98 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[April, 
Calendar of Operations for April, 1861. 
[We note down sundry kinds of work to he done during 
the month, to call to mind the various operations to be at¬ 
tended to. A glance over a table like this will often suggest 
some piece of work that might otherwise be forgotten or 
neglected. Our remarks are more especially adapted to the 
latitudes of SS 0 to 45°; hut will be equally applicable to 
points further North and South, by making due allowance 
for each degree of latitude, that is. earlier for the South, and 
later for the North. 
Ever .a n ations.—/ indicates the first; m, the middle; and I, 
the last ol the month.—Doubling the letters thus: Jf, or mm, 
or It, gives particular emphasis to the period indicated.— 
Two letters placed together, as fm or ml, s'gnify that the 
work may he done in either or in both periods indicated ; 
thus, work marked fm, indicates that it is to be attended to 
from the first to the middle of the month.] 
Farm. 
Though April brings greatly increased labor upon 
the farm, it is hailed with pleasure by the cultiva¬ 
tor, who has waited impatiently to recommence ac¬ 
tive operations. There is now no time to be lost if 
every thing is not in readiness for the Spring work, 
Which will soon demand all our energy and care. 
Accounts—Keep a regular account with each field, 
charging it with all expense and giving credit when 
the crop is returned; without this it will be impos¬ 
sible to tell accurately what crops or methods of 
treatment are most profitable. Let all contracts 
with hived men and others, with all sales and pur¬ 
chases, be plainly recorded. It will save trouble. 
Barley—Sow Spring variety, l , on well manured 
ground, thoroughly prepared. Use 2% to 3 bush¬ 
els per acre. Soak the seed 24 hours in a weak solu¬ 
tion of blue vitriol, drying it with air slacked lime. 
Birds—Allow no harmless birds to be destroyed 
on the premises. Read article on page 109. 
Bones—Allow none to be wasted. Break them in 
pieces with a sledge, moistening them with diluted 
sulphuric acid , if convenient, and throw them into 
the heap of horse manure, where they will soon 
decay. If ground bones or bone sawings are acces¬ 
sible, use them in preference to any “ patent ” pre¬ 
parations. 
Buildiugs—Remove banking from the sides of the 
house. Repair damages done by March winds. 
See that eaves-troughs and gutters are free from 
leaves or other obstructions. Clear out rubbish 
from barns and sheds. Cleanse and whitewash 
poultry houses, and other out buildings, both to 
improve the appearance and prevent vermin. If 
vines are to be trained to porticoes or the sides of 
the house, prepare proper supports. A trellis made 
by nailing cleats to the building and passing wires 
through them, or nailing on cross strips, is usually 
preferable to attaching vines directly to the boards. 
Cabbages—For first crop set plants from the hot¬ 
bed, df, m, in rich mellow soil, in rows 2j/ feet apart, 
and 2 ft. distant in the row. Early Yorlc is a favorite. 
Calves—Raise enough of the best to keep the 
supply of stock ample. Teach them to drink when 
two days old. Commence with new milk, and gra¬ 
dually mix skimmed milk with their allowance. 
Shorts, oat meal, or refuse wheat ground may be 
given after a few weeks. Keep pens dry and clean. 
Carrots—Try a plot for winter feed for horses and 
other stock. Sow in drills sixteen inches apart, on 
heavily manured and deeply tilled soil, made fine 
and free from stoneB and lumps. 
Cattle—Allow them to exercise awhile in the 
open air daily, but do not turn them to pasture un¬ 
til there is abundant feed. If you have them, give 
roots with hay at the barn. Working cattle need 
grain, with roots to keep up their appetite. Attend 
carefully to breeding cows; they may need assist¬ 
ance. Keep them separate in roomy stalls. 
Cellars—Open, ff, and remove all decayed vege¬ 
tables and rubbish. Use brine from emptied meat 
barrels for the asparagus bed or upon the compost 
heap. Whitewashing walls and beams is important. 
