133 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Mat, 
Brai-M .—Examine under-drains all over tbe farm 
in wet weather, and see that surface water does not 
work in and displace the tiles or fill the channels 
with earth. Shovel away all sediment at the out¬ 
lets, so that the water will flow out freely. A h.alf 
day’s work cleaning out ditches and surface water 
channels, may be very profitably laid out on every 
farm. Mark the spots which need draining most, 
and lay outwork for next fall. 
Knx.—See article in April number, and “ Prize 
Essay pamphlet ” for full directions for culture, etc. 
Fence-rows and Hedge-rows. —See page 149. 
Grain Fields. —Top-dressings of “ hand-manures” 
(plaster, ashes, guano, nitrate of soda, superphos¬ 
phate, etc.,) may often be applied early in this month 
to good advantage. 
Grass Seed may be sown upon grain or alone, if 
it be done early, but much seed must be used. 
Hemp. —Sow on good soil, in drills or broad-cast, 
1 or IX bushels per acre, if broad-ijast—in drills less. 
Hwses .—Look to having well fitting harness, 
sponge the shoulders, legs and feet of hard work¬ 
ing horses, nights and mornings. 
Hoes. —See that every laborer has a good one. A 
poor hoe is like a poor ax. A man who attempts 
to work with either, will, in a short time, expend 
time and strength enough to no good purpose, to 
purchase a new one. See that they hang correctly, 
are made of good material; that they are kept 
sharp, the surfaces bright, that they may be applied 
with skill and efficiency. 
Horse-Hoes, etc. —Select good, well made, strong 
implements, of a pattern which you are certain 
about. Run no risks. There are many good ones. 
Some which we like, will finish both sides of the 
same row at once, which has several advantages. 
Lime. —It is well to keep a supply of lime on 
hand, but not much at a time. It assists greatly in 
ameliorating stiff clays, in composting muck and 
weeds, etc., and checks the ravages of insects. 
Machines. —Decide at once, what kind of ma¬ 
chines and implements will be needed the present 
season. Reapers and mowers, threshing maehines, 
cider and wine mills, should be ordered in time, so 
that there need be no delay. A long time often 
elapses after such machines are ordered, before 
iney can be forwarded. It is far better to receive 
mem before they are needed, than to be obliged to 
wait for them. Mowers especially should be or¬ 
dered without delay, as early grass will be fit to 
cut next month. See item on prices in “ Basket." 
Mangels.—'Y'hXs variety of beet is one of the most 
productive and valuable to the farmer, as food for 
stock; it keeps well until grass. Sow in deep mel¬ 
low land, in rows, 2 feet or 2 feet 6 inches apart, to 
be thinned to 8 to 12 inches in the rows, accord¬ 
ing to vigor of the plants and strength of soil. 
Manure is like money. No farmer ever has 
too much of it, who appreciates in what his we.alth 
lies. The days of prollig.ate waste of manure, 
even on the prairies, are fast coming to an end. 
Manure hoed crops heavily, especially corn. Sor¬ 
ghum should have a similar preparation of the 
soil. It is better to use a fine manure for roots, and 
potatoes in localities where the rot is feared, will 
not bear that in a state of active fermentation. 
Superphosphate, ashes, etc., are good substitutes 
on the last named crops. Make a tank for liquid 
manure, to save all that leaks from the dung heaps 
and all the urine of animals, to be pumped over 
the heaps again, or used in the liquid state diluted 
with water, being applied by the field sprinkler. 
Jlfwiinsrs'.—Buy hay, rather than pasture the mow¬ 
ing lands. Top-dressings of soluble fertilizers such 
as gypsum, guano, ammonia salts, ashes or liquid 
manures, are effectively applied now, much more 
so than stable manures, or vegetable and animal 
composts. Irrigated meadows may be manured 
by putting well rotted m.anure (dung and straw) 
into a pool from which the water, after becoming 
charged with its soluble portions, may be spread 
over the field—the best method of manuring grass. 
