ROOTS, TUBERS, BULBS 



103 



extensive. New York, Ohio, Indiana and the New England 

 states produce the bulk of the onion crop. 



Onions do best on well-drained loams which are not very 

 sandy. Large crops are also raised on muck soils, when 

 properly fertilized. For onions the soil should be thoroughly 



19. AN ONION FIELD 



A harvesting scene in an Indiana field 



By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 



prepared. If the land is plowed in the autumn and again 

 in the spring it is all the better. It should be pulverized, so 

 that the seed will have the proper chance to sprout. Some- 

 times hand raking is done to get a surface of fine soil. Muck 

 soil is more easily prepared than loam. Land for onions 

 should be as free as possible from weeds. When once a field 

 has been put in shape for onions, it is usually planted with 

 them three or four years. Since weeds are not at all desir- 



