Work for the Month of May 



By Henry Gibson. 



The planting of trees, shrubs ami herbaceous peren- 

 nials should be pushed ahead with all possible speed, 

 so that they may become established before the hot 

 weather overtakes us. 



Plants that haven't got a thorough hold on the soil 

 soon suffer from drought, which if prolonged for any 

 length of time means the finish of many of them. True, 

 losses may be prevented by thorough and timely water- 

 ing, but at this busy season when each department on 

 an estate demands its quota of attention, there is little 

 time for e.xtra care once the ])lanting operations arc com- 

 pleted. Where help is limited as is the case on many es- 

 tates, and this year more so than ever, the gardener often 

 finds it difficult to give much more than passing attention 

 to nian\- things, hence the importance of jjushing ahead 

 and doing good work at the proper time. 

 The Vegetable Garden. 



Work in this department calls for a good deal of cau- 

 tion during the month. Everyone plans not to be behind 

 in planting out the tender stock, but care should be taken 

 not to rush the season and get caught by a late frost. 

 Ailsa Craig onions, Leeks and Globe articliokes should 

 be planted out on the first favorable occasion, selecting if 

 possible a cloudy day. The land for these should now be 

 in a mellow condition if it has been previously prepared. 

 Onions may be planted in rows eighteen inches apart and 

 one foot between each plant. Leeks we prefer to plant 

 in single rows in a trench and one foot between each 

 plant. For Globe artichokes, four feet between the rows 

 and three feet from plant to plant is a fair allowance ; on 

 soils that dry out rapidly each of these crops would be 

 benefited by a light mulch of well decayed manure soon 

 after planting to conserve the moisture. 

 Earlv Celery. 



This crop should be put into its permanent quarters 

 during the month. A double row in a trench is the most 

 jioiudar method practiced. If possible have the trenches 

 where water is convenient ; celery is a moisture-loving 

 plant, and while it resents a sour, stagnant soil, it likes 

 plentv of moisture about its roots. 



Seed for the main winter crop of celery should be sown 

 now. Sown with the object of transplanting once or 

 twice before setting out permanently is more conducive 

 to satisfactory results than when transplanting is not 

 jjracticed. Transplanting checks the development of a 

 long tap-root and encourages the growth of a system of 

 fine fibrous rootlets which every celery grower admires. 



Tomatoes, melons, egg-plants, pepper, cucumbers, etc., 

 should all be vyhere they can be exposed to full air night 

 and dav for a couple of weeks before being planted out. 

 With such treatment the plants will undoubtedly lose the 

 rich green appearance which a warm moist greenhouse 

 gives them, but they will ultimately be the better for it. 

 inasnnich as there will be little or no check when they 

 are set out. 



Melons and cucumbers, together with siunnier squash 

 and ])umpkins, should be planted on small mounds, with 

 some manure beneath. Egg-plants and jiepper require a 

 light rich soil. A sheltered position where the sun will 

 not fail to reach them is preferable, and a distance of 

 two feet each way between the jilants will be about right. 



Tomatoes, may be trained to a trellis or supported by 

 good stakes five or six feet long driven firmly into the 

 ground previous to planting. The rows should be at 

 least four feet apart and three feet between the plants. 



Li planting out any of these plants care should be taken 



that they are thoroughly watered on the morning of the 

 planting out day. Nothing spells failure .sooner than 

 setting out a plant with a dry root-bound ball. 

 The Greenhouses. (Roses.) 



( lenerally speaking, the month of May is looked upon 

 as the time to replant the rose-house. In preparing for 

 another season supply of roses there are three essentials 

 that should not be overlooked, viz. : clean bench, good 

 soil, and strong, vigorous plants. If one has these the 

 battle is half won, and should the results not come up to 

 e\pectatit>ns with these requirements, it will be evident 

 that it is often the culture that is at fault. .Many notes 

 and observations will have been made concerning the cul- 

 ture of different varieties of roses during the past year, 

 and it is these observations reduced to practice that are 

 the really important factors in rose growing. Personal 

 experience and observation of the vagaries of different 

 roses, and methods of culture are far more conducive to 

 success than a whole book of arbitrarily written imtes. 

 Carnations. 



The old plants are still blooming freely, and with a 

 top dressing of some good concentrated fertilizer they 

 will continue to be first-class blooms for some time vet. 

 Bone-meal or a mixture of loam and sheep manure in 

 equal parts makes a very good top dressing. 



Where field culture is adopted during the summer 

 months the young plants should be set out as soon as the 

 weather is settled. For some time before being planted 

 out, however, they should be well hardened off, so as to 

 avoid any danger of giving the plants a check. Two or 

 three weeks in a cold frame will accustom them to out- 

 side conditions. Fifteen inches apart each way is a good 

 planting distance, insomuch as the cultivation can be run 

 both lengthwise and crosswise, thus saving much hand 

 weeding. Pinching the growths should be regularly and 

 carefully attended to so as to get nice bushy plants. 



In many localities indoor culture is the only method 

 practiced, which undoubtedly tends to produce early 

 blooms, but for growing plants that are to provide a con- 

 stant supply of blooms all through the winter we l)elieve 

 the field culture is second to none. 



Antujrhinums for Winter Flowi-uiX(;. 



Where these subjects are wanted to provide a supply of 

 flowers throughout the winter the cuttings should be got 

 into the sand about the end of the month. JMake a careful 

 selection of those that have given a good account of 

 themselves in the past, see that the cuttings are protected 

 from the sun, and use every effort to prevent wilting. 

 Seedling raised at this time will prove equally as satis- 

 factory as cutting ; in fact, we think that they make more 

 vigorous plants. As soon as they are large enough to 

 handle they .should be picked off into flats about inches 

 apart, and subsequently potted into three-inch pots. 

 About the first week in August they will lie ready to be 

 planted in the bench, where with good culture they will 

 produce fine spikes of flowers from the early part of De- 

 cember on through the winter months. 

 Stocks. 



Stocks also provide fine material for cutting during the 

 winter months. A batch started during the present month 

 will come in early, and if other sowings are made at in- 

 tervals of a month a continual supply can be maintained. 

 Plenty of sand should be used in the soil when the seed 

 is sown, as the seedlings have a tendency to damp off; 

 {Continued on page 201.) 



