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Watering can

Container used for watering plants

Summary

Container used for watering plants

A watering can (or watering pot or watering jug) is a portable container, usually with a handle and a funnel, used to water plants by hand. It has been in use since at least A.D. 79 and has since seen many improvements in design. Apart from watering plants, it has varied uses, as it is a fairly versatile tool.

The capacity of the container can be anywhere from 0.5 litres (for indoor household plants) to 10 litres (for general garden use). It is usually made of metal, ceramic or plastic. At the end of the spout, a "rose" (a device, like a cap, with small holes) can be placed to break up the stream of water into droplets, to avoid excessive water pressure on the soil or on certain delicate plants.

Water pot, excavated at [[Villa of the Papyri]], ca. A.D. 79.

History

The term "watering can" first appeared in 1692, in the diary of the keen cottage gardener Lord Timothy George of Cornwall.{{cite book |last1=Bourne |first1=Val |title=The ten-minute gardener's vegetable growing diary

In 1886 the "Haws" watering can was patented by John Haws. The patent read "This new invention forms a watering pot that is much easier to carry and tip, and at the same time being much cleaner, and more adapted for use than any other put before the public."

The shower head end is called a rose, rose head, rosette, or sprinkler head.

Modern uses

Watering cans are used by gardeners for watering plants, by road workers to apply bitumen to asphalt, as ornaments, and regularly in symbolic art pieces.

In popular culture

Impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted a work entitled A Girl with a Watering Can.
John Cleese, in a 1963 Cambridge University Footlights Revue ("Cambridge Circus") sketch, "Judge Not", described a watering can as: "a large, cylindrical, tin-plated vessel with a perforated pouring piece, much used by the lower classes for the purpose of artificially moistening the surface soil".

Gallery

File:Pot, Watering MET sf52-46-1s1.jpg|Watering pot (16th–17th century) File:Schooltuin Plutodreef Utrecht - School garden, 2019 - 3.jpg|Watering cans on a stake in a school garden, Schooltuin Plutodreef Utrecht, the Netherlands File:Watercan.png|A watering can made of plastic File:Watering-can-green.jpg|A green, 2 litre watering can made of galvanised iron pouring water File:Watering can for bonsai.jpg|Watering can for bonsai File:Watering jug make from empty container.jpg|Watering can made from discarded container File:Man watering cucumbers plantation on small island (cropped).jpg|Person using two watering cans

References

"Watering Pot - Definitions".
(13 November 2021). "Who invented the watering can?". [[Future plc]].
(17 September 2021). "Our Favorite Watering Cans". [[The New York Times Company]].
(1 June 2022). "The Best Watering Can for All Your Gardening Needs". [[Condé Nast]].
"A Girl with a Watering Can".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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