1863.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
163 
Cucumbers. —These, like children, require great 
care until they can run alone. The striped bug is 
the great enemy. The protecting - frames directed 
in last mouth’s Calendar, the free use of ashes, 
plaster, or lime, and hand picking early in the morn¬ 
ing, must be relied upon as preventives. Their rap¬ 
id growth must be forwarded by frequent hoeings 
and the application of liquid manure during moist 
spells. The cucumbers will soon get out of reach 
of the bugs which prefer young and tender plants 
to old ones. It is advantageous to put in seeds at 
intervals of a few days, to furnish a supply of tender 
leaves to attract insects from the older plants. Cu¬ 
cumbers for pickles should be planted this month. 
Egg Plants. —Plant out as soon as cool nights are 
over. Have the bed well enriched, hoe frequently, 
and give liquid manure. The crop is late at best. 
Take every pains to promote rapid early growth. 
Endive. —Sow for Summer use, and thin out or 
transplant in the same manner as for lettuce. 
Insects. —This is emphatically the war month in 
the garden, and as the insects go through the dif¬ 
ferent stages of egg, larva, pupa, and perfect insect, 
a “change of base” will be required in our cam¬ 
paign. The destruction of a moth or other perfect 
insect prevents deposition of eggs, and the crush¬ 
ing of a cluster of eggs saves future trouble with 
the larvse. The careful observer will see frequent 
opportunities for nipping trouble in the bud, and 
be able to keep down his insect enemies. Crush¬ 
ing the eggs, trapping or catching the moths nd 
beetles in open bottles of sweetened water, dusting 
the larvae with lime or ashes, or drenching with 
soap-suds are the principal tactics to be practised. 
Lettuce. —Plant in unoccupied places for succes¬ 
sion. If possible put the later transplantings 
where they will be shaded duriug the heat of the 
day. As the season becomes hotter, lettuce runs to 
seed early and must then give place to endive. 
Melons. —These require essentially the same care 
as cucumbers. Both are benefited by pinching off 
the leading shoot to induce the formation of side 
branches on which the fruit is chiefly borne. 
Onions. —Forward their early growth by hoeing, 
weeding, and thinning to 3 or 4 inches in the rows. 
In some localities the maggot of the onion fly 
causes great injury to the crop. This Spring a 
6 mall pamphlet was published by S. Truesdale & 
E. R. Coburn, Manchester, N. H., which for a dol¬ 
lar gave their specific for destroying the maggot. 
Being published in this way we did not feel at lib¬ 
erty to copy it, but we find that other agricultural 
papers have made free use of it, and we see no im¬ 
propriety iu copying the following account from 
one of our exchanges : “Take a good, strong bar¬ 
rel, and go or send to some gas-works and get the 
gas-water, which is generally thrown away. The 
expense per barrel, even to those who send one 
hundred miles for it, will not be more than three 
dollars, and to those who live near a city or con¬ 
siderable village, the expense will be very trifling. 
To every barrel of this gas-water, add fifteen 
pounds of newly slaked quick-lime, and the same 
proportion for less quantities. Be sure and keep 
it air-tight, so that it may not lose its strength. 
When the time has come to use it, draw out into a 
tub a few gallons, and add to every gallon of the 
liquid two gallons of pure water, and use up imme¬ 
diately. Do not let it remain open to the air long¬ 
er than is needful. A little variation in preparing 
this Specific will make it either too weak, when it 
will not destroy the larvse or maggots, or too 
strong, when it will kill the onions. Iu applying 
the above specific, first cover the rows of onions 
with pine sawdust—hard pine is best—no matter 
if the young plants are entirely covered up. Now. 
keep a sharp look-out for the ravages of the mag¬ 
got as the third leaf or blade starts up. As soon 
as appearances of it are seen, go through the rows, 
and apply the specific with a watering can. If the 
maggots do not disappear, apply it the second, and 
if ne'eessary the third time. The liquid must go 
directly on to the bulb to be effectual in destroy¬ 
ing the maggot, and the application should be 
made in the morning, or after a rain.”—So runs 
the prescription; we can not vouch for its utility. 
