12 THE NEW ONION CULTURE 



into the rich feeding grounds under the sand, and 

 produce a wonderfully thrifty and healthy growth, as 

 seen in Fig 10. 



A further advantage of this method is that but 

 few weeds come up among the onion plants. If weeds 

 appear, pull them up by hand. Where plants stand 

 overcrowded in the rows, thin, even severely, where 

 needed. The bed will require frequent and copious 

 watering. When the plants are making good growth, 

 during latter part of February and especially in the 

 sunshiny days of March, I give my onion seedlings 

 their regular daily soaking. 



When standing as thickly in the beds as I want 

 them they are also sure to get top-heavy and will need 

 repeated and severe clipping. I usually cut them back 

 with a pair of common sheep shears, removing each 

 time nearly the full upper half (in length) of the 

 plant. Our aim is to get seedlings the bulb of which, 

 just above the roots, is between one-eighth and three- 

 sixteenths of an inch in diameter (if of nearly pencil 

 thickness, all the better) , and this by the time that the 

 open ground is ready to receive them. 



