Watering becomes requisite in gardens for various purposes, as
aliment to plants in a growing state, to support newly transplanted
plants, for keeping under insects, and keeping clean the leaves of
vegetables. One general rule must be ever kept in mind during the
employment of watering a garden; that is, never to water the top or
leaves of a plant when the sun shines. All watering should be carried
on in the evening or early in the morning, unless it be confined to
watering the roots, in which case, transplanted plants, and others in
a growing state, may be watered at any time; and if they are shaded
from the sun, they may also be watered over their tops. Watering over
the tops is performed with the _rose_, or dispenser attached to the
spout of the watering-pot, or by the syringe or engine. Watering the
roots is best done with the rose; but in the case of watering-pots
in haste, and where the earth is hardened, it is done with the naked
spout.
Many kitchen-crops are lost, or produced of very inferior quality,
for want of watering. Lettuces and cabbages are often hard
and stringy; turnips and radishes do not swell, onions decay,
cauliflowers die off, and, in general, in dry soils. Copious
waterings in the evenings, during the dry season, would produce that
fulness of succulency, which are found in the vegetables produced in
the low countries, and in the Marsh Gardens at Paris; and in this
country at the beginning and latter end of the season.
Watering the foliage of small trees to prevent the insects, and
of strawberries, and fruit shrubs, to swell the fruit, is also of
importance.
The principal tools used by gardeners are, a light handy spade, a
shovel, rake, with iron teeth, hoe, three-pronged fork, dibber, or
setting-stick, line and reel, usually called a skillet, wheelbarrow,
baskets, trowel, a pair of shears, scythe, hay-rake, hook, ladder,
besom, or broom, beater, garden-roller, turfing-iron, hatchet, and
hammer. The gardener usually wears a blue woollen apron, which, when he
is pruning, he ties up before him, and then serves to hold his nails,
shreds, scissors, hammer, and pruning-knife. He should also be provided
with a light measuring rod, flat and narrow, painted and divided on
one side into feet and half feet, and on the other into yards and
half yards; with this he will be able to measure distances, to lay
out his beds for sowing and planting, and to measure and lay down his
gravel-walks, grass-plats, &c. A table, that will be very useful to him
in laying out beds, or any quantity of ground, large or small, will be
found in the APPENDIX.