CALENDARIAL MEMORANDA FOR MAY. 
199 
even till the end of summer, and not only from the original roots, but 
from the young tubers themselves, without the assistance of either 
green stem or leaf ! 
Cucumbers , Vegetable Marrow , and Gourds. —It is presumed where 
hot-bed forcing is carried on, that the seeds of these several exotics 
have been already raised and potted ofif in readiness to be ridged out 
about the middle of the month. For the mode of management, w r e 
may refer back to what appears in our calendar for May last; but, to 
save trouble, we may here repeat that trenches or square pits, two feet 
wide and as much in depth, are filled with well-prepared stable dung 
beaten pretty compactly together, and immediately covering it with 
about eight inches of dry rich compost. As soon as the heat has risen 
and warmed the compost, place hand-glasses three feet apart along the 
middle of the trench or rank of pits, and under each a pot of plants is 
placed a little deeper in the compost than the depth of the pots. The 
plants are carefully turned out of the pots without disturbing the ball 
of roots, and the compost is pressed close round and partly over the 
ball, so as to press the stems a little outwards. A little water is then 
given and the glasses put on ; they are covered and shaded in the day 
till they have taken fresh root; after which the plants only require a 
little fresh air every day by raising the south front of the glasses on a 
brickbat, and shut down at night. 
As this is rather a late spring, it should be considered that the 
sowings of the two former months will be likely to come in too much 
together, and, therefore, the successions of this month should be some¬ 
what delayed. The state of the preceding crops, however, will always 
enable the sower to hit the most proper time. 
Fruit Trees .—All trained fruit-trees should be carefully looked 
over in this month; supernumerary and all misplaced shoots should be 
rubbed oft’ before gaining strength to exhaust unnecessarily the juices 
of the tree; and distorted leaves (the work either of insects or mildew) 
should be picked off and buried or otherwise destroyed. Apricots, 
peaches, and nectarines particularly stand in need of this manipulation. 
The symmetry and perfect health of the tree depends entirely on the 
regulation of the growth, which can only be made in this and the next 
month. Although this care be usually only bestowed on the wall-fruit 
just named, yet all other trained trees may be much improved by such 
regulation at this season. 
Whatever covering may have been employed for the protection of 
the bloom should not be wholly removed till about the 20th of the 
month ; and if the weather be then dry and warm, frequent sprinklings, 
or washings rather, with water or soap-suds, will be beneficial to fruit- 