Oat*.—If oats cannot be gotten in before the cold 
rains and wet weather we usually have in May, it 
is often best to devote the land to corn or roots. 
Oats sown late make good hay, and the grass seed¬ 
ing does better than if they ripen. 
Onions. —Take pains to get good seed, the supply 
is very limited. Sow early, 4 lb.?, of seed to the 
acre, in drills 14 inches apart. If the land is now 
first used for onions, sow carrots in alternate rows. 
Feas or Peas and Oats. —It is best to plow in the 
peas, and harrow in the oats lightly. Sow before 
the middle of the month. Peas alone may be sown 
later on good soil. The mixed crop is satisfactor)'. 
Potatoes. —Plant early—use no heating manure. 
Pmiltry .—Confine as soon as the garden is sown, 
or keep them out of it. Put hens (in coops) and 
young chickens in the garden. Turkeys’ eggs ought 
not to be set before the first of May ; when hatched, 
put the brood in a dry, warm shed, where no other 
poultry have been in the habit of frequenting, and 
keep them out of dewy .grass for a week. 
Pumpkins. —On under dr.ained manured land, 
pumpkins do not interfere with the corn coips. 
They do better alone. Probably the cheese pump¬ 
kin is the most marketable and best. 
Bakes. —Do you own a horse rake ? If not, it is 
time to procure one for raking hay and grain stub¬ 
ble. There ere a large number of wheel rakes, 
with a seat for the driver, most of which will do 
good work. As a horse r.ake is used only a few 
d.ays in a ye.ar, it will be a matter of economy to 
employ a pair of light buggy or carriage wheels 
for carrying the rake, and the axle arms may be or¬ 
dered to fit such as you have. By procuring a good 
wlieel rake, a lame man, or an active young woman 
can do all the raking. No wire rakes do the work 
so well .as the wooden toothed ones. 
Backs. —As soon as the foddering season is over, 
remove the feeding racks from the y.ard to some 
place where they will not be damaged during sum¬ 
mer. Stored under shelter, they will last years. 
Boads. —Level down the sides of the beaten track 
of the highway, and sow grass seed. In many 
loc£ilities the sides of the highway are mowed, and 
the grtiss yields a good burden of hay. Where the 
earth is liable to be washed away during heavy 
showers, sow Kentucky blue grass or red top and 
form a sod, so that transient streams of water will 
not wash gullies in it. 
Sheep. —Make timely and suitable preparations 
for protecting all kinds of sheep from the cold 
storms of rain and snow, which are usu.ally called 
“ May Lamb Killers.” If sheep have been turned 
to grass, they ought to be .allowed access to a good 
shed, during most of the time, while such storms 
prevail. Also, to prevent scours, caused by chang¬ 
ing from dry feed to grass, let them h.ave only a 
small quantity of grass daily for several days, at the 
close of the foddering season. See grain for sheep, 
page 153. Shear early, and without washing. 
Tobacco. —Weed plants in seed beds. Sprinkle 
with liquid manure in showery weather, with pure 
water in dry weather. Plow and harrow the field. 
Work in the Orchard and Miir§ery. 
—The very open spring has caused the press of 
work to come earlier than usual in the nursery. 
It is not altogether to the advantage of the pur¬ 
chaser of trees to have a forward season, and we 
have already, in the middle of April, seen trees sent 
out with their buds well advanced. The present 
uncertainty in forw.arding freight, owing to the 
crowded condition of the railro<ads, will doubtless 
cause many lots of nursery trees to be injured by 
long delay in reaching their destination. By prop¬ 
er management, trees that appear to be ruined, m.ay 
be saved. If the trees have become so dried th.at 
the bark is at all shrivelled, we repeat the advice 
to bury them for a few d.ays ; light sandy soil is 
best, as they can be removed more easily. Dig a 
trench, lay the trees in with the roots all one way, 
and gradu.ally cover them so that the soil will sift 
in among the br.anches and come in contact with 
them. Place a stake to mark the position of the 
roots as a guide in removing them. Allow the 
trees to remain thus buried for three or four days, 
or a week, according to their dryness, when they 
may be taken up, pruned, and planted. It some¬ 
times happens, that trees during their transporta¬ 
tion push out a growth of several inches from their 
upper buds. In this case eut baek to a bud that 
has not started, before planting. The suggestions 
about planting, given last month, will stili be time¬ 
ly in cold localities. In planting do not .allow the 
roots to become dry, but cover them with earth if 
only half an hour is to elapse before they go into 
the ground, and do not be afraid to cut back freely. 
