LS 
636 
tion, during asingle day of brisk east wind and clear 
sunshine, is sometimes considerably upwards of one- 
third of an inch. 
In the early part of May, the common barberry, 
the horse-chestnut, the common hawthorn, the com- 
mon maple, the sweet chestnut, the oak, the ash, 
the tulip-tree, the water-violet, the lily of the val- 
ley, and numerous other conspicuous or well-known 
plants come into flower; in the middle part of the 
month, the lime-tree, the forget-me-not, the water 
scorpion grass, the deadly nightshade, and numerous 
American flowering shrubs, and other conspicuous 
or well-known plants are in flower; and in the lat- 
ter part of the month, the mulberry begins to expand 
its buds, the oak, the ash, the beech, and numerous 
other forest trees are in leaf, and columbine, lysi- 
machia, the bramble, some roses, and numerous other 
plants are in flower. ‘The face of every landscape 
daily improves, throughout May, in interest and 
beauty. The fields, the woods, the orchards, the 
gardens, daily increase their attractions, and afford 
incentives to gratitude and admiration. Some of 
the most conspicuous flowers of the month are, in 
the shrubbery, azaleas, rhododendrons, kalmias, 
lilac, roses, snowdrop-tree, Guelder-rose, barber- 
ries, double-flowering cherry, honeysuckle, crate- 
guses, almond-tree, Judas-tree, jasmine, laburnum, 
and elder; in the parterre, ranunculuses, anemones, 
irises, rockets, canterbury-bells, jonquils, narcissuses, 
polyanthus-narcissus, lilies, American cowslip, fox- 
glove, feverfew, lychnis, honesty, catchfly, candy- 
tuft, columbines, gentianella, poppies, saxifrages, 
sweet pease, tulips, monkshoods, spiderwort, frax- 
inella, ornithogalums, pceonies, pinks, and lily of the 
valley ; and, in the greenhouse, carnations, ger- 
aniums, roses, Cinerarias, cactuses, fuschias, calceo- 
larias, azaleas, and a profusion of others. 
In the early part of May, the stinging-fly and sey- 
eral butterflies appear, the gudgeon spawns, the 
swift, the redstart, and the white throat appear, the 
titlark sings, and the cuckoo is often and loudly 
heard; in the middle part of the month, black snails 
are very numerous, the common flesh-fly, the blue 
flesh-fly, the lady-cow, the grasshopper lark, and the 
large bat appear, and the turtle-dove is heard; and 
in the latter part of the month, the goatsucker re- 
turns, the glow-worm shines, and the dragon-fly and 
the great white cabbage butterfly appear. Toward 
the end of the month, and sometimes even in its ear-.- 
lier parts, the air has a freshness, a softness, and a 
fragrance which exhilarate the spirits and improve 
the health; and animated nature displays a multi- 
tudinousness, a sprightliness, an unceasing activity, 
and a joyous gladness which evoke and sustain the 
most pleasurable emotions. 
The Farm.—"wes and their lambs continue on 
the pastures. Other sheep should have turnips or 
other spring food till about the 10th or the 12th, 
and may then be turned into the grass-fields. ‘The 
folding system, where still practised, is now com- 
menced. Fat sheep, if generally ready for the ope- 
ration, may, towards the end of the month, be 
washed and shorn; or they may be suffered to con- 
tinue as they are till June. Cows ought, through- 
out the month, to be abundantly and nutritiously fed 
on rich pasture, in order that both calves and dairy 
may yield due remuneration. ‘Toward the end of 
the month, all the older cows in season should re- 
ceive the bull, in order that they may calve in Feb- 
ruary. Any two-year old heifers which are designed 
to be breeders should be separated from the steers of 
the same age, and herded with the cows; and when 
they come into season, in this month or afterwards, 
they should receive the bull. Yearling steers and 
two-year-old steers ought, about the 10th or loth of 
the month, to be turned out to grass. Three-year- 
old oxen may be fed in the yards as long as turnips 
CALENDAR. 
and other spring food last, and may then be sold; 
and oxen which work in teams may be soiled on 
lucerne as horses, and will thrive better on it, aud 
cost less than if they were pastured. When the east 
winds cease to blow or to be cold, sucking calves 
may be turned into a small paddock ; and when they 
have become weaned, they may be herded with the 
cows and the rest of the feeding-stock. At the be- 
ginning of the month, horses should cease to have 
dry hay, and commence to be soiled in the stable on 
lucerne or on tares or clover; or where this is im- 
practicable, they must continue to receive a full al- 
lowance of hay and corn. Colts should be turned 
out, for the season, to grass. Breeding mares 
should receive the male, in order that they may foal 
in April. When the farm-yards are cleared of cattle, 
all the hogs should be sorted, and such as are of 
proper age for feeding on clover or otherwise in the 
fields, may be separated from the rest and turned 
adrift ; yet, though the cost of feeding may be || 
greater, they will probably yield a better return by 
being soiled in the yards. Bees may now be ex- 
pected to swarm, and ought to be well watched. 
‘* About the twelfth of May,” says Arthur Young, 
‘¢ the farmer may calculate that he will have a suffi- 
cient bite of grasses to leave off foddering entirely ; 
and before that, he should not think of it; for if | 
cattle are turned into grass not sufficiently advanced 
in growth, they will require such a number of acres, 
that his mowing-ground will be greatly curtailed. 
As soon as the yards are cleared, if he is in the mix- 
ing system, the dung in them must be turned over, 
and mixed carefully with the stuff beneath, whether 
it be chalk, marl, turf, ditch-earth, or whatever 
sort.” See the article Farm-Yarp MANouRE. 
Lucerne may still be sown in the early part of the 
month ; hemp must be sown about the middle; and 
buckwheat may be sown toward the end. Sainfoin, 
if the soil be proper, may be sown with buckwheat. 
Potatoes may be planted in any part of the month ; 
and the drill-sowing of cabbage, in the situation in 
which they are to remain, may be done at the begin- 
ning. Swedish turnip should be sown in the latter 
part or toward the end of the month; and flax may 
be sown in the early part or toward the middle. If | 
a succession of tares be depended on for soiling, one 
crop must be sown in May. If the sowing of barley 
with grass seeds have been neglected in April, and 
be regarded as very desirable, it may still, in the | 
sluggard’s fashion, be performed in the beginning of | 
May. 
Vhe operations of the barn are but partial in the 
early part of this month; and they nearly cease to- | 
ward its middle. Except, indeed, for a reserve of 
summer litter and of sufficient straw for thatching 
the earliest stacks in autumn, the barn-yard ought, 
for the season, to be swept clean at the transferring 
of live stock from the farm-yards to the fields. The 
preparation of the land for turnips is a main part of 
the business of May, and extends through all the 
month, and sometimes a little into June; and it ought 
to be performed in the order in which the different 
kinds of turnips are sown,—beginning with the land 
for Swedish turnips, which are to be sown before 
the close of this month, —and proceeding successively 
with that for yellow turnips, and with that for white 
turnips, both of which are to be sown in June. The 
carrot erop, if not hand-hoed in April, must be hand- 
hoed in May. The crops of early potatoes and the 
April-planted crops of cabbages, madder, and liquorice, 
must also be now hand-hoed. If any land be laid out 
for bare summer fallow, it ought now to receive a 
turning and cleaning. Fields of wheat, barley, oats, 
beans, and pease, ought now to be thoroughly cleaned, 
whether by horse, by hand, or by both. The busy 
period of the household dairy begins in May, and will 
continue till the end of October. The paring and 
abd | 
