AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
163 
Haying.— See pages 169 and 174, of this number. 
Hoeing. —Hand hoeing will, we fear, he greatly 
neglected this year, and many farmers have yet to 
learn how horse-hoes and cultivators may be made 
to take the place of the hand-hoe, however import¬ 
ant this may be in thorough cultivation. The bay¬ 
onet hoe may well be introduced into the field, es¬ 
pecially for root culture. We find in all soils that 
are in any thing like good tilth, that' it expedites 
work very much. 
Inmrance.— No man having less than $100,000 a 
year income can as a : general rule- afford to insure 
for himself—that is, to let his property go without 
insurance against fire. By all means insure house, 
stock, and crops in barn and stack against fire, with 
some company whose credit is worth more than 
their capital, and of which there is no suspicion of 
unsoundness, or recklessness. Live-stock life in¬ 
surance, and insurance of crops on the ground are 
unknown in this country. 
Insects.— Cultivate intelligent observation of the 
habits of insects to distinguish friends from foes, 
and destroy the latter. Our friends are few in num¬ 
ber, chief among them are ants, and bees, the large 
blue steel-colored wasp-like Ichneumon fly and 
Others of similar shape, the Ladybird, Tiger beetles, 
Ground beetles, and Dragon flies, or Darning- 
needles. These with others, either feed upon or 
‘lay their eggs in the bodies of other insects. Nev¬ 
er kill a spider, all kinds are very useful. 
Mamire making should commence in earnest, 
and all vegetable and animal matter not valuable 
t<# other purposes should find its way to the com¬ 
post, or dung heap. Look out for dead animals. 
Pastures— Top-dressings of gypsum or bone-dust 
are in order any time this mouth, or before frost. 
Keep sheep in pastures on which brush or briars 
are encroaching, first mowing off the brush. 
Peas.—Sow for seed from the 10th to the 20th of 
this month, burying the seed quite deep, 4 to 6 
inches. Some shade is no disadvantage to the late 
sowed crop, if the soilbe good. ■ The attacks of the 
pea weevil are not continued much. after early 
peas blossom. The crop will be light and no bugs. 
Potatoes. —Frequent stirring of the soil is very 
beneficial, so also are top-dressing of ashes, plaster, 
etc., at the first or second hoeing. 
Poultry. —Young chickens are of great value in 
the vegetable garden and fruit-yard. Confine old 
fowls in large quarters, feeding grass or somegrCens 
daily, not neglecting the directions heretofore giv¬ 
en. An acquaintance ties up the feet of his hens 
having broods, enclosing each foot in a bag, and 
gives*them the range of the garden. They do little 
or no damage by scratching, and eat many insects. 
Seed Grain. —Select the best and cleanest part of 
the field, go through it pulling all weeds and inferior 
plants by hand, giving these that stand the yery 
best chance. The point is not to select the seed 
from that part where the yield is greatest, but 
where the grain is best grown. Very remarkable 
improvement in grain may be secured by culling 
the largest, plumpest heads and sowing them by 
themselves year after year. 
Sheep. —See article on page 175, of the present No. 
Sorghum —Cultivate like corn, thin out freely. 
See notes, and “Basket” for last month. 
Swine. —Employ them working over the manure ; 
keep them in good growing order by regularly feed¬ 
ing corn or some grain, oil cake, beef scraps, etc. 
Give pigs the range of the orchard. 
Tanners Bark. —Peel hemlocks and oaks at this 
season and stack the bark so as to shed rain. 
Tobacco.— Water seed-beds with weak liquid ma¬ 
nure, push forward the preparation of the field, to 
be ready to transplant about the middle of the 
month. Select a rainy day if possible for trans¬ 
planting. Protect the young plants by wet, chaf¬ 
fed straw or short grass. See article on page 171. 
Tools. —By means of improved implements, 
sharp, light hoes for quick work, and tools adapted 
well to the purposes for which they are used, sup¬ 
ply or lighten in some degree manual labor. 
Turnips. —Rutabagas and all Swedish varieties 
should be sowed this month, best before the 20th, 
though good crops ' may be gained sowed any time 
before the middle of next month. Put the rows 
far apart so that the cultivating may be done as 
much as possible by horse power. 
Weeds. —This is the most important time in the 
whole year to kill weeds. The seeds are starting, 
and frequent stirring of the soil destroys the seed¬ 
lings. Perennial plants are in vigorous growth, and 
repeated cutting at or just below the surface kills 
many kinds. Even the most tenacious of life may 
be smothered by covering with weeds or grass. 
Orcliai'd ;iml Miirsery. 
The nurseryman, although the filling of orders is 
over, has abundant work in caring for the remaining 
stock and in providing for its increase, while those 
who have planted orchards will find it to their in¬ 
terest to spare some time from other work to look 
after their newly set trees, keep down the weeds 
and cultivate them well. 
Birds. —Powder and lead like other strong reme¬ 
dies should not be trusted in careless hands. Shoot 
sap suckers, and all birds of prey, but allow no in¬ 
discriminate “ gunning.” The more birds the few¬ 
er insects, and the better fruit crops. 
Black Knot.— Cut out the limb as soon as the 
knot appears and burn it. 
Budded Stocks. —The vigorous shoots which push 
from the buds are very easily broken by winds, or 
even by their own weight, and should be carefully 
tied with bass bark to the stub of the stock left for 
this purpose. Remove suckers which start from 
any part of the stock. Keep down weeds. 
Evergreens. —If proper precautions are taken to 
keep the roots from drying, these may be trans¬ 
planted. Prepare the holes beforehand and remove 
the tree as rapidly as possible. Select a cloudy day. 
