130 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[May, 
Calendar of Operations for May, 1861. 
[We note down sundry kinds of work to be 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 3S° to 45°; but 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. 
Exi'L ax at tons. -^/'indicates th e first; m, the middle; and l , 
ne last of the month.—Doubling the letters thus: ff, or mm, 
ir ll, gives particular emphasis to the period indicated.— 
Iwo letters placed together, as fin or ml, signify that the 
fork may be done in either, or in both periods indicated; 
lius, work marked/m, indicates that it is to be attended to 
rom the first to the middle of the month.] 
Farm. 
The cultivator will be at no loss for steady em¬ 
ployment during this month. The sowing of Spring 
grains is to be completed, the remaining stock of 
manure carted out, the ground prepared for hoed 
crops, and in most sections the planting of corn 
iinished—in cold latitudes the bulk of the latter 
crop is often safely deferred until about June 1st. 
The forwardness of the season will, of course, he 
taken into account in getting in any crop. For 
corn, especially, it is essential that the ground be 
warm and dry enough to give a rapid start, and this 
is measurably true of other crops—a strong growth 
in the beginning is almost half the battle. Stag¬ 
nation in business and depression in prices should 
not be permitted to discourage from sowing and 
planting a good breadth of grain. There must un¬ 
der any circumstances be a demand sufficient to 
make crops remunerative—all the more so if a large 
number of producers are withdrawn from active in¬ 
dustry in consequence of disturbances in the nation. 
Beaus will often succeed on moderately fertile 
soils, where corn would not pay. They are always 
marketable, and are valuable for home use, and for 
feeding, especially to sheep. Prepare the ground as 
for corn, and plant white bush varieties in drills 2>£ 
feet apart, rn, l. Drop the seed 3 to 4 inches apart. 
Bees are very properly attracting increased atten¬ 
tion. A moderate apiary can be easily attended to 
with little expense and trouble, and with great profit. 
Ample directions for operations this month, are 
given under “Apiary” on a subsequent page. 
Broom Corn—Plant, m, l , in hills three feet apart 
each way, or in drills four feet distant. Thin to 
eight inches in the row, at the first hoeing. Favor¬ 
able reports have been received from several who 
experimented with the dwarf variety last season. 
This may be drilled in rows three feet apart. 
Buildings—A good coating of paint will save its 
cost many times in the preservation of all buildings. 
Apply it before hot weather comes on, if to be done 
this season. Remove all litter from unused stalls 
and the bottom of bays, before it becomes a harbor 
for rats and mice, which soon take possession when 
the premises are left undisturbed. See “ Sparred 
Floors,” p. 141. 
Cabbages — Plant out from hot-beds, ff, rn, in heav¬ 
ily manured mellow ground, if not already done for 
first crops. Read “ How to Transplant,” on page 
148. Reserve enough plants to immediately re¬ 
place any destroyed by cut worm or otherwise. Ex¬ 
amine for worms and destroy them when found. 
Calves — Mix oatmeal or shorts with skimmed 
milk for their feed as they grow older — giving but 
little at first, and gradually increasing the quantity. 
Allow them a little fine hay until the grass starts 
sufficiently to furnish a cud. Castration of the male 
is most safely performed at about a month old. 
Carrots may still be sown,/; last month was the 
better time. Read article on page 149. 
Cattle — Continue to fodder until there is abund¬ 
ance of grass. They will relish a little, hay at night 
even after turned to pasture. Keep up the flow of 
milk by feeding cows with wet bran, shorts, and 
roots if any remain, until the pastures are in full 
growth. Feed grain to working cattle according to 
the severity of their labors. Potatoes or other roots 
once or twice a week will keep up their appetite. 
Cellars — Dampness or decaying matter in the cel¬ 
lar will injure the furniture and impair the health¬ 
fulness of the rooms above. Give free ventilation, 
remove all offensive substances, and keep the sides 
and ceiling well whitewashed. 
