130 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
be remedied. Children and almost all adults of 
unperverted tastes prefer a large proportion of this 
diet; and it is owing mainly to the fact that gar¬ 
dens are neglected, that salt junk and johnny- 
cakes, hog and hominy, reign supreme upon so 
many tables, for the larger part of the year. Con¬ 
secrate a few square rods to the spade and the 
garden rake, and let Flora and Pomona hence¬ 
forth he numbered among your household gods. 
Calendar of Operations for May, I860- 
[Wc note down sundry kinds of work to he done during 
tire month, to call to mind the various operations to be at¬ 
tended to. A glance over a table like this will often sug¬ 
gest some piece of work that might otherwise he forgotten 
or neglected. Our-remarks are more especially adapted 
to the latitudes of 38° to 45° ; but will be equally applica¬ 
ble to points further North and South, by making due 
allowance for each degree of latitude, that is, earlier for 
the South, later for the North. 
Explanations,— f indicates tlieyirsf; m the middle ; 
and l the last of the month.—Doubling the letters thus:,//', 
or mm, or ll, gives particular emphasis to the period indi¬ 
cated.—Two letters placed together, as fm or ml, signify 
that the work may be done in either or in botli periods In¬ 
dicated ; thus, work marked fm, indicates that it is to he 
attended to from theirs/ to the middle of the month.] 
Far tan. 
The fields, which so long wore a cheerless russet lute 
have now fully assumed their lively green vesture, or 
where the newly turned furrows follow tne plow of the 
busy cultivator, the clean rich soil gladdens the heart with 
Us freshness. Many in favored locations have already 
completed sowing Spring grain, and are hastening to pre¬ 
pare the corn fields for planting. Those who have de¬ 
ferred putting in oats or other grain because the seed bed 
could not yet be made mellow and warm, have done wise¬ 
ly. A young plant firmly rooted by favorable conditions 
at the first, has good promise of subsequent thrift, while 
a stinted growth in wet and lumpy soil is with diffi¬ 
culty improved by any subsequent care. Htippy the men 
who have learned the value of draining and subsoiling, 
and need not to wait for the water to slowly find its way 
from the surface through the compact soil. 
Stock should not be neglected during the press of busi¬ 
ness ibis month. The first few weeks after bringing forth 
their young is a trying season with them, and they should 
have corresponding care. Jn all cases it is easier to pre¬ 
vent their degenerating than to recruit them when low 
in flesh. 
Decs are w inging their way over the neighborhood, ex¬ 
ploring every corner for their stores. Ample directions 
Sir their management are given under the head “ Apiary ” 
on another page. 
Deans are worthy of attention as a field crop. They 
derive a large portion of their nourishment from the air, 
and will produce well where corn would fail. Plant, f, 
m, or as soon as all danger from frosts is past—tiiey are 
too tender to bear severe weather. Cultivate hush vari¬ 
eties in rows two and a half feet apart. Limas and oth¬ 
ers usually grown on poles may also he put in drills and 
supported on wire trellises. Some claim that they yield 
better when trained horizontally, on leaders not more 
than five or six feet high. In planting, cover lightly, say 
one half to three fourths of an inch. 
Broom Corn—Plant, f, to m, in hills three feet apart 
each way, or if in drills make the rows four feet distant, 
and when fairly up, thin to eight inches in the row. The 
dwarf variety described in last No., page 104, maybe 
drilled closer, say in rows three feel apart. 
Buildings—If any are to bo painted this season, it is 
belter done now than during the Summer, when the hot 
sun dries it too rapidly. Fall painting is preferable where 
it can be dono. In erecting new outbuildings, provide for 
the introduction of water under cover for stock, and am¬ 
ple accommodations for stabling, and for the manufac¬ 
ture and prose, cation of manure. 
Cabbages are a profitable crop when grown near enough 
to large towns to be marketed readily. Plant out, ff, in, 
from hol-beds in heavily manured mellow ground, for 
earlier erop, if not done in April. Examine roots of grow¬ 
ing plants for cut worm. For late crop, sow, 11, in drills 
for future transplantings. 
Calves kept for stock, will pay well for liberal feeding. 
Give plenty of milk with oatmeal or shorts. Let any 
change of diet be made gradually, to avoid diarrhea. 
Castration is most safely performed when tho animal is 
about a month old. 
Carrots—Try a small plot, if not already put in as di 
reeled last month. Horses and cattle will all take them 
gratefully when given w ith dry feed next Winter. With 
proper cultivation a very large yield of food per acre can 
ht* has secu-ed. 
