1869.] THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 489 



and shade from the sun by trees or walls has the same effect. If the 

 soil and situation be damp and low, it is a good plan to throw the 

 ground into beds running north and south, and to raise them by throw- 

 ing the ground out of the alleys on to the beds, as is often practised 

 in growing Potatoes in what are termed lazy-beds. The Onion, to 

 grow and bulb well, likes a warm sunny situation and a somewhat 

 tenacious loamy soil, well drained. Light sandy soils are not likely 

 to produce fine Onions ; and to improve these, heavier soil is often 

 mixed with them. Light soil should also be well trodden and rolled 

 both before and after the crop is sown. 



Local peculiarities of soils and climate should regulate — within certain 

 limits, of course — the seed-time of the Onion, and not days and dates. 

 There is nothing gained by early sowing in wet localities and heavy 

 cold soils. Under such circumstances, the middle or end of March is 

 sufficiently early ; while on friable loamy soils and in earlier localities 

 I have always taken the first favourable opportunity of sowing after 

 the 20th February. A fortnight or more time is of no consequence as 

 compared to the state of the soil ; and it is better to wait than to sow 

 when the surface is wet and in bad condition. 



On very light, dry, shallow soils, where the crop has a tendency to 

 ripen off very small and prematurely when overtaken by droughts, such 

 as have occurred the two last summers, it is a good plan to sow part of 

 the crop at least in autumn. The first week in September is a good 

 time to sow ; if sown earlier they get too strong, and are all the more 

 likely to run to seed in spring. The advantage of sowing in September 

 on such soils is,- that the Onions are much earlier and further 

 advanced in size before hot dry weather sets in to stunt and ripen 

 them before an ordinary size is attained. Another plan, sometimes 

 practised on poor shallow soils, is to sow thick on poor soils, and 

 considerably later than is usual for spring sowing. A crop of very small 

 bulbs is thus produced ; and these, carefully wintered and planted on 

 well-enriched soil 6 inches between the rows and 4 inches between the 

 bulbs, produce fine crops. In Portugal they sow thickly in beds in 

 November, and transplant them in spring on to very rich soil ; and in 

 this manner their fine large bulbs are produced. All other things being 

 equal, the size of the bulb is largely affected by the amount of room 

 allowed to each. The more room within a certain limit, of course, the 

 larger the bulbs produced, and vice versa. 



The two systems by which the seed is put in the ground — the drills, 

 and broadcast in beds — have each their advocates. So far as the 

 quality of the crop when ripe is concerned, the merits of both may be 

 said to be about equal. On account of the greater speed and ease with 

 which the crop can be put in, and afterwards freed from weeds, the 