Clover—Though somewhat late it may yet be 
sown on Winter grain, ff, and it always pays. After 
a cold night when the ground is full of cracks, is the 
b 06 t time to sow. If sown on Spring grain it may be 
worked in with a roller, or light brush harrow. 
Corn—Have a full supply of 6eed of both late and 
early ripening kinds. The improved King Philip is 
a superior early sort, for localities far north, and for 
replanting where the first fails. Prepare ground 
for planting next month, by heavy manuring and 
thorough plowing and harrowing when dry enough. 
Cranberries—Select for a plantation a swamp 
which can be flooded in Winter and Spring. Drain 
the surface, remove brush, stumps, and tussocks, 
and if practicable, cover with three or four inches of 
sand. It will be early enough to plant vines in May. 
Draining—Read articles in this and previous num¬ 
bers of present volume, with others to come. 
Fences—Complete repairs, ff, particularly boun¬ 
dary and road fences. Use up surface stones for 
permanent walls. For one plan of a board fence 
sec page 107. Plant hedges,/, m, l, of Buckthorn, 
or Honey locust, and Osage Orange where it grows. 
Grain Fields—Clear out dead furrows which were 
opened for surface draining last Fall, and remove 
any obstructions from the outlets of underground 
drains. Where the grain is Winter killed, harrow 
or hoe over the surface and sow Spring grain. Keep 
all 6tock from grazing or trampling the fields. 
Grass Seed—Sow, ll, with Spring grain, and also 
upon any bare or thin spots in meadows. 
Health—Avoid over exertion, particularly in com¬ 
mencing active labor. Be cautious in laying aside 
winter clothing. Don’t fret. Take plenty of time 
for meals. Eschew advertised pills, bitters, etc. 
Hedge Rows—Allow none to remain for shelter 
to vermin and breeding spots for weeds. Take out 
ciders, briers, etc., by the roots, and sow grass seed. 
Hired Help—Secure their good will by just and 
generous treatment. By proper management they 
may be led to take an interest in the work.' A little 
praise will do more than much scolding. It costs 
as much, or more, to board a ten dollar man, as one 
worth fifteen dollars. A skillful man will save tools, 
economize labor and time, much more than the 
extra wages. Good help is cheap at any price. Pay 
a hired man liberally, and he will study your inter¬ 
ests, and stick by you through thick and thin. 
Horses—Give generous feed of grain to those used 
for Spring work. Clean and rub them down well 
after the labor of the day: friction prevents sore¬ 
ness of the muscles, and prepares for good rest. 
Use light harness—collar and traces—for plowing; 
and guard against chafing and galls. Train young 
horses to a fast walk ; and be careful not to over¬ 
work them. Give brood mares moderate exercise, 
and roomy stalls, especially when near foaling. 
Lime—Read previous articles, and on page 104. 
Lucerne thrives best on limestone lands, or deep 
sandy loam, and is well adapted for soiling or cut¬ 
ting and feeding while green. It is worth trying. 
Sow on well prepared ground, to. 1. 
Manure—Draw out from sheds and yard6, and 
leave in small heaps in the field until ready to spread 
it for plowing. Cover the heaps with soil to retain 
ammonia. Add to the compost heap the contents 
of privies and sink drains, the cleanings of the 
poultry house and wood shed, with whatever else 
can be turned to account. Reduce manure to as 
finely divided a state as possible, and mix thorough¬ 
ly with the soil by repeated harrowing. 
Meadows—Keep out all stock from the young 
growth. Remove brush, or growing hedges. Scat¬ 
ter the cattle droppings left in lumps. Top-dress 
bare spots with fine manure, sow grass seed liber¬ 
ally and roll or harrow it in. 
Oats—Sow, to, l, about 3 bushels per acre. They 
make a good succession to last season’s hoed crops. 
Onions—Choose a rich loamy soil, reduce it to 
line tilth, work in fine manure and ashes liberally, 
and rake off all stones and lumps. Sow, to, l, in 
drills one foot apart, 4 lbs. of seed per acre. Cover 
lightly ; weed as soon as the rows can be seen. 
