I 



September, 1910 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



213 



who have only an uncertain amount of 

 spare time that they wish to employ as 

 profitably as possible. One of the chief 

 of these is that the crop is staple and 

 practically imperishable. The dried .root 

 may be held indefinitely without loss and 

 the green roots may be left in the ground 

 for another year if the grower has not 

 the time to spare to dig them. 



.\fter the second year of growth the 

 plant will do well with almost no atten- 

 ti(in beyond providing shade, although 

 during the first two years ordinary care 

 must be given to weeding and mulching. 

 There is also very little trouble with the 

 insect pests and blight which make so 

 much work for the fruit-grower. The 

 pl.int has great vitality and will survive 



Harvesting and Marketing Onions 



Fred Smith, Scotland, Ont. 



The method we have followed for over 

 Iwenty years in harvesting our onions 

 has been to pull them by hand or to run 

 a knife attached to the cultivator under 

 them. The latter is the quickest and 

 easiest way, but the ground has to be 

 clean from weeds. 



After loosening the onions from the 

 ground they are pulled together in wind- 

 rows, usually six rows in one. They are 

 allowed to dry down thoroughly before 

 topping operations begin which is gener- 

 ally within about ten days. The number 

 of days depends upon the condition of the 



One-year-old aad Tkree-year-oli) G:nieng Plants 



neglect which would kill most products 

 of the garden. 



The best way for one to commence 

 growing ginseng is to buy one year old 

 roots and seeds during the first and sec- 

 ond years ; after that enough seed will he 

 produced to continue annual planting. If 

 one has decided to plant extensively the 

 proper way is to set aside a piece of land 

 for the purpose and to keep this end In 

 view while developing the garden. An 

 acre of land divided into five plots of 

 equal size, to be planted annually in ro- 

 tation, would provide room for a regular 

 annual crop of 15,600 roots which should 

 yield over 900 pounds of dried root worth 

 at present prices, $6,750.00. After the 

 the first plot is cropped it should be re- 

 planted with young roots. This would 

 be an exceptionally large garden, but the 

 same principle of rotation applies for a 

 garden of any size. 



Asifle from the profitableness of the 



r plant it is a \(;ry intertsling one to grov\ 

 and presents many opportuiuties for im- 



, provement by methods of selection which 

 make it attractive to the amateur. 



ia the Garden of Wm. Gilgour, Pcterboro' Out. 



crop when it is pulled. If the tops went 

 down naturally, without being rolled, 

 they will be ready to top within that 



Some use sheiirs to top with, but I 

 prefer an old case knife with a blade four 

 inches long with a rounded, blunt end 

 to prevent hacking of the fingers. Onions 

 topped in the forenoon are better sacked 

 up in the afternoon when they are dry 

 and then removed to shelter. 



Onions should never be picked up wet 

 under any circumstances as it makes 

 them dirty and is apt to di.scolor them. 

 Vears ago it was the practice to allow 

 the onions to remain on the ground for 

 St; vera I days after topping to cure in the 

 sun which is a great mistake. The sun 

 not only makes them strong but badly 

 discolors them. The side exposed most 

 will turn green which is very undesir- 

 able from a market standpoint. 

 ANOTHfiB METHOD 



In ii)0() I followed a diflereni method, 

 and in my judgment a far belter one. 

 In the winter of iqog I made a thous.and 

 bushel crates with sl.it(<'(l sides, ends and 



bottoms. The measurement of the crates 

 was twelve inches high, thirteen wide, 

 and eighteen long. The slats were nailed 

 to three cornered posts, leaving an inch 

 space between each slat. The slats were 

 two and a quarter inches wide by three 

 eighths of an inch thick. 



The onions were cut loose with a half 

 round knife attached to the cultivator 

 and allowed to dry for a few days. They 

 were then raked into windrows of twelve 

 rows each, a wooden rake being used. 

 They were then crated with the tops and 

 removed to shelter and allowed to cure 

 tor two weeks or more if necessary be- 

 fore being topped. 



I find that onions handled in this wav 

 are a better color and splendid keepers. 



An advantage gained by using the 

 crates is that if bad weather comes and 

 you cannot work outside your help loses 

 no time. 



This year my crop will be topped with 

 a topping machine run by a gasoline 

 engine. We have a topper here made 

 by a local man that with a few improve- 

 ments will be a complete success. It is 

 made with two inch steel rollers six feet 

 long and has six rollers. The rollers 

 rim in pairs and are set on a slant. The 

 onions are poured in one end and as they 

 run over the rollers the tops are pulled 

 off and the onion runs out into a bag. 



I always sell my onions in carlots. 

 L'ntil last )ear they were put up in eighty 

 pound sacks. Xow the buyers want the 

 seventy-five pound sack, which is the 

 standard sack. I run all my onions over 

 a wooden screen w ith slats an inch and a 

 half apart which removes all the dirt and 

 pickling onions. Grown or spoiled ones 

 are picked out. I never ship out a car 

 ol onions without sorting them over the 

 screen even if they have only been sacked 

 up for only a few days. 



The Hoot Maggot 



Prof. H. A. Snrface 



The little white niaggot that destroys 

 garden truck, especially onions and 

 cauliflower, is a root worm or root mag- 

 got, one species attacking the caulifiower 

 and cabbage, and another closely re- 

 lated, injuring the onions. 



One way of preventing injury by them 

 is to dust around the plants some air- 

 slaked lime, which has been sprinkled 

 with turpentine or carbolic acid. The 

 adult or mature form of this maggot is 

 a (ly, about the size of a house fly. The 

 female lays her eggs at the roots of the 

 plants, and as these hatch the little larvae 

 commence to feed on the outer growing 

 tissue of the root.s, and cause the damage 

 by eating this away. The preventive 

 material should be applied before the 

 eg§:s are laid. 