Budded Stocks. —Those stocks which were work¬ 
ed last year, upon which the buds have “ taken,” 
are to be cut b.ack to within a few inches of the bud, 
leaving a support to which to tie the growingshoot. 
Cuttings.—Any cuttings, the planting of which 
had been delayed, should be put in at once. See 
article on currants on page 121, last month. 
Hjergreens.—These are not only valu.able for 
ornament, but of increasing importance as shelter. 
People are beginning to learn that they csin, within 
certain limits, modify their climate, .aud that they 
can, by the aid of a belt of evergreens, not only help 
their orchards and gardens, but that the protection 
they afford is of essential comfort to the inhabi¬ 
tants of the house and barn. May is the month for 
transplanting. We repeat the caution to protect the 
roots, for if once dried, no subsequent wetting will 
ever soften their resinous juice. In sandy soils it 
is well to enrich the holes with peaty earth or muck. 
With large evergreens, which are planted singly, it 
is better to anchor them, by me.ans of large stones 
placed on the ground, than to stake them. Stones 
placed in this manner, besides the mechanical sup¬ 
port they give to the tree, are useful inasmuch as 
they cover the ground and serve as a mulch. The 
Hemlock is growing more into favor as a hedge 
plant. The proper time to remove this is when the 
new growth is well started. The Hemlock, Norway 
Spruce, and Arbor Vit® are the three favorite ever¬ 
greens for hedges and screens ; they all bear cutting 
to any extent, and are perfectly hardy. The Arbor 
Vit®, when planted closely, will sometimes die 
out and leave a gap which is difficult to fill. Surface 
manuring is beneficial to established evergreens. 
Grafting.—This m.ay still be done if the cions 
have been well kept. See previous numbers for 
hints upon grafting and substitutes for grafting 
wax. Root grafts should have been put out as soon 
as the ground was ready. If it has been delayed 
until now, lose no time, but get them out at once. 
Recollect that much of the success depends upon 
proper planting. The roots which have been graft¬ 
ed have usually very few fibres, and it is necessary 
to press the soil closely around them. 
Drainage. —Many orchards, the unproductiveness 
of which is ascribed to disease, are only troubled 
with wet feet, and would be brought into fruitful¬ 
ness if drains were laid midway between the rows 
of trees. There need be no fear of injuring the 
roots in laying the drains. The slight root prun¬ 
ing would be beneficial rather than otherwise. 
Insects. —All the directions for destroying these 
are summed up in “kill them.” When first hatched, 
one of the most destructive, the tent caterpillar, is 
very inconspicuous, but a practised eye will detect 
their small web, and with one operation of the hand 
a whole colony m.ay be crushed. Apply strong soft 
soap w'ash to the trunks if it is not already done. 
Layers of quince, grape vines, and of many orn¬ 
amental shrubs may now be made. 
Mulchmg. —Cover the ground around newly plant¬ 
ed trees with some kind of litter, it does not matter 
much what it is, provided it prevents evaporation. 
Orchards. —Any hoed crop that will leave the soil 
In better condition than it was before, may be 
planted in a young orch.ard, alwjiys keeping in mind 
that the cultivation is done for the ultimate beneflt 
of the orchard. Do not plant too near the trees. 
Peach a7id Apricot Trees. —Probe for borers and 
put a band of tarred paper around the trank ne<ar 
the ground. Ashes will be found beneficial. 
Plow between nursery rows and keep weeds down. 
Seeds. —Sow if not already done, in rich and well 
