1868.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
159 
purchase is made is much greater than it was when 
the tools were chiefly made by the village black¬ 
smith. Country store-keepers are allowed too 
much to decide what shovels, forks, hoes, and even 
mowing machines and hay-cutters, the people about 
them shall use. Iu hay-cutters the difference in 
labor between different kinds is fully fifty per cent; 
in dung forks the difference in durability is greater 
than that; and in the heavier implements and ma¬ 
chinery, great differences also exist. It is for every 
farmer’s interest to keep the store-keeper well 
posted, for, as a rule, the manufacturers pay just 
about the same commission, and the seller would 
as lief deal in one article as in another. 
Work in the Horticultural Departments. 
May brings with it abundant work in every de¬ 
partment, but it also brings pleasures that belong 
to no other month. There is a charm about the 
early flowers, the swelling buds, and the tender 
shoots, that makes it a month of delight as well as 
of toil. In a backward season, much of the work 
set down for April will “linger in the lap of May.” 
Orchard and Nursery. 
Planting .—If the trees have been heeled in and 
shaded, the work of planting may continue, as may 
Grafting, but when growth has started, the bark 
separates very easily, and if care be not exercised, 
ugly wounds may be made. In sawing off a limb 
at this time, cut completely around the bark before 
sawing it off. Cover all wounds with grafting wax. 
For some unusual kinds of grafting, see page 178. 
Young trees should have the soil kept clean and 
mellow about them from the start. Root crops, 
which are well manured, and require thorough cul¬ 
tivation, may be grown between the rows. 
Mulch around young trees before the dry weather 
comes on. Bog hay, or, near the coast, salt hay, 
is generally the most available. If a mulch is not 
applied, keep the soil mellow by frequent stirring. 
Nursery Trees .—Look to those budded last sum¬ 
mer, and rub off all shoots that start from the stock 
before they get large enough to require cutting. 
Seed-beds, of even hardy forest trees, will do all 
the better for shading, and some of them absolute¬ 
ly require it. A slat-work of laths, with the 
spaces between the laths as wide as the laths them¬ 
selves, makes one of the best shades. Evergreen 
boughs put upon a rough support will answer. 
Insects .—If any tent-caterpillars’ eggs have been 
left, the little webs will soon manifest themselves. 
They are most readily seen when the dew is on 
them iu the morning. They are easily destroyed 
by the baud, with a corn cob, or by use of a swab, 
with lye. Destroy them at any rate. Borers are 
to be cut out. Where there is a depression in the 
bark, the knife will usually reveal a borer. Often a 
wire will be needed to follow the fellow home. 
Try the plum and peach trees with a sudden jar, 
to see if the curcuiio has commenced its work. As 
soon as it begins, the work of daily jarring the 
trees must be inaugurated. Catch and kill. 
Fruit Garden. 
Grape Vines .—Those grown with horizontal arms 
will need to have the ends of the arms bent down¬ 
wards, to cause all the buds to start equally. With 
vines planted this spring, allow but one bud, which 
should be the strongest, to grow. Two buds may 
grow from vines planted last year. 
Layers may be made by bending down a cane of 
last year’s growth, placing it in a trench six inches 
deep, and fastening it there by means of hooked 
pins. When the bud.s have started, and the shoots 
have made a few inches’ grow T th, gradually fill the 
trench with soil. 
Currant Bushes.—The currant worm appears this 
month.and next. No better application has been 
suggested than dusting with the powder of White 
Hellebore. Keep the ground well cultivated, or 
put a heavy mulch between the rows. 
Strawberries .—Where the winter mulch still re¬ 
mains on, it should be parted over the plants if 
not already done. Set plants, and if they show 
any blossom buds, remove them. Beds without 
mulch should have the surface thoroughly cleaned, 
without moving the soil so as to disturb the roots; 
then put on a thick mulch of bog or salt hay, 
straw, tan-bark, or whatever is most convenient. 
Picking and Marketing .— Procure baskets and 
crates in good season, and have them distinctly 
marked. Hints arc given in an article on page 168. 
Insects. —Hand-picking is the only remedy for 
rose-bugs, as it is for the leaf-rolling caterpillars. 
Flower Garden and Fawn. 
Lawns .—Thin spots may be re-seeded; where 
small depressions in the surface appear, remove the 
sod, till in with good soil, replace the turf, and 
pound it down firmly. A lawn mower is a neces¬ 
sity where there is much turf. Excellent hand- 
mowers are now to be had. With these the grass 
can be cut when two inches high, and the clippings 
left to act as a mulch and fertilizer. With tho 
scythe, the grass must be four inches high to cut 
readily, and the crop must be removed. 
Margins, where the lawn borders upon walks or 
beds, should be kept true with the edging knife. 
Beds in Lawns are often introduced with good 
effect. Some of these are very elaborate, but it 
must bo recollected that the more elaborate tho 
plan, tho greater the labor of keeping the design 
in perfect condition. Choose 
curved figures rather than 
angular ones. Ovals, circles, 
and crescents, are to be pre¬ 
ferred to squares, triangles, 
and stars. These may be filled 
with plants of colored foliage, 
such as Coleus, Achyrauthes, 
Centaurea, variegated Gerani¬ 
ums, etc.; or with Verbenas, 
Scarlet and other Geraniums, 
Lobelias, etc.; or Cannas, Ca- 
locasia ( Caladium ), and the 
like, may form taller groups 
in proper situations. Messi'3. 