Prune into shape; leave the growth near the ground. 
Grafts. —Examine those inserted this spring and 
rub off suckers and superfluous shoots. The graft¬ 
ing clay or wax will sometimes need replacing. 
■Insects. —The same advice must be reiterated—kill 
all you can and ask the birds to help. Again and 
again we are obliged to reply to inquiries that there 
are no specific remedies against particular insects. 
Oils, alkalies, and strong soap-suds will destroy 
many, others can only be conquered by burning, 
crushing or drowning. Whenever a caterpillars’ 
nest is discovered, do no other work before it is de¬ 
stroyed. Early in the morning and damp weather 
are the best times to find all hands in camp. Jar 
the plum trees daily and gather the curculios as 
they fall on a sheet and destroy them. 
Layers. —The new growth of shrubs may be lay¬ 
ered, bending tile branches down and fixing them 
by means of pegs in well prepared soil. 
Labels. —Look to those attached by wires and pre¬ 
vent danger of binding as the limb enlarges. 
Manure. —Let bearing trees have a surface dres¬ 
sing spread to ends of roots, if not already done. 
Mulch. — All newly planted trees will be benefited 
by it. Use litter of any kind, chips, saw-dust, etc. 
Hurseiny-rows. —Stir the soil, keep down weeds, 
remove suckers, head back such plants as need it. 
Pinching. — Shoots of fruit and other trees which 
tend to grow too long should be stopped. Rub out 
shoots starting where branches are not wanted. 
Seed-Beds.— Shade the young seedlings as direct¬ 
ed in February, page 50. It is a good plan to sift 
fine earth over the bed of seedling evergreens so as 
to cover the stem up to the seed-leaves. 
Thinning. — If quality is regarded rather than 
quantity, thin out freely, especially dwarf pears. 
Weeds. —Use the-horso hoe, cultivator or plow, 
and keep them down, the hand-hoe will be needed 
around trees and in the rows. 
[June, 
KitcBien Garden. 
The returns of early vegetables already received 
will convince the most sceptical that a good garden 
“ is a good thing to have in the country.” Then 
how much better is everything fresh and crisp from 
the garden, than when it has been carted for miles 
in the wagon of the marketmen and exposed to 
wilton the stalls, or at the greengrocer’s door. 
We rejoice with those who have a garden, and not 
the less for the thought that we have had some 
hand in helping to make it. 
Asparagus. —Don’t exhaust the bed by over-crop¬ 
ping, but stop about the middle of the month, 
clear off the weeds and let the plants grow. 
Beans. —Plant dwarfs for a succession. Limas 
may do well even if planted now. Give the run¬ 
ners poles or other support. 
Beets. —Sow the winter crop by the middle of 
the month. Hoe, weed and thin the early sorts. 
Cabbages and Cauliflowers. —Sow for a late crop 
if not already done. Transplant from seed bed. 
A piece of paper, an inch wide, wrapped around 
the stem of each plant, at the surface of the ground, 
is said to keep off the cut worm. Look out for 
caterpillars and destroy while young. Hoe often 
and forward the early sorts by liquid manure. 
Carrots. —Thin to six inches in the row. Hoe 
and keep the start of the weeds. Seed planted 
even as late as this will usually make a fair crop. ‘ 
Celery. —Make trenches 2 feet deep, 1 foot wide 
and 4 feet apart, put in about 8 inches of well rotted 
manure iu the bottom, and 6 inches of soil- and 
spade thoroughly. When the plants are large 
enough, set out a foot apart, and if the weather is 
hot, shade a few days. For the late crop the plants 
may be picked out from the seed bed into another 
bed of good soil to make them stocky. 
Corn. —Continue to plant for succession. Have 
a good stock for drying for winter. Hoe often. 
Capsicums or Peppers. —Set in a rich, warm place. 
Cucumbers. —Those started early need care or the 
striped bug will destroy them. A frame covered 
with milinet will do in the small way. Where there 
are many hills it is difficult to protect them, and 
good culture must be the main reliance to get them 
out of the reach of insects. Sprinkling with pep¬ 
per, ashes, plaster, solutions of aloes, etc., have 
been recommended. Put in seeds around the hills 
to furnish young plants for the bugs. Plant the 
main crop for pickling, using plenty of seed. 
Egg Plants. —These need a light soil, well enrich¬ 
ed, and their growth should be forwarded by fre¬ 
quent hoeing and doses of liquid manure. Set two 
feet apart in three feet rows, and hill up in hoeing. 
Endive. —Treat according to article on page 178. 
Insects. —Kill wherever seen. If a plant becomes 
much infested, destroy it. Trap moths by bottles 
of sweetened water. Crush eggs before they hatch. 
Lettuce.—' Thin and transplant. Sow for succession. 
Melons. —Treat as suggested in article on their 
culture on page 146, last month. 
Onions. —Hoe, weed, and thin to 3 or 4 inches in 
the rows. Mulching with sawdust and watering 
with gas liquor have been recommended for de¬ 
stroying the grub, also a dressing of salt and ashes. 
Parsnips. —Hoe, weed and thin as soon as large 
enough. Sow early this month if not already done. 
Peas.—Plant the main crop the first of the month. 
Set brush early fhd keep well hoed. 
Potatoes. —Hoe and cultivate thoroughly. A hand¬ 
ful of plaster to each hill will help wonderfully. 
Badishes.— Continue to sow for late. 
Bhubarb. —Cut the flower stalks as soon as they 
appear. Bottle or dry a supply for winter use. 
Salsify. —Cultivate the same as carrots. 
Spinach. —A succession sowing may be made. 
Try the New Zealand sort for summer use. 
Squashes. —If the first planting has failed, renew 
