sufficiently heavy
Lawns which are watered in this man
ner will withstand the drought Of the
severest summer and be green and
attractive, whereas lawn which is
sprinkled a little here and there, NOV
ing the sprinkler every half hour or
hour will dry up in spite Of constant
attention.
There is no better method Of water
ing potted plants than to set the pots
in vessel Of water which Is suffi
ciently large to cover the pot com
pletely Let ii remains here until ii
is wet clear through In Watering pot
ted plants BY pouring wate- ON the
top OF the ground. water will come out
al the drainage hole below long be
fore the centre OF the ball OF earth IS
even moistened.
Furrow or Ril irrigation. In water
ing plants in the garden OF field al
ways strive to get as much water into
the ground and at the same time wet
the surface of the ground as little as
possible. The usual method Of doin-
this is to run furrow close to a row
of plants and then allow a thin stream
OF water to rickle down this fnrrow
This stream must run slowly, hence
the slope must not be steep. This
is the reason that in many irrigated
sections the fields are graded to a
uniform slope before any cultural
operations are started. Water trickl- !
ing down such furrow will soak out |
into the ground to one side for from /
one to two feet, depending on the /
length Of time the water is running, |
without wetting the top OF the soil /
except in the bottom of the furrow.
Many object to the use of this method /
because OF labor involved but in very
Tot weather 1t the only safe plan
o use with tender vegetation in open
ground
The difficult thing watering plants,
md the phase which approaches near
,st to being one of the fine arts, is
% tell when TO water While most
,eopIe water too often, it is Of course 4.
Iuite possible not to water often
nough, and while the injury from too
requent waterings is marked, that of
flowing plants to get too dry is even
worse. the man who can tell by
ooking at the tor of a plant that the
cots are IN need water, has that
natural sympathy with plants which
makes a gardener Like the fisher
nan with eyes in the back of his
ead he is born for the business
I. 0. Booth. Department Of Horticul
ure, A. & NJ. College, saltwater, Ok
ahOma.