68 
House & Garden 
April THE GARDENER’S CALENDAR Fourth Month 
When cutting turf 
for re-sodding, take 
it up in squares 
about 1' across 
Pruning and tying 
up the cane fruits 
are necessary spring 
garden work 
The bed for sweet 
peas shoidd be deep¬ 
ly dug and very 
thoroughly enriched 
SUNDAY 
MONDAY 
TUESDAY 
WEDNESDAY 
THURSDAY 
FRIDAY 
SATURDAY 
This calendar 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 Middle States, 
but its service should be available for the whole 
country if it be remembered that for every one 
hundred miles north or south there is a difference 
of from five to seven days later or earlier in per> 
forming garden operations. The dates given are, 
of course, for an average season. 
1. Weather 
conditions 
vary, but usu¬ 
ally it is safe 
to start sowing 
seeds of the 
more hardy 
types of vege¬ 
tables now. 
Peas, spinach, 
radishes, 
onions, pars¬ 
nip, beets, car- 
rots, Swiss 
chard, etc., are 
all seasonable. 
2. Early 
planting is the 
first essential 
to success. Fin¬ 
ish all plant¬ 
ings of decidu¬ 
ous trees and 
shrubs at the 
first opportun¬ 
ity. Firm the 
plants well in 
the soil and 
don’t allow 
them to suffer 
from lack of 
water. 
3. Straw- 
berries should 
now be uncov¬ 
ered for the 
season. The 
winter mulch 
of manure can 
be forked un- 
d e r . If no 
mulch was ap¬ 
plied, however, 
give the bed a 
good top dress¬ 
ing with bone 
meal before 
digging. 
4. R a a p - 
berries, black¬ 
berries, cur¬ 
rants and 
gooseberries 
that were 
buried last fall 
can now be un¬ 
earthed. An 
application of 
good manure 
worked into 
the border now 
will materially 
improve the 
fruit. 
5. That un¬ 
productive or¬ 
chard can be 
made to yield 
abundantly if 
you resort to 
the proper use 
of cover crops. 
To prove this, 
sow now a mix¬ 
ture of Canada 
field peas and 
oats, and plow 
them under 
when they are 
about 2' high. 
f). If you 
h a v e not 
pruned the 
hardy roses it 
must be at¬ 
tended to at 
once, because 
roses start into 
active growth 
very early. 
Prune the hy¬ 
brid types to 
three eyes, but 
leave about 4" 
of new wood 
on the teas. 
7. The lawn 
should be 
looked over 
carefully to as¬ 
sure a velvety 
green sward 
this summer. 
Sod any small 
bald spots, and 
spade and seed 
down large 
spaces. An ap- 
plicatlon of 
bone' meal or 
wood ashes Is 
advisable. 
8. If the 
asparagus bed 
was mulched 
last fall it can 
be turned un¬ 
der now. Hill 
the soil up to 
the rows if you 
like your 
asparagus 
white. Salt in 
liberal quanti¬ 
ties should be 
applied to keep 
down the 
weeds. 
9. Have you 
stakes on hand 
for dahlias and 
other tall flow¬ 
ers, raffia or 
jute cord for 
tying, an arbor 
for the garden 
roses, a sundial 
for the flower 
garden.Youare 
sure no essen¬ 
tial has been 
forgotten ?This 
is the time to 
check them up. 
10. Before 
the trees and 
shrubs leaf out 
it is advisable 
togoover them 
carefully, de¬ 
stroying any 
caterpillar 
nests before 
they hatch. An 
asbestos torch 
is the best wea¬ 
pon to use ; 
slight scorch¬ 
ing will not in- 
. Jure the plants. 
11. The secret 
of success with 
potatoes is 
early planting; 
these plantsare 
(1 u i c k 1 y d e - 
stroyed by hot, 
dry weather. 