Clover—Sow,/, m, where it is wanted to enrich 
the soil by plowing it under while in blossom. 
Though quite late, it may yet catch if’ sown on 
Winter grain, ff. 
Corn—Prepare the ground, /, m, and leave it until 
warm weather is established. The old rule is, to 
plant when oak leaves are as large as a mouse’s 
ear. If heavy greensward be broken up this 
Spring, do not cross-plow, and be careful not to dis¬ 
turb the sods in harrowing and marking out the 
ground. The fermenting sods will afford warmth 
and nutriment to the growing shoots. Examine 
seed carefully and reject all injured by frost. See 
page 138. It is always useful to soak the seed, or 
at least wet it, and dry off with lime or plaster. We 
prefer wetting with a thin mixture of tar and water. 
Dairying labors will increase this month. Pro¬ 
vide abundant feed for the cows, a cool and neat 
room and convenient vessels for the milk, and con¬ 
duct every operation, from milking to packing the 
butter, with scrupulous cleanliness. Be in no haste 
to buy a patent churn which is warranted to bring 
butter in four minutes or less—we know of no ap¬ 
paratus that will produce a good article in that time. 
Cranberries may be planted any time this month. 
The Fall rs a better season for grounds which are to 
be flooded. Secure fresh plants of the Bell variety, 
particularly for uplands. If cuttings be used, let 
them be five or six inches long, insert the middle in 
the soil, leaving the two endsprojecting. Set them 
eighteen inches apart. 
Draining—Read the articles now in course of pub¬ 
lication in the Agriculturist. 
Fences—Keep all in repair, particularly boundary 
and road fences, and around pasture lots where 
young cattle are confined. If they once become 
unruly, an ordinary fence will not restrain them. 
Flax culture promises to become more remuner¬ 
ative in future, from recent improvements in pre¬ 
paring the fiber. This crop and Hemp should be 
got in,/; m. 
Grain Fields—A top dressing of plaster will often 
prove beneficial. Guano, lime, or wood ashes, sown 
liberally before the seed is covered, will benefit heavy 
soils. Keep all stock from fields newly sown, and 
from Winter grain. Pull out weeds as soon as they 
are plainly visible among wheat, rye, or barley. 
Grass Seed—Sow, ff, upon grain fields not already 
seeded, and on poor meadows. Use plenty of seed. 
Hedge Rows thrive and spread by being let alone. 
Tear them out by the roots, not only along the fences, 
but by the roadsides to prevent further encroach¬ 
ment. If time can not be taken for this, turn a 
flock of sheep upon them to eat off the young 
sprouts as they appear, which will destroy some, 
and keep all in cheek. 
Hoeing will be necessary in many sections before 
the close of the month. Use the liorse-hoe or cul¬ 
tivator where practicable. If hand hoeing is re¬ 
quired, use a light and sharp steel hoe, with which 
the labor can be performed better and with less fa¬ 
tigue than with a poor implement. 
Horses—Keep them in good condition during 
Spring work, by generous feed and thorough groom¬ 
ing. An experienced horseman recommends a fre¬ 
quent allowance of boiled- potatoes with grain, which 
the horses will soon learn to relish. When not in 
use they will fatten rapidly upon this feed. See 
“ Galls on Horses,” page 141. 
Lime—Use according to suggestions given in re¬ 
cent previous numbers. See page 104 (April No.). 
Lucerne is profitable in some locations. It re¬ 
quires deep soil with open subsoil, on which it 
thrives year after year without renewal, ana furnish¬ 
es valuable feed, particularly for soiling, as it can be 
cut several times in a season. Use 10 to 12 
quarts per acre. Sow, ff, m. 
