Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-05
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

more or less properly spaced intervals
garden.
If Nature. in happy mood, smiles and
frowns alternately upon city thou
sands of back yards will bloom with
beauty. although no man or woman so
much as go into them.
It must be admitted that Nature does
not often so solve our garden problems
for us. Perhaps she may do it for a
month, but then comes the time when
everything dries up, the sun smiles and
Nature seems to have forgotten us.
The genial, drenching rain, for which
We long, holds off and holds off, It re-
fuses to come pouring down upon the
hot. dusty city. Other places may be
luxuriating in the sweet GOODNESS brought
about by thunderstorm, but the city
we know bakeS and bakes beneath a
hot sun.
Such is the metropolis visited by the
normal Summer dry SPELL The garden,
Dig or small. Is a miniature picture Of
the same, with bushes turning brown
at the edges. sweet pea vines following
from the bottom, and grass showing OBJ.
noxious brown spots.
For the latter the rain is the best
watering pot there is. Grass needs to
send its roots deep to be the sturdy
grass which will stand both the heat of
Summer and the cold of Winter.
With normal amount of rainfall in
Spring and Summer, most lawns will do
better II left unwatered by hose. "Sprin-
king" the lawn with lust enough water
70 wet the blades is the surest way to
make it "Winter-kill"
The writer here has proved this for
himself over period of six years There
Will be times, of course, when auxiliary
water Is needed, and in that event the
hose is necessary. At other times let it
alone-for the grass, at least.
X y n
Transplanted seedlings should be
Watered at least once day for a week
or more and, above all, should be pro-
tected from the sun for few days after
setting out. An old-fashioned watering
pot or can is best for this work. There
are English, French and American mod
els OF watering pots; one seems about
as good as another.
Flower borders should be we'll watered
with the hose during dry spells. There
is look to dry soil that cannot be mis-
taken. 1t is not necessary to wait for
plants to begin to wilt under the relent-
less ultraviolet rays.
Use OF a Boston rose spray" for the
hose, instead of the usual nozzle, is to
be recommended for all flowers, not only
rose beds. Roses are pretty tough, de-
spite their weaknesses, so that one may
or may not water them, but If the arti-
f1cial watering is resorted to, be careful
to keep the spray off the foliage as
much as possible after giving it a pre-
liminary refreshing.
Expert gardeners no doubt think that
real plantSman will learn how to
water his flowers and will be able to
tell from the appearance Of leaves, flow
ers and soil just when his plants need
watering.
This is true in the main, but many
persons keenly interested in the beauty
which is flowers never seem tc possess
this ability. To declare that they must
blunder along as best they may will
not do.
Let some expert make real study of
the matter in a scientific spirit, and
issue a book setting forth the proper
amount of water, measured in quarts,
TO rcertain amounts of soil, under GER
tain conditions, etc.
With a little proportion of garden
philosophy and good humor mixed in,
we are sure that some enterprising hor-
ticulturiSt could make a popular hit
with volume entitled How to Water
the Garden"