62 
House & Garden 
April THE GARDENER’S CALENDAR Fourth Month 
The sweet pea trench 
must be deeply dug 
and very thoroughly 
enriched 
Where new ground 
is to be used for the 
garden the sod must 
be removed 
A straight board 
will serve as a guide 
for even edging of 
the lawn area 
SUNDAY 
MONDAY 
TUESDAY 
WEDNESDAY 
THURSDAY 
FRIDAY 
SATURDAY 
Every clod feels 
a stir of 
might. 
An instinct 
within it that 
reaches and 
towers. 
And, groping 
blindly above 
it for light. 
Climbs to a 
soul in grass 
j and flowers . 
— Lowell. 
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. 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 
i from lack of 
water. 
2. Weather 
conditions 
vary, but usu¬ 
ally it is safe 
to start sowing 
seeds of the 
more hardy 
types of vege¬ 
tables now. 
Peas, spinach, 
i a d i s h e s , 
onions, pars¬ 
nip, beets, car- 
rots, Swiss 
chard, etc., are 
all seasonable. 
3. R a s 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. 
4. 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. 
5. If you 
have 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. 
6. 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. 
7. 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. 
8. 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 
d own large 
spaces. An ap- 
plication of 
bone meal or 
wood ashes is 
advisable 
9. Before 
the trees and 
shrubs leaf out 
it is advisable 
to go over 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. 
10. Have you 
stakes on hand 
for dahlias and 
other tali 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. 
11. If prop¬ 
erly hardened, 
plants of the 
more hardy 
types of garden 
vegetables can 
be set out now, 
such as cab¬ 
bage, cauli¬ 
flower, lettuce, 
onions, etc. 
Cover them 
with plant pro¬ 
tectors or paper 
on dangerously 
cool nights. 
12. The secret 
of success with 
potatoes is 
early planting; 
these plants are 
quickly de¬ 
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. 
13. The peren¬ 
nial border 
should be over¬ 
hauled. Any 
existing vqids 
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. 
14. Plants in 
tubs intended 
as specimens 
lor the grounds 
should be 
watered freely 
with liquid 
manures. 
Where it is not 
convenient to 
make or use 
this, a top- 
dressingof pure 
cow manure 
can be applied 
to them. 
15. 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. 
16. 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. 
17. 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 
let the house 
be empty. 
18. Fiames 
for the melons 
must be set in 
place now. See 
flat the hills 
are \* ell 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. 
19. This is 
the proper time 
to start some 
plants from 
seed for flow¬ 
ering next 
winter in the 
greenhouse. 
Primula, cycla¬ 
men, snapdiag¬ 
on and many 
others should 
be started now 
and grown 
during summer 
in frames. 
20. Keep the 
soil constantly 
stii red between 
the garden 
rows. Seeds 
that are slow 
In germinating 
can be protect¬ 
ed by placing 
the lime be- 
tween the 
labels. Soil cul¬ 
tivation is more 
necessary with 
young plants 
than old. 
21. Start 
hardening off 
the bedding 
plants in the 
greenhouse or 
frame now. It 
is certain death 
to set out 
coleus, gerani¬ 
ums, etc., un¬ 
less they have 
been properly 
hardened, 
which ordinar¬ 
ily takes about 
two weeks. 
22. Any large 
trees that have 
been recently 
transplanted 
must not be 
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 suffi¬ 
ciently moist. 
23. Summer 
flowering bulb¬ 
ous plants as 
gladioli, mont- 
bretias, bego¬ 
nias, 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. 
24. Do not 
neglect the 
sweet peas 
when they aie 
small—see that 
they are prop¬ 
er l y hilled 
when about 4" 
high. Support- 
i n g them 
should not be 
postponed un¬ 
til they have 
been flattened 
by wind or rain 
and damaged. 
25. Bean 
poles can now 
be put in place 
tor the limas. 
Dig liberal 
sized holes for 
them, working 
plenty of 
manure into 
the soil when 
refilling. The 
mound. or hill 
should be 
about 4" above 
the adjoining 
grade. 
26. It is a 
mistake not to 
make what 
sowings are ne¬ 
cessary to give 
a continuous 
suppls of quick 
maturing ciops 
such as peas, 
beets, car tots, 
spinach, etc. 
The common 
rule is to sow 
when the pre- 
cedingsowingis 
above ground. 
27. 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. 
2S. This is 
the proner 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. 
29. If you 
grow any crops 
for the live- 
stock the 
ground lor 
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. 
30. 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 
volop health¬ 
ily. Crops that 
require thin¬ 
ning must beat- 
tended to when 
very small. 
/ T S been rainin’ alt day, one o' them soft, fricn’ly, s’utherly rains that kinder talk to the earth an' 
make it stir 'round an’ sing to itself so low ye can't hear nothin’ but only sorter feel the sound. 
Thar ain't hardly been no wind, though when the clouds lightened up enough fer ye to tell t’other from 
which ye could see they was a-racin' along like the whole stren’th o’ the spring pushin up from the 
s uth ard was drivin ’em. Now an ag’in they’d thin out an’ the sun purty near come through, an’ then 
ye could feel the warmth on ycr face as ye looked up to see if the storm was really giftin’ over. 
I like a rain like that, ’specially at night. It’s mighty soothin' to lay in bed an’ lis’en to the drops 
rustlin’ on the shingles jus’ over yer head. The windcrs’re open, an’ ye can hear the trillin’ o’ the 
peeper frogs dozen in the swamp medders, thin an' fine an’ tinkly. A screech-owl whimpers out in the 
dark somc’res, over an’ over ag’m. Then one o’ the bosses out in the barn kicks the side o’ his box stall 
—kcr-thump! 1 cal'late he’s thinkin’ o’ how the grass an' clover are a-startin’ to grow, an’ giftin’ 
impatient for the time when tehy'll be tall enough fer him to crop. 
—Old Doc Lemmon. 
The cottage and 
Darwin tulips grow 
much taller than the 
old-fashioned kinds 
If any of the roots 
of new stock are 
broken, cut them off 
before planting 
The back of a rake 
may be used to cover 
over the planted 
vegetable rows 
Glass bell jars, or one of the other good types 
of portable forcers, will hurry along individual 
vegetable plants or hilled crops. They catch and 
hold the sun’s warmth 
Hardy violets are among the 
best of the early spring 
flowering plants. Here they 
are in blossom in April 
! 1 ‘ M 
I f® I 
L 
1; 1 
i 
i » & tf - S 
If space permits, be lavish with the narcissus 
bulbs. They are admirably adapted to border 
planting, to the edges of the shrubbery groups, 
or, as here, to naturalising 
