66 Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. [lo Feb., 1911. 



to none for the production of onions; and lan(J that would be worth ^100 

 per acre for onion-growing is now only valued at from ^35 to £,^o, 

 owing to the devastating influence of this scourge. 



Soil. 

 Onions may be grown successfully in various types of soil, from a sandy 

 loam to a heavy volcanic soil ; a lighter loam is the better but the soil must 

 be a rich one — the richer the soil, the better the crop. The success of the 

 onion crop depends as much on the fertility of the soil as on anything 

 <ilse. Onions grow more rapidly on sandy soil, and thus a sandy .soil will 

 produce an earlier crop ; but the bulbs grown on sandy .soil do not pos.sess 

 the keeping qualities of those grown on the heavier type of soils. 



Preparation of the Soil. 



The soil should be mellow, as clean as possible from weeds ; and, if 

 only of a medium character, it should receive a good dressing of well- 

 rotted stable manure. The soil mu.st be worked thoroughly, and it should 

 be well drained ; perfect soil drainage is an essential in successful onion 

 production. 



During winter there must be no accumulation or settlement of water, 

 and means must be provided for the water to run away freely. Hence, 

 sub-soiling should always be practised ; the soil should be ploughed to a 

 depth of about 7 inches, and deeper if it is necessary to get good drainage. 

 Onions, and all other plants of the bulb family, cannot make reasonable 

 growth, and will very readily rot in a cold wet soil. 



The onion is generally considered to be a surface feeder. All food 

 supplies should therefore be readily and immediately available. To this 

 end, the soil must be well pulverized, with the best possible surface tilth ; 

 and the seed-bed should be of as light a quality as possible before planting. 

 After ploughing, the seed-bed should be well rolled, a good solid bed 

 being necessary ; this will prevent the onion bulb from becoming too deeply 

 buried in the soil. Onion bulbs need plenty of light and air to allow them 

 to properly develop. It will be often noticed that where onion bulbs are 

 poor in character, or where the plant produces flower-heads, the bulb has 

 been covered with the soil. In other words, the bulb has grown in the 

 .soil, instead of on the soil. 



In som.e districts where the onion has been grown for years as a staple 

 crop, an implement known as the " Skimmer" is very largely used for 

 cultivation purposes. The .skimmer is a product of the Bellarine district, 

 and it is the outcome and result of maiiv trials arid experiments. It simply 

 consists of two large blades which work parallel to the surface of the 

 ground, either on the surface or at anv depth to which the machine may be 

 regulated for the various purpo.ses required. The skimmer blades must be 

 perfectly level ; they are set back, cutting on a back slope, and are placed 

 at an angle of 60 degrees from, each other. The skimmer is particularly 

 useful as a cultivating and weeding implement ; it is also used for removing 

 onion and other crops from the soil. In removing the onion crop, after 

 skimming, a man rakes the onions aside, so as to allow the horse to work 

 the next row. When the land has been deeply ploughed, some growers 

 skim more frequently for subsequent crops than they plough ; and thus, 

 skimming being cheaper, the cost of production is considerably reduced. 

 The general custom is to plough for two seasons and then skim for the 

 third. With a large-.sized skimmer drawn by two horses, weeds may easily 

 be shaved out at the rate of 6 acres per day ; a pea crop may be removed 



