586 PROPAGATOR'S CALENDAR. 



MAY. 



Kitchen and Hardy-Fruit Garden. Now is the time to sow for late 

 main crops. Sow at once Asparagus, Kale, Beans, Beet, Borecole, Broc- 

 coli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage for Coleworts, Cardoon, Carrot, Cauli- 

 flower, Chou de Milan, Couve Tronchuda, Cress, Cucumber, Endive, 

 French Beans, Gourds, Lettuce, Mustard, Ohio Squash, Onion, Parsley, 

 Parsnip, Peas twice, Spinach, Turnip, Vegetable Marrow. Look over 

 all fruit-tree grafts, and where they have failed, thin out the shoots of the 

 stock ready for inserting pushing buds at once, or dormant buds in the 

 autumn. Budding ought to.be more often practised in the multiplication 

 of Apples, Pears, and other hardy fruits, as it rarely fails to produce the 

 desired effect; and for filling vacancies among the branches of wall trees 

 or espaliers, this method has much to recommend it. Select Parsley, 

 Spinach, Lettuce, Leeks, Celery, Endive, Broccoli, Onions, and other 

 crops for seed-bearing. The flower-stems of Onions and Leeks should 

 now be supported by stakes and lines along the rows. 



Flower-Garden and Shrubbery. Now is the time to examine Roses 

 and other stocks intended for budding. Finish in the early part of the 

 month the sowing of all kinds of Pines and Larch. Before consigning the 

 latter to the ground, the seed should be put in "the steep," as it is com- 

 monly termed that is, spread on a floor to the depth of 10 to 12 inches, 

 and completely saturated with water. The seed should be turned regu- 

 larly twice or thrice a-day for a week or so, by the end of which time the 

 grains will have swelled gradually and the " eye" have become more pro- 

 minent. Many failures in brairding Larch seeds occur when this operation 

 is not carefully attended to. Clean all herbage in young plantations. 

 Weed carefully all seed-beds. Grass seeds may still be sown, as also may 

 hardy annuals of all kinds for late flowering. Wallflowers may now be 

 sown in quantity for blooming next spring. Now is a good time to divide 

 Neapolitan Violets for propagating. Sow Pansies, Antirrhinums, Wall- 

 flowers, Stocks, Mignonette, and other fragrant flowers on all dry banks, 

 old crumbling walls, and waste places generally. Look after the stock of 

 spring bedding-plants, and propagate by seeds, cuttings, or division such 

 as are wanted in quantity. Sow spare seeds of all hardy biennials and 

 perennials in the open borders in showery weather ; Rose-budding may 

 also be commenced late in the month if the weather is favourable. Buds 

 for future use may be forwarded by pinching out the points of the shoots. 

 Evergreens may in many cases still be propagated by layers, if not already 

 done. Layers of the current year's growth will now root much more 

 quickly than the old wood. \Vater seed-beds, layers, &c., in dry weather, 

 and see to the trees and shrubs grafted this spring. An excellent plan of 

 budding Roses, largely practised by Mr R. Smith, of Worcester, may be 

 here described. The stocks used are the Boursault Amadis, Manetti, 

 Common China, and other strong clean-growing kinds, which are propa- 

 gated for the purposes by root or stem cuttings. All these kinds throw 

 up strong suckers readily the first or second year, and these are budded at 

 or below the ground-level, the soil being scraped away while the bud is 

 inserted and tied, after which the junction of bud and stock is covered with 

 an inch or two of fine soil, which keeps the bud moist and fresh until a 

 union is effected ; after which the bud soon forces its way upwards, and 

 the stocks are then headed back. Look over rare Lilies, and if it is desir- 

 able to increase them, layer their flower-stems in an open compost of peat- 

 sand and moss or leaf-mould. This should be done -when the flower-buds 



