1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



755 



•ONION SEED THAT IS NOT USED— WHAT SHALL 

 WE DO WITH IT? 



Of course, it is pretty well iinderstood that 

 onion seed is not safe to sow more tiian one sea- 

 son. Sometimes it grows pretty fairly, but it is 

 so important many times that a good stand be 

 secured without thinning out. that we wish to 

 know exactly how much seed to put in. or as 

 nearly as may be. I do not know what is usu- 

 ally done with the old onion seed, but I think I 

 have heard of burning it up. Some seedsman 

 asked, through the papers, \\ hetlier it would be 

 safe to feed it to horses. Well, I will tell you 

 what you can do with it, and not wrong any- 

 body. Use it for raising onion-pJ((7ifs ; then 

 sell your plants, or plant them out, and you can 

 have just as perfect a stand, or more perfect, for 

 that matter, than the most perfect seed-drill 

 can give. The nicest bunch onions in the world 

 can be produced by sowing yourionion seed in 

 the latter part of the summer or during the fall, 

 depending upon where you live, and the severi- 

 ty of the winters. If you can winter them over 

 they will make a much liner onion for bunch 

 onions than the winter or Egyptian onion. Let 

 them get just as large as they will without 

 shooting up to seed. Watch closely; and just 

 as soon as you see one making toward sending 

 up a seed-stalk, " yank 'im out." This is some 

 trouble, but it utilizes all your crop, and those 

 that do not run up to seed at all will make large 

 handsome onions far in advance of seed sown in 

 the spring. My opinion is, that the White Po- 

 tato onions and the White Multipliers are going 

 to be a great acquisition right in this line. They 

 will furnish us tine bunch onions very early, and 

 it is claimed that they never send up any seed- 

 stalks at all. 



THAT HOME-GROWN PEDIGREE ONION-SEED. 



I do not know whether the above is the right 

 name for it or not; but what I mean is, the on- 

 ion seed that I raised from those great big 

 Spanish onions that I found in the Cleveland 

 market. Let me see. I paid about *3.00 for the 

 dozen or so large onions tluit I planted to get 

 the seed. I picked out the very biggest, and 

 some of them weighed al3out 2 lbs. apiece. Then 

 I got only about 2 ounces of s<^ed. So you see 

 the onions for the seed cost something like ^^LOO 

 an ounce; and put the labor at 35 cts. an ounce 

 more, and my seed cost me toward $30.00 per lb. 

 Never mind if it did. I wanted to know wheth- 

 er the seed would be any better than that to be 

 found in the hands of seedsmen. Well, after all 

 my pains and trouble I came very near slipping 

 up on it. The ground was so wet in the spring 

 that we didn't get any onion ground in just the 

 shape I wanted it for these expensive plants un- 

 til quite late; then the sevf-re drouth set in sud- 

 denly; and at present writing we haven't any 

 onions much larger than a hen's egg. Part of 

 them we watered; but I kept thinking it was 

 going to rain; and I am sure now that they 

 were not watered enough. So you see my ex- 

 perimentapparently amounted to nothing. But. 

 just wait. There is a sequel to this. One of 

 my friends canu^ along a tVw days ago in his 

 buggy, with his wife. Said he: 



'"Mr. Root, when shall we pull tho.^e great 

 big onions? Will they stop growing of them- 

 selves, or shall we have to break the tops 

 down ?" 



■■ What onions do you mean ?" said I. 



" Why. we bought the plants of you. I think 

 yon call them I'rizetaker." 



One of the boys who stood by me suggested 

 that they had let this nuin have a few of 

 my choice onion-plants ; but when he came 

 again, and wanted some more to fill out a row, 

 they told him that I had forbidden them selling 

 any more to anybody. You may be sure my 



countenance brightened up, and I walked to- 

 ward the buggy quite brisk and smart. We 

 happened to have some Spanish onions, bought 

 in the Cleveland market, on the stand near by, 

 and I picked up a couple as I walked toward 

 the buggy. Said I : 



•' Why, let them grow, by all means. If our 

 season is long enough they will get to be like 

 these." 



As I held them up I expected to astonish my 

 friends in the buggy; but Mrs. H. replied : 



" Why, Mr. Root, we have got them almost if 

 not quite as large as those in your hand, al- 

 ready, and they are still growing rank and 

 green; and what we want to know is, when 

 they are going to stop and when they must be 

 gathered." 



As soon as I could spare the time I jumped on 

 to my wheel and went over to their place lively. 

 After I had looked at the two rows of onions I 

 said: 



" Why. neighbor H.. suppose you had an acre 

 like these— what would they be worth this sea- 

 son ? " 



His wife, however, replied : 



■' Mr. Root. I am very glad indeed we haven't 

 got an acre like those, especially if I were oblig- 

 ed to carry water for them as I have been doing." 



Th(m it transpired that she had carried water 

 by hand, and watered those two rows of onions 

 nearly every night all through the drouth: and, 

 besides, somebody told them the dirt would 

 have to be pulled away from the bulbs as soon 

 as they began swelling. This they had done, 

 and kept the ground cultivated nice and clean, 

 and there were two rows of Spanish onions like 

 those that are now quoted in the market at 

 *1.40 a crate, or about 5 cts. per lb.; and thou- 

 sands of people pay this enormous price, or oft- 

 en 10 cts. for a single onion, just because they 

 are showy and handsome, and keep hard and 

 solid and dry almost the whole year round. 



Now, I have not any seed like that to offer 

 you. I do not know that there is any in the 

 world. I can raise some more, however, by 

 planting some big onions next spring. One 

 thing I do know; and that is, I never had any 

 onion se(>d, and never saw any, that would pro- 

 duce a crop of all nice big onions, almost exact- 

 ly alike, as these have done. Another thing, 

 there is not a red onion nor a white one, nor any 

 sort of hybrid or mongrel, in the whole crop. 

 We went right honu^ and cultivated and water- 

 ed ours, and are going to pnsh them: but I fear 

 it is now (Sept. 14) almost too late. 



TO GET GOOD ONION SEED, AND StiMKTHING 

 ABOUT WHITE MULTIPLIERS. 



Mr. Root:— We got soim^ Prizetaker onion 

 seed of you last spring, planted and cultivated 

 a la "Joseph," and made tine large bulbs; but 

 your seed is mixed. We hav(> been trying to 

 "keep up with the procession "" in the onion 

 business, and know from cultivating the im- 

 prov<'d sorts, that, among that lot. we found 

 Prizetaker. Red Rocca, Yellow Rocca, Maule, 

 White Silver King, and one other sort we are 

 not acquainted with. We prefer Prizetaker 

 because it does not rot so badly here as other 

 big sorts. No harm done iiere, however. 



.ABOUT WHITE MULTIPLIERS. 



You are partly wrong. They are a standard 

 sort here, and have been for 30 years or more. 

 To note their points in order named by your- 

 self, they never send up seed-stalks, hence no 

 tough ones. The yi<dd we find to be equal to 

 any. under good treatment. They make the 

 pounds. You are wrong about the little onion 

 growing iill season and making " a big one." 

 The true While M ultiplier carries within itself 

 the embryo cluster, which it will be sure to 



