. 89 



dusting with Paris green and lime should be resorted to, but the 

 grower must not dust with any insecticide when the bulbs are 

 nearing maturity. 



"Coming to the establishment of the crop in the field, the planter 

 should remember that sowing seed in situ will give a crop from 

 three to five weeks earlier in maturing than when the trans- 

 planting method is adopted ; but it appears that a large propor- 

 tion of the onions raised in this way may be of indifferent shape. 

 In collecting the crop, the bulbs must not be left in the field for 

 any length of time after pulling, though a few hours in the sun 

 is a good thing. The bulbs must not receive the slightest injury, 

 nor must the necks of the bulbs be twisted to hasten ripening if 

 it is the intention to ship. Onions deep in the soil often rot be- 

 fore they are thoroughly ripe : these should be used to meet local 

 demands ; they are unfit for export." 



Some American and Canadian markets, it is said, disapprove 

 of onions with thick necks. In the case of produce going to the 

 north, it is advised that the caution, "Keep from frost and boiler," 

 should be put on the crate. The Queensland Agricultural Journal 

 is quoted as pointing out "that onions when pulled should not be 

 stored away at once but should be left on the ground for a few 

 hours to dry. They require constant looking over to sort out any 

 bad ones for, as in the case of fruit, a single rotting onion 

 will infect all those in its immediate neighborhood. Reference 

 is made, in continuation, to a very interesting manurial experi- 

 ment in connection with the effect of chemical fertilizers upon 

 the tendency to sprout. It was found that the produce from plots 

 deprived of sulphate of potash were exhausted by a too hurried 

 vegetation, while that which had received the potash manure was 

 perfectly preserved. The writer advocates the application of 

 1 cwt. of sulphate of potash per acre." 



Six or seven years ago, an exchange says, the output of coco- 

 nut butter in Austria was about 40 tons a day. It is now approxi- 

 mately 300 tons. The price has increased from $18.25 to $26.40 

 for 200 pounds, and the factories claim they cannot keep up with 

 the demand. The market is controlled practically by two firms, 

 one in \^icnna and the other in Aussig. 



According to the Gardeners' Chronicle, there are indications 

 that the realization of the long-thought possibility of employing 

 electricity in horticulture and agriculture will soon be achieved. 

 Lemstrom, it was pointed out by Thorne Baker in a paper read 

 before the Royal Society of Arts, long ago claimed to have 

 demonstrated that an increase of 45 per cent, in a crop is produced 

 by the agency of high-tension electricity applied to the land 

 through overhead wires. Sir Oliver Lodge, Mr. Newman and 



