May
May
“May, the delicate-footed May, the month of flowers and song-birds, of bland and balmy breezes and genial sunshine, the poet’s month, has come at last.” Yes, it has come; but the first of May, in New England, does not always bring the song of birds, or the bloom of flowers. In England, the spring is a very beautiful season, and May is ever a month of bloom. The first day of the month is one of rejoicing. The people in the villages assemble, erect a pole, and, decked in flowers, they dance around it. In France the people meet together, and one of the girls is chosen queen of the festivity. They have a very gay time of it. Sometimes the season is sufficiently advanced here, to admit of a similar celebration. In Pennsylvania, and the states south of it, May is a season of general bloom.
In New York, the first day of May is usually occupied by the people in getting their furniture from the houses they are going to leave, to those they are going to live in. “The first of May!” says one of the New York editors, “there is somethingmovingin the very name.” The following lines are descriptive of the occasion:
Bustle, bustle, clear the way,He moves, we move, they move to-day;Pulling, hauling, fathers calling,Mothers bawling, children squalling,Coaxing, teasing, whimpering, rattling;Pots and pans, and kettles rattling,Tumbling bedsteads, flying bedspreads,Broken chairs, and hollow wares,Strew the street—’tis moving day.Bustle, bustle, stir about,Some moving in—some moving out;Some move by team, some move by hand,An annual callithumpian band.Landlords dunning, tenants shunning;Laughing, crying, dancing, sighing—Spiders dying, feathers flying,Shaking bed rugs, killing bed bugs,Scampering rats, mewing cats,Whining dogs, grunting hogs,What’s the matter? moving day!
Bustle, bustle, clear the way,He moves, we move, they move to-day;Pulling, hauling, fathers calling,Mothers bawling, children squalling,Coaxing, teasing, whimpering, rattling;Pots and pans, and kettles rattling,Tumbling bedsteads, flying bedspreads,Broken chairs, and hollow wares,Strew the street—’tis moving day.Bustle, bustle, stir about,Some moving in—some moving out;Some move by team, some move by hand,An annual callithumpian band.Landlords dunning, tenants shunning;Laughing, crying, dancing, sighing—Spiders dying, feathers flying,Shaking bed rugs, killing bed bugs,Scampering rats, mewing cats,Whining dogs, grunting hogs,What’s the matter? moving day!
Bustle, bustle, clear the way,
He moves, we move, they move to-day;
Pulling, hauling, fathers calling,
Mothers bawling, children squalling,
Coaxing, teasing, whimpering, rattling;
Pots and pans, and kettles rattling,
Tumbling bedsteads, flying bedspreads,
Broken chairs, and hollow wares,
Strew the street—’tis moving day.
Bustle, bustle, stir about,
Some moving in—some moving out;
Some move by team, some move by hand,
An annual callithumpian band.
Landlords dunning, tenants shunning;
Laughing, crying, dancing, sighing—
Spiders dying, feathers flying,
Shaking bed rugs, killing bed bugs,
Scampering rats, mewing cats,
Whining dogs, grunting hogs,
What’s the matter? moving day!
Country Pursuits.—How happy is the condition of the farmer, and of country people generally, at this fine season; how great their privileges, living amidst the fields which are now putting on their green attire, the woods whose buds are bursting into leaf, and the flowers which are beginning to display their bloom!How great is their privilege, instead of being amid the din of carts and wagons, to be cheered by the minstrelsy of birds during the day, and soothed at night by the plaintive notes of the frogs, which issue from every valley. How fragrant the air—how cheerful, healthful, peaceful, the occupation of sowing, planting and pruning! Let no man living in the country, envy city people and their fine houses. Let no man, whose lot is to labor with his hands, envy those who live without labor. Of all persons, those who live without bodily labor are most likely to miss the great ends of life—health, peace of mind, and contentment; none so likely to obtain them, as those who toil with their hands. There is many a rich man, who has broken down his constitution by care, anxiety, and mental exertion, that would gladly resign his houses, and horses and carriages, for the good appetite, the sweet sleep, the cheerful serenity of the day laborer. I once heard of a beggar, who applied to a rich man for relief from hunger. “Hunger?” said the rich man;—“hunger! why, my friend, I would give all I am worth for such an appetite. Hunger, indeed!—why, you are infinitely less a beggar than I. Sometimes you suffer, perhaps, for want of food; still, in general, you can get a crust of bread, or a piece of cold meat; and with your appetite, these are delicious. Thus, eating is, after all, a source of great enjoyment to you. But I have no appetite; I never eat but with aversion. Thus, in the midst of abundance and seeming luxury, through loss of health, I am worse than a beggar.”
But let us turn our attention to the practical matters of the farm and garden. May is the season for planting Indian corn, sowing oats, and summer wheat. This latter, as well as winter wheat, has been much neglected in New England for some years, from an idea that it is not a safe crop. But take my advice, and try it again. Be assured that the raising of wheat may be made very profitable in New England.
Fessenden is of opinion that it might be well for the population of these United States, were we to consume as articles of diet more poultry and less butcher’s meat. In France, poultry forms an important part of the live stock of the farmer; and it has been said by well informed persons, that among the French, the poultry yards supply a much greater quantity of food to the mass of the community than the shambles.
You will find much innocent and profitable amusement in your garden, and will please to plant bush beans and pole beans of various sorts, having enriched the soil with horse or hog manure. With regard to pole beans, you will do as well to set the poles first, and then plant the beans round the poles.
In the open ground, plant cucumbers, cabbages, cauliflowers, late peas, early corn, squashes, melons, gourds, &c. Hoe and bush such peas as have come forward, and weed all the plants which have made their appearance.
Let me say a few words in favor of the birds, which, at this time, are on every tree. A notion prevails that birds do great injury in gardens and fields, and hence, many of them are shot, and boys are encouraged to persecute them with stones. A person of long experience has ascertained that birds, in general, do far more good by destroying vermin, than they do harm by the little grain and fruit they consume. In a district of Germany, there was once an order given to kill all the rooks, which are birds of the crow kind. This was complied with, and the consequence was, that the wheat crop was almost entirely destroyed by insects, which the rooks would have devoured.