68 Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. [lo Feb., 191 i. 



AILSA CRAIG. 



claimed that, by this 

 method, far less weeding 

 is required ; and also that 

 transplanted onions are 

 fiuite immune from the 

 attacks of the onion eel- 

 worm. In transplanting, 

 however, should any of 

 the plants be bruised or 

 crushed, and this is a 

 condition that very fre- 

 quently happens, the 

 worm can readily effect 

 an entrance through the 

 wound into the bulb, and 

 thus the \-ery object of the 

 " new " method of plant- 

 ing may be defeated. 



In planting the seed in 

 the open ground, the 

 seed-bed must be well 

 worked immediately be- 

 fore planting, and then 



rolled hard. The seed is planted in drills 9 inches apart at the rate of 



3 lbs. per acre, and, if planted at this rate, no thinning will be necessary. 



Some growers prefer to thin, leaving a space of from 4 to 6 inches between 



each young plant, so as to allow the bulbs to expand evenly ; other growers 



think there is no necessity for this, as it is considered that misshapen 



bulbs will generally improve in shape while the crop is curing. After 



drilling, the land should be well rolled, and a fortnight after rolling, the 



soil should receive a lip-ht harrowing. The young onions should begin to 



appear in a fortnight 



from planting. From tht- 



time the plants appear 



until they begin to dry 



off, the onion paddocks 



must be kept as far as 



possible free from weeds. 



If the seeds are planted 



in a seed-bed to be after- 

 wards transplanted, the 



.seed should be sown 



earlier than it would be 



if planted at once into 



the open ground. 



In the southern parts 



of Victoria, the best time 



for planting the seed is 



the month of July. The 



seed may be planted in 



April and May and this 



will give early crops : 



but earlv planting will 



materiallv increase the " silver globe.' 



