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II MUWIUU H u 
Work for May in the Garden 
By John Johnson, Massachusetts 
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VEGETABLE GAKDEN. 
DURING this month more than at any other 
season the cuUivator finds himself encumbered 
with work in urgent need of attention. Growth is 
rampant in every department. Due regard then must 
be given all young stock in either hot-bed or cold 
frames to avoid injury or loss from starvation and 
overcrowding. 
Cauliflower and celery are two of the most hungry 
and thirsty plants in the garden. Keep them on the 
move by generous treatment. If allowed to hang 
about in a half-neglected fashion, the cauliflower 
plants will produce "buttons" instead of good solid 
heads. The earliest celery will likewise give trouble 
in "bolting" prematurely. It is good practice to plant 
young stock of these subjects, if only for a week or 
so, on a spent hot-bed, or in frames prepared by a 
heavy dressing of well-decayed manure. The young 
plants root into this medium very readily. They 
move with a goodly portion of it attached to the roots, 
and will withstand check at the final transplanting. 
Remove suckers from celery at the time of planting, 
water thoroughly, and finish by dusting the plantation 
with soot. 
A few plants of the earliest sown Brussels sprouts 
may be planted in showery weather. Rich ground 
and an open position are the requirements of this crop. 
Given these, the plants will produce good, solid buttons 
at a time when many of the more tender vegetables 
are past. 
Keep up a succession of peas, spinach, string beans, 
beets, carrots and lettuce by sowing at frequent inter- 
vals. Peas should be sown up to the end of the month, 
but after this time they cease to be a paying crop. 
These, as well as string beans, are often sown far too 
thickly even in gardens otherwise well conducted. 
Nothing is gained by overcrowding ; and it must be 
said that the now almost prohibitive price of bean seed 
is a point favoring better cultural treatment. Give 
peas the necessary support as soon as the seedlings 
are above ground. Some growers stick rows at the 
time of sowing, a method very commendable. 
Where spinach is in constant demand, it will be 
necessary this month to make a sowing of the New 
Zealand type to carry through the heat of _ summer. 
For similar reasons sow Cos Lettuce. It is a hard 
matter to produce good "head" lettuce from sowings 
made during the two months which ensue. Chicory 
is an excellent substitute for lettuce during winter. 
Sown now on a bed prepared as for carrots or parsnips, 
in drills a foot apart : later thinning the plants to nine 
or ten inches in the row, good clean roots will be 
ready for lifting in the fall, preparatory to forcing. 
Although the ground should be in a high state of culti- 
vation, it is inadvisable to now incorporate fresh 
manure. Such practice would tend to forcing of the 
roots, which is undesirable. 
Egg plant, pepper, lima bean, melon, cucumber, 
tomato and squash raised under glass should be 
planted as soon as climatic conditions warrant. To- 
ward the end of the month will be early enough for 
New York latitude. It is even then advisable to defer 
the planting for a few days rather than be m undue 
haste, unless ample provision is made for their pro- 
157 
tection against inclement weather. Seeds of melon, 
cucumjjer and squash may not be sown in the garden 
in hills of 10 ft. asunder, also the seeds of winter greens 
and late celery. 
Give the strawberry bed a dressing of 1 oz. nitrate 
of soda and 2 oz. super-phosphate per square yard, 
cultivate and later apply a mulch of clean strawy litter. 
The mulch will conserve soil moisture and provide a 
clean bed for the berries. 
Cut asparagus when occasion demands. Go over 
the plantation carefully every morning, cutting all 
stalks of proper length regardless of quality. Small 
useless stalks can be discarded at the time of bunching 
those fit for the table. If left uncut, these inferior 
growths not only become unsightly, but tend to ex- 
haust the crowns. Cultivate persistently among all 
growing crops. It means less weeds, better tilth of 
surface soil, and conservation of moisture. 
THE ORCHARD. 
Spra3nng of fruit trees will again be in order this 
month, and should be done as soon as the petals fall. 
Use arsenate of lead solution for biting insects, cater- 
pillers and grubs. A combination of lead arsenate and 
bordeaux in paste form is now on the market and 
serves both as an insecticide and fungicide. The most 
economical preparation can be made by dissolving 1 
oz. of arsenate of soda in a little hot water and mix 
in 20 gals, of rain water. Then dissolve 4 oz. of acetate 
of lead in water and add to the first solution If about 
1 lb. of molasses is stirred into the whole, the spray 
will be of a more adhesive quality. 
For aphis on grapevines, peach trees, plums, cher- 
ries and kindred subjects, spray with Aphine or any 
approved nicotine solution. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
Although the flower garden possesses less material 
utility than the departments dealt with in the fore- 
going remarks, it must be admitted as being essential 
to any well-ordered establishment no matter how 
limited in area. It contributes not the substantial of 
the table, but the material for artistic display. How 
many thousands have a veritable feast on the floral 
arrangement staged in competition at our leading 
flower shows, in classes for table decoration alone? 
The flower garden then gives enjoyment alike to cul- 
tivator, designer, and casual observer. To the most 
magnificent country home it gives a dignity that 
would be otherwise' wanting, and to the more modest 
villa imparts that admirably conspicuous, yet restful, 
elegance characteristic of the suburban dwelling. Nor 
does the charm of the flower garden end here. The 
simple flower patch adjacent the humble cottage 
home, the bespattered flower or window-box of the 
city apartment house, each imparts to its owner a de- 
light equal in fullness to that of the proprietor of a vast 
estate. 
Flowers of April have appeared in sufficient quantity 
to assure us the rigor of winter is past. They pave the 
way for increasing galaxy this month when the or- 
chard, shrubbery and rockery will be ablaze with 
blossom. These, together with gorgeous displays of 
tulips, peonv and iris in the flower garden, fire the 