Cattle are mostly turned to the pastures. Allow them 
fodder still, if the grass is insufficient. Continue to give 
wet bran and shorts to milch cows until green food 
is abundant. It is better to keep working cattle stabled 
and feed them plenty of grain and roots with hay, rather 
than turn them out during the heavy labors of the season. 
Cellars—Keep w ell ventilated and free from all decay¬ 
ing matter. A flooring of hydraulic cement excludes 
dampness from the ground, gives a level surface, is less 
infested by rats, and affords a cool place of deposit for but¬ 
ter, meat, etc., in Summer. 
Clover may still be sown on Winter grain, if. Where 
wanted for plowing in green to enrich the soil, f, to m, 
will be seasonable. For this purpose seed liberally, say 
eight to ten quarts per acre. See last month. 
Corn gains nothing by haste in planting. Many cul¬ 
tivators lurn over the sod early, and leave it until the 
grass roots have started ; then, when the ground is warm 
and the weather settled, the field is well harrowed, which 
checks the grow th of grass and weeds and renders the 
after cultivation easier. Marking out the rows should be 
done with a very light plow, or better, with a marker 
made of a strip of scantling with pins set at the right dis¬ 
tance for the rows, and two handles like a plow to guide 
it. The whiffletree can be attached by two trace chains 
passing to staples near the ends of the scantling. Deep 
furrows to receive the seed remain wet a long time if 
much rain falls, injuring the younggrain or even prevent¬ 
ing germination. The use of the marker obviates this 
difficulty; where stable manure is used in the hill, a light 
furrow is needed. Use no Peruvian Guano in the hill 
unless mixed with a large quantity of earth, plaster, or 
muck. 
Draining—Read suggestions in Calendar of last month. 
It is always in order when there are heavy compact soils 
requiring amelioration. 
Economy on the farm does not consist merely in spend¬ 
ing little and living close, but in turning every thing to 
the best account. The early morning hours are most 
valuable for labor—turn out from the bed in the house to 
the beds in the garden, and wake up the plants there. 
Remember that the master’s eye can do more work than 
both his hands, and leave no part of farm operations to be 
done without your oversight. Hire good hands, give good 
wages and require good work. 
Fences not now in order, are teaching cattle to be un¬ 
ruly. Five rails high in Spring are better than six after 
stock have learned tojutnp or throw down fences. Fie 
quently take a survey of every part of the enclosures, that 
all may be kept safe. A little care in this particular may 
prevent the loss of a cow by breaking into a green clover 
field, or the rooting up of the garden by a drove of hogs. 
Flax and Hemp should be sown, if, in. 
Grain Fields—Allow no stock to enter upon those sown 
last month, or the Winter grain. Now is a favorable 
time to pull out dock, cockle, Canada thistles and other 
foul weeds that will injure the growth and depreciate the 
value of the grain. Choose a day immediately after a rain 
when they can he drawn out easily. Unless the ground 
is in good heart, sow on guano, lime, or wood ashes. 
Grass Seed—Sow, ff, upon grain fields not already seed¬ 
ed. It is safer done in April. Many prefer from the mid¬ 
dle of August to the last of September for seeding to grass, 
and find it pays to put on the seed alone, instead of with 
grain as is so geneially done. To ensure a good catch, 
make the land rich. 
Hedge rows, if neglected, are sending up their new 
shoots to encroach still more upon the fields. If they can 
not be rooted out now, cut the tops and turn in sheep lo 
eat off the young growth—Get rid of them in someway 
both in the fields and by the roadsides.—The grain lots 
are often well seeded with thistles and other noxious 
weeds from a neglected patch in the road, w hich it was 
nobody’s business to extirpate. 
Hired help will be more profitable if well treated, and 
made to feel an interest in their labor. Provide good fare, 
allow ample rests, be kind and cheerful with them, but 
firm in requiting faithful performance; a word of praise 
now and then will accomplish much more than any 
amount of jawing. 
Hoeing will be necessary before the close of the month. 
Where tho land is smooth enough to allow it, try cultiva¬ 
ting with the horse .hoe. Keep the ground well stirred 
between the corn rows, and allow weeds or grass no foot¬ 
hold. Prevention is easier than cure. 
Horses are still paying for good care, by their daily la¬ 
bor. Follow directions ol last month. 
Hungarian Millet—Sow, ff, m, to rais° seed; m, lo 1, 
for soiling. For liny, to ho out when in blossom, it may be 
sown as late as June. Use from 10 lo SO quails ol seed 
per acre, on well manured land, prepared as for grass' 
seed, and cover with the hush harrow. 
