2l6 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



September, 1912 



sects that infest the rose, he finds that 

 common soap suds sprayed on are the 

 best remedy. 



The barn and fjaragc arc situated in 

 the centre of the back end of Mr. Meth- 

 crall's property. On cither side, and 

 separated from them by fences, are his 

 vegetable garden and nursery ground. 

 As Mr. Metherail has only owned this 

 property for some eighteen months, the 

 accompanying illustrations serve to show 

 the amount of work he has done to 

 bring it up to its present attractive con- 



dition. He is expecting better results 

 as the years roll on, and as he is one of 

 nature's gardeners, although he never 

 dreams that he is a good one, he expects 

 by reading, experimenting, and listen- 

 ing to others, to achieve success in this 

 line as he did commercially in days gone 

 by. One point I have noticed as I visit 

 different gardens is that their proprie- 

 tors all take The Canadian Horticul- 

 turi.st, and they all state freely that it 

 has helped them to achieve the success 

 with their gardens that they have. 



Harvesting Onions 



E. French, Dcpt. ol Agriculture, Victoria, B. C. 



IF the onion tops do not fall down flat 

 on the ground at the proper time 

 about the middle of August to middle 

 of September, it is good practice to go 

 over the patch and pound the upright 

 ones down. Harvesting should com- 

 mence as soon as most of the necks have 

 turned yellow and are considerably wilt- 

 ed. Do not delay harvesting simply be- 

 cause there may be some green tops 

 when the main crop is ready. If left too 

 long the bulbs are liable to make new 

 roots, especially if the weather is damp, 

 and the quality of the onion is injured. 



Pull the onions by hand and deposit 

 them in windrows containing the onions 

 from two or three rows. If they are 

 taken out with rakes they are apt to be 

 bruised, and thus will not keep as well. 

 The crop is left in the windrows until 

 fully cured, which takes about ten days 

 in good weather. During this time they 

 should be topped with knives, cutting 

 the tops off about half an inch from the 

 bulb. On bright days the curing will be 

 hastened by stirring with a wooden rake, 

 being careful not to bruise the bulbs. If 

 there is danger of a rainy season, the 

 onions may be cured in open sheds or on 

 the barn floor. After the crop is cured 

 the Ljlbs should be sorted and properly 

 stored. All weeds and refuse should be 

 removed from the field, and, if possible, 

 a fall crop grown. 



Onions should be sold as soon as a 

 fair price can be obtained, and not stor- 

 ed for the winter unless there is a very 

 good chance of a rise. If you have an 

 extra favorable season, they may be 

 shipped right from the field, but it is 

 generally advisable to empty them out 

 in open sheds and pick them over again. 

 A]] the small onions should be picked 

 out and sold separately for pickling pur- 

 poses. 



It is not advisable for the inexperienc- 

 ed grower to try winter storing, of 

 course. Unless thoroughly cured, many 

 bulbs will sprout, while others with only 

 a slight bruise will decay. There will 

 be more or less shrinkage, and a large 

 percentage of the onions will be lost if 

 proper care is not given to ventilating 

 and maintaining the desired tempera- 

 ture. However, it is desirable that 



growers should understand the condi- 

 tions necessary to keep onions through 

 the winter months, so that they may 

 store part of their crop. I would not 

 advise storing very, many unless one 

 has the facilities for doing so. It is 

 essential that the bulbs should be well 

 matured, thoroughly cured, not bruised, 

 and in a perfectly dormant state for suc- 

 cessful winter storing. 



Onons may be wintered by two differ- 

 ent processes — namely, by freezing the 

 bulbs and keeping them in this condition 

 all the winter, or by storing them in a 

 dry apartment where the temperature 

 can be maintained just above the freez- 

 ing point. The former method is very 

 satisfactory where the weather is cold 

 during the entire winter. The onions 

 are placed in a barn or outbuilding and 

 allowed to freeze. They are then cover- 

 ed with hay, straw, or bags, and are 

 allowed to remain in this condition all 

 the winter. The covering should not be 

 removed in the spring until the bulbs 

 are entirely thawed out. The tempera- 

 ture should not run above thirty-two de- 

 grees or below fifteen degrees Fahren- 

 heit. .Successive freezing and thawing 

 or .severe freezing will injure the bulbs. 



Lilting Rhubarb for Forcing 



Joha Gall, WmIod, Oat 



Moi-t jx;rs()ns will admit that forced 

 rhubarb in point of flavor surpasses 

 that grown naturally. This is one of 

 the resaons why it is so eagerly sought 

 after. To obtain the earliest supplies 

 the first batch of roots should be lifted 

 as .soon as the leaves of the past season's 

 crop have died down. A ♦.harp frost or 

 a continuation of cold, damp weather 

 will soon bring about this condition of 

 pl.mts of this subject. 



If the roots on being lifted are left 

 exposed to the open they usually start 

 into growth better when placed in heat. 

 The roots should Ije lifted so as to avoid 

 damaging them more than can be helped. 

 Large roots need to have a trench dug 

 all round them, otherwise it is impos- 

 sible to get well down under the roots 

 which is quite necessary if lifting is to 

 be done properly. Rhubarb roots after 

 forcing are not usually replanted. 



The earliest batch of lifted roots 

 should be placed in boxes, barrels, tubs, 

 large pots, or any receptacle large 

 enough to accommodate them, this en- 

 abling the grower to move them about 

 from time to time. Fairly light soil 

 should be placed about the roots. A 

 suitable compost may be made up of leaf 

 mould and good garden soil. As a mat- 

 ter of fact, any good soil will suit the 

 purpose very well. 



An excellent position for these recep- 

 tacles is under the stage of a warm 

 greenhouse, where the temperature can 

 l>e maintained at from forty to forty-five 

 degrees. By these means a supply of 

 rhubarb may be had at Christmas. 

 Warmth and darkness are essential fac- 

 tors in the successful forcing of rhubarb. 

 The lifted roots should be taken in- 

 doors from time to time in succession. 



1 



Prize Winning Vegetables Grown and Shown by E. A. Sanderson, Dauphin, Man. 



