22 



Do not attempt to sow onion seed in foul ground ; the cost of 

 hand weeding the onion crop has nearly landed some onion- 

 growers in the poor-house. In other words prepare your soil 

 before sowing rather than after planting. Nothing pays better 

 in this crop than good seed and thorough tillage. As "mellow 

 as an ash heap"' is a good condition to have your soil in. Those 

 fortunate enough to have such soils, should take care to i\rm the 

 soil over the seed immediately after sowing. The seed should 

 not be covered over one-half inch in depth. When the plants are 

 three inches high, thin out to three or four inches apart. In 

 growing onions on a moderately large scale, no better hand im- 

 plements can be used than the 'Tlanet Jr." line ; with the various 

 attachments supplied with these machines, drills can be made, 

 fertilizers distributed, seed sown, covered and rolled all at the 

 same operation, necessitating, of course, a perfect condition of the 

 seed bed ; later the wheel hoe, rakes, etc., may be used to cultivate 

 and harvest the crop. When bulbs have attained their full size 

 and maturity as indicated by the dying down of the tops, they 

 are ready for harvest, which should be carefully done to insure 

 good keeping qualities. Two hundred and fifty to i,ooo bushels 

 per acre is the range of yields, though as high as twenty-five tons 

 has been reported from the best favored California regions; such 

 yields, however, mean very low^ prices. 



To grow "bunch" or green onions from sets, requires very 

 little skill, and no kitchen garden is complete without a family 

 supply of this wholesome vegetable. 



PEAS (garden varieties) — Pisitiu sativum. 



F. pois a ecosser. G. schal-erbsen. P. ervilhas do grao. 



The successful growing of garden-peas must always be lim- 

 ited to the short cool winter-spring season in our low lands ; heat, 

 especially dry heat, is disastrous to this crop. Our best efforts 

 with a large number of varieties have produced indifferent results, 

 though it should be said that at the Kam^hameha Girls' School, 

 the old standard, Yorkshire Hero, also known as the Alameda 

 Sweet Pea in California, has done exceedingly well during some 

 seasons. A light, moderately rich soil is considered best for 

 this crop. The dwarf varieties may be sown in drills two feet 

 apart, medium and tall sorts four to six feet apart. One pound 

 of seed will sow 75 feet of drill. 