Manures, particularly from the stable, arc better 
applied to land in hoed crops, than to fields devoted 
to spring grain, which is apt to grow rank and 
lodge on highly manured ground. Corn is a gross 
feeder, and should be well supplied with all that 
can be profitably used. The effects of heavy ma¬ 
nuring the first hoed crops will be visible years 
after in the oats, winter grain, and grass which fol¬ 
low. Buy manure only as a last resort, after all 
available supplies on the farm are exhausted. Bone 
dust, and Peruvian guano, where a good article can 
be obtained, are the best articles in market, for gen¬ 
eral use. 
Meadows—Allow no grazing on meadow lands in 
Spring. Keep in good condition by top-dressing 
with fine compost, before the grass has advanced 
much, or apply guano, ashes, or plaster, early this 
month. Keep the sluiceways open, which carry 
wash from the road or from the bam yard, and ar¬ 
range them so as to spread the fertilizing matter 
over a wide space. 
Oats—Sow,/’, if not already done. 
Onions—Complete sowing,,/. Last month was 
a better period. For complete directions, con¬ 
sult, “ Onion Culture,” published at this office. 
Peas for feeding out may be sown, ff. A low 
growing variety put in with oats, will be partiaUy 
supported by the grain, and both will yield a good 
crop in a favorable season. 
Plowing—Much labor is saved by properly laying 
out the lands at first. Long ridges, where practica¬ 
ble, save time in turning. With a ridge of 78 yards 
long it has been found that in 10 hours work, 5 
hours and 11 minutes were occupied in the turnings, 
while in a ridge 274 yards long the tilde for turn¬ 
ings was only 1 hour 22 minutes. Keep the fur¬ 
rows straight, and direct the plowman to mend all 
“balks;” much after culture will thus be saved. 
For corn, subsoiling is preferable to turning up 
much of the crude soil underneath ; it may often be 
done cheaply by following in each furrow with a 
light one-horse plow. 
Potatoes—Plant, ff, if not already completed. 
Manuring heavily pays in this crop. Cutting the 
tubers into pieces containing one or two eyes, and 
allowing them to dry considerably before planting, 
is claimed to be a preventive of rot. Experiment 
with a small plot in this manner. Read “ Potatoes 
Cheaply Grown for Market,” page 139. 
Poultry—Keep up their laying by liberal feed of 
grain, boiled potatoes, etc. Allow them to leave 
their yard an hour or two before sundown, when 
they will not not do much injury by scratching in 
the garden, etc. Keep the mother of a brood con¬ 
fined in a portable coop, and allow the young chick¬ 
ens to roam in the garden and fruit yard where they 
will destroy many insects. Feed young poultry 
with cracked com instead of meal, increasing the 
size as they grow older, until they can manage 
whole corn. Milk curds are very wholesome food 
for them. Set eggs, /', rn, for late chickens. Read 
articles on page 142. 
Provisions—Pork in barrels in the cellar, hams in 
the smoke-house, and other provisions, need look¬ 
ing after occasionally. See that the brine is of suf¬ 
ficient strength, and covers the meat in barrels— 
rusty pork is a poor article of diet. Hams sowed 
in thin muslin bags, and whitewashed, will not be 
troubled by the fly. Keep them dry and cool. A 
good method to keep hams through the Summer, 
as we have proved, is to pack in barrels or bags with 
plenty of sweet, cut hay around them. 
Pumpkins—Cheese pumpkins are about the best 
variety for cooking. Keep them separate from oth¬ 
er vines of the same family. Plant in cornfields 
a liberal supply of the common sort for feeding 
stock. 
Root Crops—Try a plot of mangel wurzels, or car¬ 
rots this year, if they be not already sown. They will 
pay as a relish for stock when confined to dry hay. 
Rye—Spring Rye may still be sown in many lo¬ 
calities. 
Sheep—Care for as directed last month. Wash, 
m, if the weather be sufficiently warm, and shear, ll, 
or early in June. Watch for the first symptoms of 
foot rot, and treat according to directions on p. 141. 
Soiling—Sow rye and clover, /; corn and millet, 
in, to l, for cutting and feeding green This prac- 