Parsnips. —Sow early this month, if the weather 
has prevented doing it earlier. Hoe, thin, and weed 
as soon as large enough. Thin freely and give 
plenty of room. Some of the finest of last year’s 
crop should have been left for seed, if home grown. 
Peas .—The main crop may be put in the first of 
the month. Put brush to all before they 7 fall over. 
Try Bishop’s Long Podded, or Harrison’s Dwarfish, 
or some other good dwarf sort. Keep well hoed. 
Potatoes. —Cultivate thoroughly, and give a hand¬ 
ful of plaster to each hill, if not done before. It 
does not pay to cultivate late varieties in gardens. 
Radishes. —Continue to sow seed in vacant spots. 
Rhubarb. —The bed will now yield an abundance. 
If there is more than can be used, bottle or dry a 
supply for Winter. Cut off the flower stalks as fast 
as they appear, and cultivate well around the plants. 
Squashes. —If the first planting has failed on ac¬ 
count of excessive rains, put in fresh seed. Dust 
with ashes, etc., to keep off the striped bug; 
hand-pick the squash bug, and crush its eggs. See 
article on squash viue borer, page 173, this paper. 
Sweet Potatoes. —In many localities the first of this 
mouth will be early 7 enough to set out the plants. 
Ample directions are given in April and May num¬ 
bers. A correspondent in Connecticut takes us to 
task for recommending growing them north of 
New-Jersey. He tried once and failed. We saw 
last year a good crop raised in Michigan, where the 
season is much shorter than it is in Connecticut. 
Tomatoes. —Transplant for the main crop. Pinch 
back the rampant growers. The plants may be 
trained to trellises, or allowed to trail upon brush, 
or lie upon the ground. The fruit ripens earlier if 
the vines arc allowed to fall over. In this case 
cover the ground with straw to keep the fruit clean. 
Weeds. —No weed is allowed to grow in a well 
kept garden. Use the hoe or cultivator as often as 
necessary, and work close to the plants with the 
bayonet hoe. Let no weed perfect its seed. See 
the articles in another part of the present number. 
Frtot Garden. 
Blackberries and Raspberries. —Keep well tied up 
to stakes or trellises. Vines planted this season 
should not fruit. Allow only those shoots to grow 
which are needed for fruiting next year, unless it is 
desired to multiply them. Keep free from weeds. 
Currants. —By pinching out superfluous shoots 
much pruning can be avoided. Water with soap¬ 
suds and keep the ground loose around them. 
Where there is a market for green fruit it often pays 
better to sell currants before they are fully ripe. 
Gooseberries should receive the same care as cur¬ 
rants. Use sulphur if mildew appears. Mulching 
is beneficial: the size of fruit may be increased 
by thinning the berries, and shading from hot sun. 
Grapes. —We gave hints upon the care of young 
viues, iu the last number. Fruiting vines need fre¬ 
quent care. By pinching out superfluous shoots 
much pruning can be anticipated. The ends of 
bearing shoots should be shortened to within two 
or three buds of the last cluster. If there is a ten¬ 
dency to overbearing, thin out freely. One bunch 
to a spur will produce finer fruit than if three are 
allowed to grow. Look out for caterpillars and de¬ 
stroy them by syringing and by hand piekiug. 
Pears. —If the dwarfs planted this Spring had 
fruit buds, they should not be allowed to bear. 
Piuch out superfluous shoots and shorten those 
tending to make too much wood. Use whale oil 
soap or air-slaked lime to destroy slugs. 
