120 
CALENDAR FOR MAY. 
of these pests, is to destroy the perfect insects, whether beetles, 
moths, butterflies, or others, to as great an extent as possible. 
Immense quantities may be thus got rid of by perseverance ; and 
as nearly, or quite, all the sorts are greedily devoured by poultry, 
the payment of slight premiums for their capture would be well 
laid out on that score alone. 
Every exertion should be made to be prepared to fill the beds 
of the flower garden with permanent bedding plants as soon as 
the weather permits. Clear away all annual and other plants 
previously used as soon as they become in the least shabby, and 
renew or dress any of the beds that may require it before the 
next plants are turned out. Thin and tie up the advancing shoots 
of herbaceous plants, and stake and tie up all other plants re¬ 
quiring such attention. If the weather prove dry the recently 
turned out plants should be regularly watered, especially until 
they have taken a firm hold of the soil. During this month is a 
good time to sow the seeds of biennial and perennial flowers, as 
they are not so liable to kill or exhaust themselves by trying to 
bloom, as if sown earlier in the season. They should be sown in 
light rich soil, and should be properly attended to in watering, 
weeding, &c. 
Attend to former hints concerning the greenhouse, especially 
in respect to air and water. Remove as quickly as circumstances 
will permit all plants out of bloom to such situations as their 
habits of growth require, so as to leave the house as thin as pos¬ 
sible, to give the more room for the finer specimens. Be pre¬ 
pared with an available shading apparatus for all plant structures 
as the sunshine becomes powerful, so as to screen the plants and 
pots from its effects. 
Pay particular attention to the training of the stove-plants as 
they advance in growth. If allowed once to get out of form it is 
very difficult to reduce the stronger growing sorts into proper shape 
again, and thus a good deal of trouble may be thrown away and 
an ugly plant only produced. Many stove-plants are liable to 
run up a few naked stems to a considerable height, forming a 
very unsightly specimen. Such as assume this habit are gene¬ 
rally the better for being stopped two or three times, or oftener, 
at the commencement of their growth, so as to be enabled to 
form more bushy plants. D. M. 
