AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
171 
CALENDAR OE OPERATIONS. 
MAY 1856. 
[We propose to give from month to month, besides our 
leading article, “Work for the Month,” a calendar of some 
of the more important operations in the field, garden, &c. 
These are adapted to the latitudes of 41® to 42 a . A little 
allowance must be made for each degree of latitude—late r 
north, earlier south. An early season, or a late one like 
the present advances or retards operations, so that we shal[ 
need to revise and adapt these tables to each year. The 
letters f. m. 1. refer to first, middle, and last of the month. 
Doubling the letters thus : ff. mm. or 11., gives emphasis to 
the particular period indicated.] 
THE FIEI.D. 
Spring Wheat; sow Fife or other varie¬ 
ties, ff. (See page 177.) 
Clover; sow f. m., on or with Spring grain. 
Timothy; sow f. m., with clover or Spring 
grain. 
Corn ; plant and sow f. m. 1. (See Work 
for Month.) 
Broom Corn; plant f. to m. Look out for 
killing by frost. 
Oats ; sow, ff. m.; choose heavy kinds. 
Barley; sow ff., if not done before. 
Lucerne; sow ff. (See page 177.) 
Peas ; 'sow or plow in, f. m. Scald seed 
quickly to kill bugs. 
Beans ; plant f. mm. 
Vetches ; sow broadcast or in drills, f. m. 
Millet; sow f. m. 1. (See page 175.) 
Buckwheat; sow m. 11. 
Flax may be sown at North, ff., but is 
usually sown in April. 
Hemp; sow f. m. 1. 
Mustard ; sow or drill f. m. 1. 
Tobacco ; transplant f. to m. 
Pumpkins; plant f. m. 1., with corn, 
especially on new or rich land. 
Squashes ; plant as a field crop, f. m. 
Turnips; sow, or better drill, Russia or 
Swede varieties, m. 1. 
Beets, for W’inter use, sow in drills, f. to 
l. ; thin out and weed those sown last month. 
Carrots ; sow f. m. 1., or as soon as the 
ground is dry and warm ; sow f. for early ; 
m. for field crop. 
Parsnips ; hoe and thin, f. m. 1.; sow a 
few f. m. 1. 
Plow deep, deep, deep, DEEP. 
Harrowing ; f. m. 1.; you cannot make the 
soil too fine. 
Plaster ; sow over clover and wheat fields, 
f. m. 
Manures; ff. mm. 11.; leave not a particle 
to waste about the yards or buildings, or to 
evaporate from the fields ; get it all under 
the ground as sopn as may be ; mingle with 
the soil as intimately as possible, leaving no 
lumps or masses in one spot; gather ashes, 
soot, blood, hair, wool, rags, bones, pond and 
swamp muck, decayed leaves—in short, all 
decaying vegetable or animal substances, 
and get them near the roots of some grow¬ 
ing crop. These all Used, try Peruvian 
guano, plaster, salt, &c. 
Pasturing ; m. 1., don’t let animals out too 
soon ; let the grass get up well; only half 
pasture with dry feed, at first. 
Sheep ; keep the lambing ewes from ex¬ 
posure, f. Take good care of the lambs; 
sheep and lambs are and will be high. Don’t 
wash or shear sheep too early, there is much 
risk and little gain. Wash and shear m. 1. 
Salt meadows ; ditch when dry enough. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Artichokes; plant out, f. m. 
Asparagus ; clean beds, f. m. (See our 
April number, page 161.) Water beds, ad¬ 
ding to water alittle guano, or liquid manure. 
Beans and Peas ; sow or plant for a suc¬ 
cession, f. m. 1. 
Beets; sow red, ff., and thin out those 
sown early, f. m. 1.; sow white beets, f. to 1. 
Blackberry vines ; set out, ff., if not done 
already. (See page 000.) 
Broccoli; sow, f. to m.; if dry, cover the 
ground with mats ; set out plants already 
up, f. to m. 
Cabbage; sow seed for late, ff.; set out 
plants, f. m., and for late, 1. 
Carrots ; sow, f. m. 1.; thin out, m. 1. 
Cauliflower; sow for late, f. to m. 
Celery ; plant out, f. to 1. 
Coriander and Dill; sow, f. or m. 
Cress, or Pepper Grass ; sow at several 
periods, f. m. 1.—during 1. under shade of 
trees. 
Cucumbers ; plant, f. to m. (See page 183.) 
Currant bushes; may be planted by slips 
or roots, ff, but should, where possible, be 
put out in April. 
Endive ; sow, 1. Fennel; sow, f. 
Hoeing ; keep the hoe constantly at work, 
f. m. 1. 
Kale (Sea ;) sow, m.; blanch early sown, f. 
