ONION CULTIVATION 



(drill), he will find the readiest and 

 evenest way to sow the seed will be to 

 stretch a line and mark the ground with 

 the end of a rake or corner of the hoe ; 

 if the row is a long one, the line should 

 be fastened to stakes, say every fifty 

 feet, so as to insure its being perfectly 

 straight from end to end. This will 

 assist materially when the weeding pro- 

 cess is commenced 



There are three methods of growing 

 the large seed onions. First, from seed 

 direct ; second, from " sets " ; and third, 

 from plants previously started in a hot- 

 bed. 



If the first plan is adopted, the seed 

 must be sown so soon as the frost is out 

 of the ground in the spring, the earlier 

 the better, if good results are expected. 

 One ounce of seed will sow about one 

 hundred feet of a drill ; it will take from 

 four to five pounds to sow an acre with 

 drills from fifteen to eighteen inches 

 apart. If the cultivator has no seed 

 drill, his best plan is to secure a small 

 tin can an inch and a half or two inches 

 in diameter, say three or four inches 

 deep ; a small mustard can is as good 

 as any. Make five or six holes in the 

 bottom of this with an awl of sufficient 

 size to admit the seed to come out when 

 the box is shaken. If the awl is tapered 

 from the point to where it enters the 

 handle, the proper sized holes may easily 

 be obtained. The seeder may he tested 

 as to its proper capacity to deliver the 

 seed by shaking it over a board or piece 

 of paper, on which the result can be 

 noted. A four foot lath should be split 

 flatways at one end, the edge of the tin 

 cup inserted and a tack driven through 

 the lath and tin to keep it firmly in place. 

 It should perhaps be stated that the 

 holes should be pierced from the inside 

 of the tin cup, as this will insure more 

 regular seeding. Armed with this seeder 

 a drill can be sown very evenly at a 



slow walk, the box being raised and 

 lowered with a sharp jerk. As the 

 seeder is kept close to the ground whilst 

 the seeds are being delivered, they can 

 be deposited quite well even if a wind is 

 blowing. After the seed is sown, the 

 ground should be firmed down by the 

 rake, stamped over with the feet or 

 pressed with a heavy roller. 



For the second plan of sowing, the 

 set are planted by pressing them into 

 the soft soil along the line from three to 

 four inches apart. The amateur gener- 

 ally prefers a large " set," but experience 

 teaches that the smaller the set, so long 

 as it has life in it, the better it is, as they 

 are not so liable to run to seed as those 

 of larger growth. Growing from sets 

 is probably the simplest and easiest 

 method of raising onions, but as the sets 

 come expensive when a large quantity 

 are used, and as the keeping qualities of 

 the onions are not considered equal to 

 those grown from seed, they are not so 

 reliable for winter use. 



The third method is the new hot-bed 

 process. The seed is started early in 

 March in a moderately cool frame. It 

 is sown thickly but evenly. When the 

 onion is about the size of a lead pencil 

 or a little smaller, and the post well out 

 of the ground, they are transplanted 

 along a line somewhat similarly to the 

 sets. Care should be taken to handle 

 the plants as little as possible, so that 

 the " bloom " on the stems may not get 

 rubbed off, as this would check their 

 growth. 



Sometimes a gardener will plant the 

 young onions two inches apart, when 

 they are of sufficient size, removing 

 every other one. A friend of mine 

 claims he can sell sufficient of these 

 " bunched " onions to pay for the ex- 

 pense of the seed and the labor bestowed 

 on the entire crop. Certainly his yield 

 of onions is a marvel to behold, his soil 



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