STATE HOETICULTURAL SOCIETY. 443 



PREPARATION OF SOIL. 



A suitable onion soil should be selected. Manure heavily during 

 winter or spring with any kind of manure and plow very early and 

 deeply eight or ten inches at least. About the first of June plow again 

 the other way and set out late cabbages. The ground is plowed twice 

 to mix the manure with the soil and to help drain the soil, and it is 

 plowed deeply so that some of the manure at least will be well under 

 the ground where it will collect moisture, and store it up for the use 

 of the onions in the following year. Also, the presence of manure at 

 the depth of six or eight inches will prevent the soil from becoming 

 very hard at that depth. This is important, for the next year the 

 ground is plowed quite shallow. 



The ground is set with cabbages because cabbages are easily kept 

 clean, most of the work being done with a cultivator. Not a weed 

 should be allowed to grow to seed. The cabbages should be all pulled 

 up by the roots. In the fall as soon as the cabbages can be taken 

 from the ground, spread on the well rotted manure. This manure, 

 being hauled during the winter or spring before, and put in a pile 

 about six feet high with a flat top, under a roof if possible, has fer- 

 mented and most of the weed seeds are killed. The ground is then to 

 be plowed about four inches deep and left without being dragged dur- 

 ing the winter. 



In the spring, as soon as dry enough, the ashes are spread, if at 

 hand, or fine muck or peat marl or land plaster is sometimes used. 

 Then the ground should be dragged until very smoth and quite firm. 

 It is important to have the ground firm, but of course not hard. If 

 there are sticks, stones, roots, etc., on the ground they should be raked 

 off with a steel rake. Then the seed can be sown, and this can be 

 done better and quicker with a seed drill. I use the Planet, Jr. The 

 ro.vs should be twelve or fifteen inches apart. On soil not very rich 

 three pounds of seed are enough for an acre, but on ground prepared 

 as above directed six should be sown. Four or six pounds are usually 

 sown upon an acre. 



Onions will sprout in as low a temperature as wheat, while weeds 

 will not. Therefore the importance of preparing the ground in the 

 fall. Any weather that will not injure wheat will not injure onion 

 seed. But new American grown seed I am speaking of, and they will 

 stand more unfavorable weather than imported seed or old seed. In 

 fact most imported seed is not hard and should be sown later. Im- 

 ported seed produces larger onions, but they are milder, softer, and do 



