22 On Onions. 
eee EE 
go a great way into the ground;) whereas in the case 
of primitive ground where the sub stratum is in many 
instances almost impervious to water, the moisture is 
much longer retained in the soil. 
I have never been in Connecticut, but I was some 
weeks in September 1797 very near the borders of that 
state, in the state of New-York. I there observed the 
climate to be considerably different from that of Penn- 
sylvania ; in particular the pasture was greatly superior. 
This was an evidence to me that the soil was not apt to 
be so quickly deprived of moisture. Perhaps this may 
be partly owing to its nearer vicinity to the ocean, and 
this may be one cause why Connecticut is better adapted 
to the culture of onions than Pennsylvania. ‘The mode 
of cultivating onions in Scotland was as follows: the 
ground intended for that purpose was very well ma- 
nured in the fall with rich old rotten dung, care being 
taken that it contained no seeds of weeds or grass,* this 
is well turned in and left so for the winter. In the 
the month of March following it is dug again and 
smoothly raked, and at the same time formed into beds 
two feet wide and of a reasonable length, with alleys be- 
tween for the convenience of hand weeding, on these 
beds the seed is sown broadcast. My method for sow- 
ing it equally, was to wet the seed with a little water, 
and shake upon it pounded chalk or whiting, roll it in 
the whiting and spread it out todry. By this means I 
could see the seeds distinctly where they fell on the 
* I have often heard it said that in Holland where onions 
are Faised in great perfection, they generally use the dung 
from privies for this reason. 
