The Garden Under Glass

WATER FOR GREENHOUSE PLANTS 231 sprinkler, allowing the water to fall over the leaves, flopping the water on so that it runs away from the plant, giving the same amount of water to a cut-back as to a full-grown plant, watering in the middle of the day when the evening or morning would serve, and allowing a plant to become very dry before affording water. In the majority of these cases the mistake need but be mentioned for the orthodox method to be perceived. Practical Precepts in Watering It is obvious that in winter less water will be needed, and a plant practically devoid of active growth will need but little in comparison with a plant plenteously furnished with large, expansive leaves. In winter it would be safer to regard water as a necessary evil to be avoided as much as possible, for when the soil is constantly saturated with water it is impossible for the roots to perform their proper functions ; the soil becomes sour and the growth sappy and useless. In winter it is advisable to water early in the day, so that, the surplus water having drained away, the soil is warmer during the night, which is usually so much colder than the day. At all seasons the best times for watering are in the early morning and the evening. The reason for not watering during the bright, sunny part of the day is that the roots, aided by the warmth and water, are made unduly active, and this activity cannot be main-tained. This does not, of course, mean that when a plant is found to be flagging in the middle of the day it shotild receive no water until the evening ; but it is here meant to emphasise the advantages of watering in the cool part of the day, and especially in the evening, when the moisture does not quickly evaporate, but surrounds the plant, and enables it to drink freely at the roots and inhale with its