Lettuce ; sow, or plant out, f. m. and 1., for 
a succession. 
Marigolds and Majorams ; sow and plant, 
f. to m. 
Melons, of various kinds ; sow, f. to m.; 
plant out, from hot beds, m. 
Mints—Pennyroyal, &c., &c., plant slips, 
f. to 1.; sow, fi’. 
Mushroon beds ; make, ff. to m. 
Mustard ; sow for salad, f. m. and 1. 
Nastuitiums; sow, ff. to m. (See page 
184.) 
Onions ; weed and thin, f. to 1.; sow seed 
thickly for small onions to plant next Spring, 
m. to 1.; for pickling, sow white, m. 
Parsley ; sow f. m. 1., for a succession. 
Parsnips; hoe and thin, f. to 1.; sow some 
f. to m. 
Potatoes ; plant, f. to m. 
Pumpkins and Squashes; sow,f. to m., or 
later ; plant out those in hotbeds, f. to m. 
Radishes ; f. to 1., for a succession. (See 
page 185.) 
Raspberry vines ; may be set out, ff.— 
better if done before. 
Rosemary and Rue ; plant out, ff. mm. 1. 
Sage; sow, ff.; plant slips and cuttings, 
f. to 1. 
Salsify, or Oyster Plant. (See page 184.) 
Spinach ; thin, f. m.; sow, f. m. 1. for Sum¬ 
mer or early Autumn use. 
Strawberries; plant for late, ff., if not 
done ; clean beds. See our last two num¬ 
bers. 
Tomatoes; plant out, f. to m ; sow, ff. if 
not already done, though it is better to buy 
a few plants already started. 
Thyme ; sow, f.; plant out, f. to 1. 
Turnips ; sow, f. m. and 1., for early and 
succession. 
Water plants, 1., when ground is dry, 
especially those newly planted out; save all 
the house slops, urine and dish-water, and 
put around the roots of plants. 
Weeds ; these should be watched careful¬ 
ly ; “a stich in time will save nine.” If 
they get the start of you, cut down and bury 
them under the soil as a manure. Green 
plants decay too quickly to be profitable as a 
mulch, or surface manure. 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
Anemones ; take up roots and separate 
offsets as fast as leaves decay, f. to 1. 
Annuals of various kinds ; remove from 
hot-beds to borders- as soon as weather is 
settled. 
Biennials ; sow, f. to 1. 
Borders ; dress frequently, f. to 1. 
Carnations ; remove side-buds from flow¬ 
er-stems ; shade from hot sun at midday; 
water in very dry weather. 
Dahlias ; transfer from pots or green-house 
to open ground, f. to in. 
Evergreen trees and shrubs ; plant from 
f. to m., the earlier now, the better. 
Flowering plants ; stake as needed, f. to 1. 
Grass-plots : mow, or shear and roll fre¬ 
quently, f. to 1. 
Grass; seeds may be sown, f. to m., or 
later. 
Gravel walks; smooth and roll often; 
pull oyt stray grass-stalks and weed as they 
appear. 
Hoeing; keep the hoe, rake, &e., con¬ 
stantly in motion ; continually stirring the 
ground around plants is highly beneficial. 
Hyacinths ; take up and store, as leaves 
decay, m. 1. 
Mignionette ; sow for succession, f. to 1. 
Perennials; sow f. to m.; propogate by 
slips and cuttings, m. to 1. 
Polyanthus; part, ff., if not already done ; 
shade carefully from hot sun, f. m. 1. 
Roses ; bud, ff. to m.; treat roots with gu¬ 
ano water or liquid manure. 
Stakes should be set by flowering plants 
as required, f. to 1. 
Tulips; remove seed pods, m. 1.; take up 
and store as fast as leaves decay, 1. 
Turfs ; may be laid, f. to m., or even 
later; but the earlier the better, to avoid 
drying out. 
HOT-HOUSE AND GREEN-HOUSE. 
[A very competent gentleman had engaged 
to supply hints under these heads, but his 
copy failed to reach us in time for this num¬ 
ber.] 
ORCHARD. 
Grafting may be done in the earlier part 
of May, especially this season. 
Look out for the caterpillars; don’t let 
them spread and scatter over the tree, but 
pinch them to death as fast as seen. 
Stir the ground around all fruit trees, and 
keep grass down. If trees are in a pasture 
or meadow, hoe around the roots. 
Ashes, charcoal, &c., should be put around 
trees. Lime is also beneficial, put on 
the surface or dug in. Old trees, on a poor 
soil, are benefitted by guano, or liquid ma¬ 
nure. 
Tables like the above, enlarged and made 
more perfect, will hereafter be prepared for 
each monthly issue.—E d, 
