May, 1916 
47 
The GARDENERS KALENDAR] 
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MAY, 1916 
Morning Star: Jupiter Evening Star: Venus 
Hai/, bounteous May, that 
doth inspire 
Mirth, and youth, and 
warm desire! 
Woods and groves are of 
thy dressing, 
Hill and dale doth boast 
thy blessing. 
—John Milton. 
1. Sun rises 4.59 A. M. 
Sun sets 6.56 P. M. 
If the weather is sea¬ 
sonable all sorts of ten¬ 
der vegetables can be 
sown, such as string 
beans, corn, lima beans, 
okra, pumpkin, squash, 
watermelons, etc. 
2. All planting should 
be finished up at an early 
date. Every day you 
procrastinate lessens 
your chances for success, 
especially with deciduous 
trees and shrubs. 
3. All hardy vegetable 
plants such as cabbage, 
cauliflower, lettuce, cel¬ 
ery, etc., after properly 
hardening off should be 
set out in the garden. Do 
not neglect to have the 
soil thoroughly prepared. 
4. If you haven’t 
planted your potatoes, 
get them in at once. Har¬ 
row until the tops show 
above ground, then cul¬ 
tivate and spray just as 
regularly as you eat your 
meals. 
5. Napoleon I died, 
1821. 
All sorts of hardy gar¬ 
den plants raised from 
seed in the greenhouse 
or frames should be 
planted out now, such as 
asters, snap - dragons, 
etc. 
6. King Edward VII 
died, 1910. 
Keep the seed pods re¬ 
moved from your rhu¬ 
barb. See that the space 
between the plants is 
well cultivated, and feed 
with liquid manure. 
7. Second Sunday af¬ 
ter Easter. 
Success in the garden 
depends upon the proper 
rotation of crops. Just 
as soon as the last plant¬ 
ing shows above ground, 
sow peas, lettuce, car¬ 
rots, beets, radishes, 
spinach and turnips. 
8. All the more tender 
plants for the flower and 
vegetable gardens such 
as egg - plant, peppers, 
coleus, cannas, gerani¬ 
ums, etc., should now be 
placed in frames or a 
cooler greenhouse for 
hardening off. 
9. Have you ever tried 
sweet potatoes ? They 
are easy to grow. Order 
your plants now, put 
them in hills 3 ft. apart, 
and don’t let the runners 
take root. 
10. All kinds of tender 
flowers which are sown 
in the open ground like 
late asters, marigolds, 
salvias, amaranthus, cal- 
liopsis, morning glory, 
nasturtium, cosmos, etc., 
can be sown now. 
11. Greater New York 
bill signed, 1896. 
When the plants in the 
perennial border show 
above ground the soil 
should be spaded over 
and the manure mulch 
turned over. 
12. Carnations for next 
year’s supply in the 
greenhouse can be 
planted out in the gar¬ 
den, or if you have a 
well ventilated green¬ 
house they may be 
planted in the benches. 
13. Jamestown, Vir¬ 
ginia, settled, 1607. 
There is no necessity 
for elms to be destroyed 
by beetles. Spray with 
poison just as soon as the 
foliage appears and then 
again early in June. 
14. Third Sunday af¬ 
ter Easter. 
When the fruit trees 
are in full bloom they 
should be sprayed with a 
mixture of arsenate of 
lead and Bordeaux mix¬ 
ture for coddling moth 
and fungus diseases. Be 
sure and make a thorough 
job. 
15. Just as soon as 
growth starts, you should 
start cutting grass. 
Don't try to dodge it; 
the more you cut your 
lawn the faster it will 
improve. Edge up the 
walks and apply weed 
killer now. 
16. This is an excellent 
time to start a boxwood 
hedge from cuttings. 
Simply break up the old 
plants and insert in the 
ground, pack firmly with 
a brick and keep watered. 
17. Full moon. 
How about some 
strawberries for forcing 
in the greenhouse next 
winter? Place a small 
flower pot under the first 
runners ; when well rooted 
sever from the old plant. 
18. Spray currants and 
gooseberries with arse¬ 
nate of lead or other 
poison just as soon as 
the foliage appears. If 
this is attended to 
promptly the currant 
worm won’t bother you. 
19. The soil should be 
put in shape at once, and 
the seed sown of the va¬ 
rious farm crops, such 
as field and fodder corn, 
mangels, carrots, turnips, 
etc. Further delay means 
late and often poor crops. 
20. Cuban Republic in¬ 
augurated, 1902. 
A mulch of cow man¬ 
ure on the rose bed will 
prevent the plants suf¬ 
fering from dry weather 
and will improve the 
quality of the flowers. 
21. Fourth Sunday af¬ 
ter Easter. 
One of the most im¬ 
portant elements in the 
success of a garden is 
proper cultivation. Keep 
the soil well tilled, the 
weed growth down, and 
cultivate after every 
22. Caterpillars are 
very destructive. You 
can’t burn them off after 
the foliage is on the 
plants, but poison will 
readily kill them. Spray 
early—don’t wait until the 
tree is defoliated and the 
caterpillars full - grown. 
23. This is the proper 
time to prune maples, 
just as the foliage bursts 
forth. You can then see 
very readily what you are 
doing, and the tree will 
not bleed. 
24. Queen Victoria 
born, 1819. 
You had better order 
your rose plants for next 
winter in the greenhouse. 
Clean the house, lime the 
benches, paint the wood¬ 
work, use rich soil. 
25. Cyclamen, primula 
and other greenhouse pot 
plants can now be placed 
in frames outdoors. Put 
about 1" of cinders in 
the bottom to stand the 
pots on. This will ensure 
the proper drainage. 
26. Don’t neglect suc¬ 
cessful sowings. Peas, 
beans, cucumbers, corn, 
lettuce, radishes, spinach 
and turnip are all timely. 
For winter use, cabbage, 
kale, Brussels sprouts, 
celery, cauliflower. 
27. Evergreens that 
are being confined to cer¬ 
tain shapes should be 
gone over and clipped. 
This should be done just 
as growth starts; it will 
prevent the subject de¬ 
veloping voids. 
28. Rogation Sunday. 
All hard wooded plants 
forced in the greenhouse 
should now be plunged 
outdoors. Find a shel¬ 
tered place and plunge 
pots except wistaria, 
lilac, deutzia and rhodo¬ 
dendron, which can be 
planted out. 
29. All the more hardy 
types of water lilies can 
be set out in the ponds. 
The more tender aquatics 
had best wait until the 
water gets a little 
warmer, so that their 
growth will not be re¬ 
tarded. 
30. Memorial Day. 
All kinds of tender 
bedding plants can be set 
out now. Tender vege¬ 
table plants such as pep¬ 
pers and egg-plants 
should be planted outside. 
31. Sun rises 4.32. 
Sun sets 7.23 
Keep the strawberry 
bed well cultivated and 
when the first flowers 
appear mulch the bed 
with straw or salt hay 
to keep the berries clean. 
This Kalendar of the 
gardener’s labors is 
aimed as a reminder for 
undertaking all his tasks 
in season. It is fitted to 
the latitude of the Mid¬ 
dle States. For every 100 
miles north or south, al¬ 
low five to seven days 
later or earlier. 
And in green underwood and cover 
Blossom by blossom the spring begins. 
A. C. Swinburne 
“Plough deep, while sluggards sleep. 
And you shall have corn, to sell and to keep: 
Out of 130,000 earthquake shocks recorded 
in the last fifty years, Italy leads with 27,672. 
Japan had 27,562. 