Olm Brothers, of Springfield, 
Mass., send us a design for a 
chain-like bed near a walk. 
The design is to be cut in tho 
turf, according to the outer 
lines; the inner lines indicate 
the division of the plants used 
in filling, which may be such 
as the taste may dictate. 
Only those who have green¬ 
houses where they can propa¬ 
gate a large stock of bedding 
plants, or who can afford to 
buy them, will be likely to do 
much of this “ribbon” plant¬ 
ing. But a very good effect may be produced with 
annuals, though it can only be achieved later in the 
season. The various sorts of Phlox Drummondii 
will give several colors; Tagetes signata pumila 
is one of the best yellows ; Sweet Alyssum a white; 
and so on. When a design is cut in the turf, pegs 
an inch square and a foot long should be driven at 
such points as will aid in preserving the outline 
when the turf is trimmed. These should be driven 
below the level of the grass, and be out of sight. 
Evergreens are generally planted with success this 
month. It must be recollected that the roots of 
an Evergreen, if once dried, can never be restored. 
Young plants of Arbor Vit® and Hemlock, from 
the woods, may be bought for a few cents each; 
these should not be put at once into hedges, but 
set out in nursery rows, where they can be natu¬ 
rally or artificially shaded, and allowed to remain 
for a year. In this way but few will be lost, and 
those which survive may be safely planted in the 
hedge-row. In planting those evergreens that are 
to develop into trees, the very common mistake is 
made of setting them too close. An Austrian or 
White Pine should have at least twenty feet, and 
better thirty feet, in which to spread. 
Bulbs .—Lilies may generally be had sufficiently 
dormant to plant. Gladioluses, Jacobean Lilies, 
Tigridias, and other spring bulbs, may be set as soon 
as frosts are over. 
Tuberose .—The bulbs should be potted or set in 
boxes of earth, and placed in a green-house or 
warm room. They will be sufficiently started to 
set out iu three or four weeks. 
Dahlias may be started in boxes of earth in a 
warm room, green-house, or a spent hot-bed. Di¬ 
vide the roots, leaving a bud to each. 
Boses .—See article on page 108. 
Transplant annuals that have been started iu the 
hot-bed or window boxes when the weather will 
allow, leaving the tender kinds until the last. 
Bedding Plants .—These having been raised under 
glass must not be put in the open border until cold 
storms and chilly nights aro over. 
Kitchen Garden. 
In last month’s notes there was given a list of 
all the hardy vegetables in general cultivation, with 
brief hints as to the manner of sowing them. It 
is not necessary to enumerate these again, and we 
include here oidy the tender vegetables which, in 
the neighborhood of New York, can rarely be 
sown with safety before tho middle of May. In 
localities colder than the one referred to, the sow¬ 
ings indicated for April will be made this month. 
Succession Crops .—Tho season of vegetables may 
bo prolonged by sowing crops at intervals of a 
week or ten days. This maybe done with radishes, 
lettuce, and other salad plants, peas, corn, etc. 
Asparagus .—Cut with a sharp knife. When it is 
to be marketed, it must be bunched. The engrav¬ 
ing shows a simple bunching frame. The bottom 
is ten inches wide and twelve inches long; the 
back, six by twelve inches, is nailed to it; four 
sticks, six inch¬ 
es long, are in¬ 
serted in the 
bottom, four 
inches apart 
each way, be¬ 
ginning two 
inches from the 
back. Lay a 
string upon the 
board, within the sticks,and place the asparagus,pre¬ 
viously washed, between the sticks, with the heads 
against the back board. When sufficient is placed 
in to form a bunch, tie the string, and cut the but 
ends of the asparagus even. Place another string 
near the top. Bass mat furnishes the best strings. 
The usual size of the bunch is nine inches long, 
and four to five inches in diameter. The bundles 
should always be set erect to keep them straight, 
and when packed, in boxes for market, fresh cut 
grass should be used below and between them. 
Beans .—Continue to plant bush sorts. Limas 
are very sensitive to cold and wet, and the ground 
should be both warm and dry. Set the poles, which 
should be six or eight feet high, four feet apart 
each way. The hills should be manured if the 
ground is not already rich. Plant five or six bean3 
around each pole, pressing them into the soil, eye 
down, and covering an inch. If plants of the 
Lima have been started under glass, put them out 
as soon as the weather is warm. The Wax bean is 
an excellent pole variety to use as snaps. 
Beets and Carrots .—Weeding and thinning are to 
be done as soon as the plants are large enough to 
work. A slight supremacy of tho weeds is very 
injurious to the carrot. 
Cabbages and Cauliflower .—Keep the early set 
crop well hoed. A hoe-fork will be found useful. 
Sow seeds of the later sorts in well-prepared seed¬ 
beds in the open ground. See article on page 180. 
Celery. — Sow seeds in seed-bed. The dwarf¬ 
growing kinds are preferable. 
Cwrn .—Plant as soon as it is safe to do so. The 
Early Dwarf Sugar has small ears, but is sweet and 
early. See catalogues for other varieties. 
Cucumbers .—Sow seed in frames from which let¬ 
tuce has been removed, and in hills in the open air 
when it i3 warm enough ; put in a plenty of seed, 
