The hose is a subject to which very little attention is given.
Paradoxical as it may seem, all rubber hose is not rubber hose, and
because of this many lawns suffer from want of water, because the
supposedly rubber hose has proved, when most needed, to be a combination
of paper and scrap. A first-quality hose will cost from twenty to thirty
cents a foot--a frightful price when comparison is made to the bargain
price of four cents a foot. The expensive kind will last for years, and
even after it begins to show signs of wear it can be used many years
longer by proper repairing. The cheap hose bursts once, and its
usefulness is at an end, as the first burst is only a preliminary of
total dissolution.
When a good hose bursts it is best repaired by cutting entirely through
it and removing the damaged part, and then joining the ends with a
little brass sleeve that is easily inserted into each of the severed
ends and which has reversed prongs to prevent its slipping out. This is
one of the best ready-made menders on the market, and it prolongs the
life of a hose for years.
Keep your hose on a reel. Empty it of water before winding up, and never
allow it to lie baking in the sun. This latter is a very common fault
and is the cause of much good hose being spoiled.
Another seemingly trivial yet important thing is to caution against so
fastening the hose to the tap that it pulls away from it at
right-angles.
For ordinary purposes the half-inch size of hose is the best. It costs
less in the first place, is more easily handled, and the wear and tear
is much less than on the larger sizes.
You never see a gardener using any spraying contrivance on the end of a
hose. In his thumb and forefinger, which he skillfully moves over the
flowing stream, he has a combination of sprayers that can produce the
heaviest stream or the finest mist at will. This is to be recommended,
but few will care to follow the course of training necessary to acquire
the efficiency of the gardener.