Strawberries. —Clean the beds of weeds and give 
a mulching to keep the fruit from being soiled by 
contact with the ground. Saw-dust or tan-bark will 
answer, but perhaps the most available mulch and 
one which answers as well as any, is straw cut as 
for feeding. In picking the fruit, only careful hands 
should be emyloyed, and if it is to be marketed it 
should be picked directl} 7 into the box or basket in 
which it is to be sold. Very convenient and cheap 
wooden fruit boxes were advertised last mouth. 
Flower Garden and Fawn. 
The heavy labor in this department is over, and 
the cultivator is already receiving dividends on his 
investment. The fresh foliage of the trees, the 
welcome green of the lawn, the early flowers of 
the garden—always more delicate and fragrant than 
their successors — have already gladdened the heart 
of the true lover of the beautiful in nature. Work 
however, is by no means over with, but it is now 
rather a pleasure than a task, for the eye is daily 
met by new developments of beauty. 
Annuals may still be sown for late blooming. If 
the weather is very dry, the spot may be shaded 
until the seeds start. It is a good plan to lay a 
board over the surface, which should be removed 
as soon as the plants show themselves above ground. 
Bulbs. — The early flowering kinds should not be 
lifted too early, as the bulbs should have time to 
ripen. When the foliage is quite dead, take them 
up, place iu the shade where they will dry, then 
remove the tops and wrap iu paper, talcing care that 
each variety is properly labeled. 
Carnations. —As they come into flower, the stalks 
should be tied up to neat stakes. The bloom of 
choice sorts may be prolonged by shading in mid¬ 
day. Propagate by layering or by putting out cut¬ 
tings, which should be shaded, until well started. 
Climbers. —Keep Wistarias, Bignonias, and other 
woody climbers within bounds. Layer if it is de¬ 
sirable to multiply. It is not too late to cover un¬ 
sightly objects with herbaceous climbers. Mauran- 
dia, Lophospermum,and Cobsea, are suitable ; but 
they start very slowly from the seed, and it is best 
to procure plants at the green-house. The finer va¬ 
rieties of the Morning Glory grow rapidly, and 
nothing can be more beautiful. Plant the different 
sorts separately and, if it is desired to keep seed 
distinct, keep the varieties from running together. 
Dahlias. — Plant from the first to the middle of 
the month, and allow but one shoot to a root. 
Furnish stakes as soon as the plants require it. 
Evergreens. — As noted in an article on another 
page, these may be set the first of this month. 
Geraniums. — Plant out and cut back to prevent 
running up out of shape. To show well, they 
should be kept in a rounded and compact form. 
Gladioluses. — As soon as the flower stems appear 
they should be tied to neat stakes. 
Grass Edgings.—Use the edging knife, or a spade 
ground sharp, to keep the grass from spreading iu to 
the beds or walks. Keep grass closely tri mm ed, 
Gravel- Wallcs. —Add gravel where needed. Keep 
down weeds as fast as they appear. The frequent 
use of the scuffle hoe, rake, and roller, will keep 
the walks iu good order. 
Hedges. — Young hedges should be cut back se¬ 
verely in order to get a good base. Clip the estab¬ 
lished ones as often as the new growth requires it. 
Insects. — See general remarks under Kitchen Gar¬ 
den, and Orchard and Nursery. Syringe, or use the 
garden engine to throw water or soap-suds. A 
portable engine called tuc Aquarius is very conve¬ 
nient and effective. All applications should be made 
to the under as well as the upper side of the leaves. 
Keeping. — By this term we mean the. general at¬ 
tention to details, without which no grounds can 
bewellkept. Remove all flower stalks not needed 
for seed, as soon as they are out of bloom. Take 
up all diseased plants. Rake off those flowers 
which drop readily. Tie up shrubs and all other 
plants which need it. Remove stakes no longer 
required. In short, do every necessary thing just at 
the right time, and in the best manner, and let the 
whole grounds bear constant testimony to the care 
and neatness of those having them in charge. 
K Lawns. —To have a perfect lawn, the grass mus-t 