To avoid this 
danger plant 
now, so that 
the crop will 
come to matur¬ 
ity before the 
trying weather 
strikes it. 
12. If prop¬ 
erly hardened, 
plants of the 
more hardy 
typesof garden 
vegetables can 
be set out now, 
such as cab¬ 
bage, cauli¬ 
flower, lettuce, 
onions, etc. 
Cover them 
with plant pro- 
tectorsorpaper 
on dangerously 
cool nights. 
13. Plants in 
tubs intended 
as specimens 
for the grounds 
should be 
watered freely 
with liquid 
manures. 
Where it is not 
convenient to 
make or use 
this, atop 
dressingofpure 
cow manure 
can be applied 
to them. 
14. The peren¬ 
nial border 
should be over¬ 
hauled. Any 
existing voids 
must be filled 
in either by 
new plants or 
by dividing 
those which are 
left. Dig under 
some good 
manure or give 
the beds a top- 
dressing of raw 
crushed bone. 
15. Seeds of 
the more hardy 
flowers such as 
snapdragon, 
asters, alys- 
sum,calendula, 
centaurea, 
pansies, violas, 
scabiosa, etc., 
may be sown 
outside at this 
time. Have the 
soil well pulv¬ 
erized, as flow¬ 
er seeds are 
very fine. 
16. All bor¬ 
ders or open 
spaces around 
plants should 
be kept loosen¬ 
ed up with a 
digging fork. 
This admits 
the necessary 
air to the soil 
and also pre¬ 
vents the rapid 
evaporation of 
the moisture if 
the weather is 
dry and sunny. 
17. Frames 
for the melons 
must be set in 
place now. See 
that the hills 
are well pre¬ 
pared inside 
them, using 
plenty of good 
manure and 
chopped sod. 
The seed may 
be sown just as 
soon as the soil 
is thoroughly 
warmed up. 
18. Do not 
let your green¬ 
house be idle 
all summer. 
Therearemany 
worthy crops 
which can be 
started now, 
.such as potted 
fruits, melons, 
tomatoes, 
cauliflower and 
chrysanthe¬ 
mums. Do not 
I'.it the house 
l)e empty. 
19. Keep the 
soil constantly 
stirredbetween 
the garden 
rows. Seeds 
that are slow 
in germinating 
can be protect¬ 
ed by placing 
the lime be- 
tween the 
labels. Soil cul- 
tivationismore 
necessary with 
young plants 
than old. 
20. This is 
the proper time 
to start some 
plants from 
seed for flow¬ 
ering next 
winter in the 
greenhouse. 
Primula, cycla- 
men,snapdrag- 
on and many 
others should 
be started now 
and grown 
during summer 
in frames. 
21. Any large 
trees that have 
been recently 
transplanted 
must not bo 
neglected. Lib¬ 
eral watering is 
essential, and 
heavy mulch¬ 
ing is also a 
good practice. 
Make soil tests 
to see that the 
soil below the 
roots is sufli- 
ciently moist. 
22. Start 
hardening off 
the bedding 
plants in the 
greenhouse or 
frame now. It 
is certain death 
to set out 
coleus, geraui- 
ums, etc., un¬ 
less they have 
been properly 
hardened, 
which ordinar¬ 
ily takes about 
two weeks. 
23. Do not 
neglect the 
sweet peas 
when they are 
small—see that 
they are prop¬ 
erl y hilled 
when about 4" 
high. Support- 
1n g them 
should not be 
postponed un¬ 
til they have 
been flattened 
by wind or rain 
and damaged. 
24. Summer 
flowering bulb¬ 
ous plants as 
gladioli, mont- 
bretias, begon¬ 
ias, etc., need 
very little- ef¬ 
fort and are 
worthy a place 
in any garden. 
They may be 
planted any 
time now, the 
gladioli at bi¬ 
weekly inter¬ 
vals. 