Plowing if well done, saves much after culture ; 
in wet or clayey soils turn a wide furrow slice and 
lap each upon the next to allow room for partial 
drainage. Plowing in narrow ridges with deep dead 
furrows between, is advisable for such lands. If 
green sward be cross-plowed, do it very lightly, to 
not disturb the sods. Deepen the soil an inch or so 
afr each plowing. 
Potatoes—Plant, to, l, on rich mellow soil. Pro 
cure seed from a distance every few seasons. Cu! 
the tubers and put about four eyes to a hill. 
Poultry—Feed liberally with grain and occasional 
bits of chopped meat. Collect eggs daily. Set the 
hens, ff, for early chickens. Provide clean nesting 
boxes, and movable coops to receive young broods. 
Roads—Repair around your premises as early as 
practicable. Keep sluiceways open to lead the road 
washings into the adjoining fields as manure. 
Rye—Sow Spring variety, to, l, using about twe 
bushels per acre. It does well on good land, when 
following a hoed crop of the previous year. 
Sheep—Separate breeding ewes from the remain 
der of the flock, and give warm shelter from rains 
It is injudicious to increase their feed just before 
lambing. With the shears remove the filth which 
may have accumulated around the thighs and udder, 
or the lamb may refuse to suck. Watch ewes at 
lambing season to afford any needed assistance. 
Sorghum has proved a remunerative crop at the 
West, where corn is cheap and molasses high. Pre¬ 
pare the land as for corn, and plant the last ot 
April, where the soil and weather will admit. It 
needs all the growing season it can have. 
Swine—Allow breeding sows to run in a field or 
large yard for exercise. Keep the pens clean and 
littered, but not too freely, or the young pigs may 
be overlaid and killed. 
Tools—Have a full supply of your own. Exam¬ 
ine harness, chains, plows, etc., and repair all need¬ 
ing it, at once. Procure improved implements. A 
man and team, costing for wages and food $50 a 
month, may do twice as much good work with a 
plow costing $12, as with one that can be bought 
for $4 or $5. W T hich plow is the cheapest? 
Trees—Plant for fruit at least enough to supply 
the household; also for shade and adornment of the 
lawn and road sides. 
Water—Where practicable, bring a supply direct¬ 
ly into the house and out buildings. Cement pipes 
laid below the reach of frost answer a good purpose. 
Orchard and Nursery. 
Few things now require attention in the estab¬ 
lished orchard, if the directions given in these col¬ 
umns during the past year have been attended to. 
No extensive pruning should now be done other 
than removing dead branches. Better defer a gen¬ 
eral pruning until June. Unless the soil is in good 
heart, spread a good coating of manure about the 
trees, extending for ten feet each way. A free sprink¬ 
ling of unleached ashes on the ground as tar as the 
roots extend, is generally useful, especially on cold, 
wet soils. Lime may be used instead of ashes. 
If an orchard is to be planted this Spring, let it be 
done,/ - , to. The soil should be good naturally, 
sufficiently dry to need no drains, if possible, but if 
naturally wet, lay tiles or other drains 3 feet deep be¬ 
tween the rows, or say 30 ft. apart. Plow deeply and 
subsoil, working in a heavy coat of manure. Select 
trees at the nursery, rather than buy of itinerant 
tree venders who arc strangers, with no reputation 
to lose, or local habitation, where you can find 
them. Personally attend to the taking up and re¬ 
setting, and let it be done in a workmanlike man¬ 
ner. Even if there is a good orchard upon the 
place, set a few apple, pear, peach, plum, cherry, 
and quince trees, around the buildings, along the 
roads and lanes, or in bye-places where they will in¬ 
jure nothing and be a real source of profit in a few 
years. See reports on page 110, on varieties best 
adapted to certain localities. Select medium siz», 
rather than large trees. 
Grafting should beattended to at once, or at least 
cut all the cions before the buds swell. It is better 
to graft cherries and pears early. The commer¬ 
cial nursery now presents a busy scene. Gangs 
of laborers are employed in taking up trees, 
packing for transportation, or in various ways at¬ 
tending to the wants of customers; others ar6 
trenching for now planting, setting out stocks, 