Liiccrn—Sow, ff, m. It requires deep soil wilh open 
subsoil, into which the roots penetrato very deeply. Bc- 
[Mat, 
ing perennial it is valuable for feed, where it will succeed, 
as it can be cut two or three times in a season. Use 10 
to 12 quarts of seed per acre. 
Manures properly prepared, are plant-food. The great 
or the quantity manufactured and properly used, the moro 
abundant the return fiom the land. Every decaying ani¬ 
mal and vegetable substance on the farm furnishes a sup¬ 
ply. Wgeds from the garden and the roadside, leaves 
from the forest, muck from swamps and so ls from plow 
ed ground mixed with droppings of animals, or saturated 
with yard washings, will, if spread on the fields, be worked 
up into corn, oats, potatoes, etc. Enriching the land en¬ 
riches the cultivator. Save, make, and use all that can 
be made available. 
Meadows—Keep out all stock. Top dress wilh fine 
compost, plaster, wood ashes or Peruvian guano. Open 
sluiceways from the roadside, and allow the wash to spread 
and fertilize as much surface as possible. 
Onions may still be put in, ff, according to directions ol 
last month. 
Peas for feeding out may be sown, ff, with oats to give 
partial support to the vines. For table use we have raised 
green peas satisfactorily in potato hills, the potato vines 
answering for bushes. 
Flowing—Much labor in after culture will be saved by 
thorough plowing of corn ground. See that the sods are 
well laid over, otherwise the gras6 will give much trouble. 
Keep the plow out of wet lands until dry enough to turn 
up without leaving hard lumps, which will he almost as 
useless as stones throughout the season. Continue to 
deepen the soil by more thorough tillage. Subsoiling 
may often be cheaply done by following in each furrow 
with a light one horse plow. 
Potatoes—Plant, ff, if delayed until now. Peach Blows, 
Carters, Prince Alberts, Mercers, Dykman and Davis 
Seedlings, are favorites in this vicinity, hut so many new 
seedlings have been cultivated the past few years, almost 
every neighborhood has its own selection that are in good 
repute. The rot will probably affect all varieties under 
some circumstances, for thus far it is not proved to de¬ 
pend upon the kind planted. 
Poultry may be kept from disturbing gardens by con¬ 
fining them until late in the day, and allowing them an 
hour or two before sundown to go at large. If well fed 
in the poultry yard, they will then be busy hunting for 
insects until night and not do much harm by scratching. 
Chickens in coops should be kept on clean ground, and not 
allowed to run in the morning until the grass is dry. 
Feed wilh cracked corn and milk curds. Set eggs, ff, in, 
for late chickens. 
Provisions—Pork in barrels in the cellar, hams in the 
sinoke-liouse, and other provisions, need looking after oc¬ 
casionally. See that the brine is o( sufficient strength, 
and covers the meat in barrels—rusty pork is a poor ar¬ 
ticle 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 lo pack in barrels or bags 
with plenty of sweet cut hay around them. 
Pumpkins should not be planted in the garden with 
squashes. Put them in with corn or potatoes, scattering 
them well over the field. In favorable seasons they will 
afford a good supply of very nutritious foo l for fattening 
stock in the Fall. Plant a patch of the cheese or other 
good variety for table use. 
Root Croosdeserve more attention than they are yet 
receiving in this country. Mangold Wurlzel and Sugar 
Beets, Carrots and Turnips are relished by stock when 
fed with hay, and promote their thrift by keeping up I Heir 
appetite, as well as by the nutriment they contain. Sow 
carrots, parsneps and beets if not already done. Turnips 
do belter in June. Try at least a small plot. 
Sheep—Care for as directed last month. Cut off all 
tag-locks and trim the hoofs of any needing it. Castrate 
lambs vthen from two to three weeks old. Wash sheep, 
in, if tho water be sufficiently warm, and shear, II, or ear- 
!* n Juno. If sheep are kept principally for their wool, 
it is a good practice to mark the weight of each fleece 
plainly upon the ewe, and keep those yielding lhe most 
for breeders. 
Sorghum—Plant, f, m, on ground prepared as for corn, 
and cultivate in the same manner. For soiling it may he 
sown broadcast, or belter, thickly in drills. Last season’s 
experience proved that in many localities in llie middle 
States, it will be a paying crop at twenty five cents per 
gallon for Ihe syrup. 
Swine— Sows with their litters, need plenty of nourish¬ 
ing food. Allow none lo run in the road. A hog pasture 
containing fresh water, should have a place on every farm. 
Tobacco—Keep the young plants free from weeds, and 
transplant, m, 1, to deeply tilled and heavily manured 
soil. Sot the plants in rows three; lo three and a half 
feet apart, and two and a half, lo three feet distant in U.o 
row. 