25. It is a 
mistake not to 
make what 
sowings are ne¬ 
cessary to give 
a continuous 
supply of quick 
maturing crops 
such as peas, 
beets, carrots, 
spinach, etc. 
The common 
rule is to sow 
when the pre- 
cedingsowingis 
above ground. 
26. B e a n 
poles can now 
be put in place 
for the Innas. 
niK liberal 
sized holes for 
them, worklns 
plenty of 
manure into 
the soil when 
refilling. The 
mound or hill 
should be 
about 4"above 
the adjoining 
grade. 
27. This is 
the proper time 
to have the 
greenhouses 
overhauled. 
Broken glass 
should be re¬ 
placed, loose 
glass can be re¬ 
set, and the 
woodwork 
should be pro¬ 
tected by at 
least one coat 
of good exterior 
paint. 
28. Have you 
spraying ma¬ 
terials on hand 
for the host of 
bugs and 
diseases that 
are certain to 
visit you this 
summer.Spray 
the currant 
bushes now 
with arsenate 
of lead to de¬ 
stroy the green 
currant worms 
while small. 
29. Thinning 
out crops is 
more import¬ 
ant than many 
suppose.Plants 
that are allow¬ 
ed to crowd be¬ 
come soft and 
spindly and 
can never de¬ 
velop health¬ 
ily. ('rops that 
require thin- 
ningmustbeat- 
tended to when 
very small. 
30. If you 
grow any crops 
for the live- 
stock the 
ground for 
them should 
be made ready. 
Mangels, car¬ 
rots and sugar 
beets are 
staples and can 
be sown now, 
although corn 
must wait for 
warmer wea¬ 
ther. 
The year's at 
the spring. 
And day's at 
tho morn: 
Morning's at 
seven: 
The hillside's 
dtw-peail'd: 
The lark’s on 
the wing: 
The snail’s on 
the thorn: 
God's in His 
heaven^ 
All's right with 
the worldX 
—Browning 
r\ID ye ever ice an old farm-hoss—one o’ the kind with spavins, an' grease-heel, and quarter-cracks an 
Tr all them ailments—turned out to pasture on a warmish April dayf An’ did ye notice how he sniffed 
the air an’ snorted kinder spirited-like, an’ took a good, griinty^ old roll, windin’ up with a stiff-j inted 
galliimph 'round the fence an’ a couple o’ fool capers on the side? Well, that's lus’^ how I feel these 
spring days. Seemed like winter never would quit this year, an’ I got to wonderin’ sometimes if I d 
weather it good enough to be able to do any gardenin’ work when the time come.^ If I hadn't — well, / 
dunno as I'd care much fer livin’ if my rheumatic got so bad I couldn’t putter ’round the flowers an’ 
git down on my. knees to. thin the beet rows. _ But it didn’t, an’ as the days gits warmer I find I c’n move 
around pretty near spry, an’ even take a 'Whirl at spadin’ fer a spell now an’ ag’in. Come May I calc’late^ 
I won’t even need my old hick’ry stick no more — an’ by jing, I wouldn’t wonder a. bit if I even up an’ 
tried a header into the old swimmin'-hole ’long about hayin’ time! Funny how Spring sorter gits into 
the blood of old fellers like me an’ that farm-hoss! —Old Doc Lemmon. 
Attnual seeds may 
be sown this month 
after the soil has 
well warmed up 
Fertilizer and some¬ 
times lime should be 
used in trenches for 
late crops 
Manure shoidd be 
spread evenly over 
the surface and then 
forked in 
Primroses are among the best of the early 
blooming flowers. Here they are well used 
in a border with narcissus, the taller growing 
plants behind them as a background 
Pea brush should be cut before the 
leaves come out. Birch is the best, but 
any tough, twiggy kind will do. It 
shoidd be at least S' high 
If you have no poet narcissus on your place, 
don’t let another season go by without some. 
They should be planted in the fall to pro¬ 
duce blossoms during the following spring 
