I 122 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



May 



l}oiitl)g' Dcfiartmcnt. 



I 



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A WALK THROUGH THE GARDEN IN MAY. 



Foreigners universally express tlieir surprise and 

 delii^lit at the beauty of the American Autumn. — 

 Those fine, smol^y days in November, when the woods 

 asjiume tlieir richest dress, colorin<r the waters of 

 brooks and streams witli the most beautiful sliades of 

 sc-arlet and crimson, are unknown we believe in any 

 other part of the world. But who praises the Amer- 

 ican Sprinn^? Occasionally we have a fine warm 

 day, but it is only occasionally — few and far between 

 — while cold winds and rains are common enough. 

 Yet we should not complain, as this weather keeps 

 back vegetation, and gives us more time to plant trees, 

 and shrubs, and arrange our walks and beds, and 

 prune and get every thing in order for fine weather. 

 T 'O many neglect these things during the unpleasant 

 weather in spring, and consequently they have every 

 thing to do at once, and are a little behind during the 

 whole season. But this is not the case with our 

 garden, as you will see on passing through it. As 

 we promised to visit the garden again this month, we 

 will see what progress has been made. You will no- 

 tice that the roads are all now in complete order, and 

 the general appearance of the garden entirely changed 

 since last month. Then everything looked unfinished 

 — ground partly dug and partly planted ; now it has 

 much more of a finished appearance, and looks in 

 better order. 



The' peas we noticed last month as just making 

 their appearance, have grown so rapid[y that they 

 need sticks, which you see placed to support them. 

 Others are just appearing above the ground. These 

 were sown later, and when the first have done bearing 

 tha.se will supply their place. 



The pie phiiit, or rhubarb, now has large leaves, 

 and long leaf stalks, fit for use. Currants, and 

 gooseberries are now in leaf and blossom. The 

 peach buds are swollen, and the earlier kinds just 

 bursting, and unless we have frosty weather as the 

 trees are going out of blossom, we shall probably 

 have a good crop of this delicious fruit. 



Under the shelter of the fence we see the gardener 

 sowing radish seed. Radishes to be worth eating, 

 must have a very rapid growth, otherwise they are 

 hard and worthless. They require mellow, warm 

 ground. In England they generally cover radish 

 bads with a top-dressing of coal ashes, giving them 

 a black and singular appearance. Wood or coal 

 ashes might be used to advantage in this country. 



Beets and carrots are sown, and these require a 

 very deep soil, as the roots e.xtend into the earth, 

 and it is impossible to get well formed roots, unless 

 the ground is dug or plowed deep and well pulverized. 

 We have seen the blood beet two feet in length. 

 How could it have grown to such a length if the 

 ground below si.x or seven inches had been as hard 

 as it is in its natural state ? 



Ueans are very tender, and a slight frost destroys 

 them alter they are above ground ; so they are not 

 yet planted, and will not be until nearly the last of the 

 month. The most delicious of all beans is the Lini". 

 Tiiey require long and strong sticks, and are fine 

 when useil as shell beans in the summer, or dry for 

 wintoi-. Every body should plant a few Lima beans. 

 They like a dry, warm soil, a little inclined to be 

 sandy. 



In the hut-bed you see lettuce and radislies fit for 



use, and c<7en/, tomato, and other plants, almost ready 

 to put out in the open ground. But it is not too late 

 yet to start celery or tomato plants. Once we started 

 them in a warm sunny situation on the first of May, 

 without heat from manure, merely by placing a few 

 boards around and covering them nights, and had them 

 ready to transplant in pretty good season. 



Melons and cucumbers are now sown in the open 

 ground, though jn the hot-bed you will see melon 

 plants in pots. These will be placed in the open 

 ground the last of this month, and will be earlier than 

 those started from seed in open ground. But those 

 who have a warm sandy soil, can raise good melons 

 without this trouble. 



Asparagus is a great luxury, and as the gardener 

 is now making a bed, we will notice his operations. 

 The plants he is placing in the bed are two years 

 old from seed. The seed is sown in the spring, in 

 drills about one inch deep, and twelve inches apart. 

 Some at this stage water them with boiling water. 

 They are then covered, and the earth well pressed 

 down. In two years the plants will be ready to 

 transfer to beds. Those who live near nurseries had 

 better buy plants, as they will thus obtain asp&rao-us 

 for use two years earlier. As we can not stay to see 

 the whole operation of making the asparagus bed, I 

 will explain it : Mark out a bed about four and a 

 half feet wide, and as long as is needed, dig out the 

 surface earth three inches deep, and lay it on the 

 sides of the bed ; then spread short well-rotted ma- 

 nure three inches thick over the bed, dig it well in, 

 and smooth off with the rake ; then line out four 

 rows on the bed length-wise twelve inches apart, 

 and the two outer rows nine inches from the edge of 

 the bed. Place the plants flat on the rows twelve 

 inches apart ; this will make them twelve inches 

 apart each way ; then fill up the bed with the earth 

 taken out, and dress it neatly olFwith the rake. 



In cultivating the garden, as in everything else, 

 it is necessary to do whatever you attempt, tvell. — 

 Dig deep and make the soil fine ; this is digo-incr 

 well. Manure well, for manure is the food of plants, 

 and without this food they will either die from star- 

 vation, or be poor and sickly and worthless, if they 

 find enough in the soil barely to sustain life. In the 

 next place, sow the seed carefully, so as to have it 

 even all over the bed — not too thick in some parts, 

 and too thin in others, as is too often the case. — 

 Then take good care of the plants when they come 

 up, by destroying all the weeds that interfere with 

 their growth, and take the food from the soil which 

 your plants need. Keep the ground mellow, so that 

 the air can penetrate, and the rains descend to 

 nourish them. If they require brush like peas, or 

 poles like bean.s, to sustain them, furnish them early, 

 a little before needed ; for if a little too late, the 

 plants droop and become injured and never obtain a 

 good form. If done early, you liave the satisfac- 

 tion of seeing the fruit of your labor; if too late, 

 you have had all the trouble and very little compen- 

 sation. So it is with farming and gardening opera- 

 tions generally ; he that expends his time and labor 

 in doing things well — and to be well, of course 

 must be seasonable — is generally satisfied with 

 the result of his labors ; but ho>hat half does things 

 never gets paid even for the labor actually be.->towed. 

 And this is right, an i in accordance with nature and 

 revelation. He that improves his talent shall receive 

 still others ; but he that improves it not, shall lose 

 even that he has. 





