MONTHLY CALENDAR. 363 



June. The first produce of the spring plantings will 

 now be ready for use. Lettuce or Radishes, planted in 

 cold frames in March, are matured from 5th to 20th 

 May, and if covered up by straw mats at night, ten 

 days earlier. In warm situations, on rich, light soils, 

 the Radishes, Lettuce, Turnips, or Peas, planted in 

 March, are fit for market. Rhubarb and Asparagus are 

 also fit to be gathered, on early soils, the latter part of 

 the month. 



Additional labor is now beginning to be required, the 

 marketing of crops occupying a large portion of the time, 

 while the thinning out of sown crops, and the keeping 

 down of weeds which are now showing themselves 

 everywhere, entails an amount of labor not before neces- 

 sary. To withhold labor at this critical time is short- 

 sighted economy, whether by the owner of a private or 

 market garden ; for let the crops planted and sown 

 once get enveloped by weeds, it will often cost more in 

 labor to clean the crop than it will sell for. It is not at 

 all an uncommon occurrence to see acres of Carrots or 

 Parsnips plowed down, after being carefully manured 

 and sown, from neglect or inability of the owner to pro- 

 cure labor at the proper time. The rapid development 

 of weeds is, to the inexperienced, very deceptive ; a crop 

 of Carrots, Parsnips, Beets, or Onions, may appear to be 

 easily manageable at a given day in May ; but a few days 

 of continued rain occurs, and the crop that could have 

 been profitably cultivated on the 15th is hopelessly over- 

 grown on the 25th. 



JUNE is one of the months in which we reap the re- 

 ward of our operations in the market garden ; at this 

 time the bulk of all the early crops matures in the 

 Northern States. So far, nearly all has been outlay ; 

 now, we receive the returns. In this district our early 

 crops of Asparagus, Beets, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Let- 

 tuce, Onion, Peas, Radishes, Rhubarb, Spinach and 



