HOW TO RAISE ONIONS 



RA.ISIXQ ONION SEED. As it is a law of nature that 

 like produces like, it is of the utmost importance that 

 great care should be taken to obtain seed that will pro- 

 duce the most perfect specimens of its kind. This holds 

 true in regard to onion seed, for it is a notorious tact, 

 that this esculent has been improved in shape and col- 

 or within a few years, from a flat turnip-shape and 

 pale red color, to nearly a round or spherical form, and 

 a b ight clear red. 



In saving onions for seed then, care should be taken 

 to select those of the desired shape and color, and of 

 medium size, or a little above it The best time to do 

 this is when they are pulled, as then the perfectly ripe 

 ones are more easily distinguished, than when they are 

 oared. Another advantage to be gained is, that tho 

 earliest may be reserved, it rfder to get an earlier 

 crop, if desired, the next year. Onions intended for 

 seed should be set out about the middle of April, or at 

 the usual time of sowing. The ground should be pre- 

 pared in the same manner as for the regular crops, and 

 then laid out in drills about three feet apart, and four 

 inches deep. In these drills the onions are to be 

 placed, four or five inches apart, covered with fine 

 dirt and gently pressed down with the feet, or hand 

 roller. As soon as they are well out of ground, they 

 should be gone through with a hoe or cultivator, and 

 the weeds kept down by occasionally hoeing the 

 ground, and weeding, until the seed is ripe. The 



writer has found that digging a trench between th* 

 rows, either with a spade or hoe, about tte time tne 

 seed is in blossom, arid working the dirt thus dug oul 

 around the onion stalks, is beneficial. Care should oe 

 taken after the onions have blossomed, noi to handle 

 them, or disturb their roots. 



The seed matures about the same time hat. oniont 

 raised from the seed get ripe. The time for gathering 

 is when the heads assume a brown color, and the balls 

 begin to crack and show the seed. The heads should 

 then be cut off and exposed to the sun on a blanket 

 or floor, until the seed will readily shell ; then by rub- 

 bing with the hands, or threshing with a flail if a 

 quantity is raised, the seed is made ready to be passed 

 through a fanning-mill, or exposed to a winnowing 

 process. After this is done, the seed should be put in 

 a vessel of water, and only that which readily sinks .a 

 to be preserved. It is then dried in the sun for two 

 or three days, and put away in a -jag, in a dry, airy 

 place, until wanted. Onion seed should never be 

 trusted after it is two years old. 



The price of seed varies as much as the price of the 

 onions themselves, ranging from $1.00 to $5.00 pei 

 pound. The different varieties when planted for seed, 

 should be put at considerable distance apart, as the 

 seed readily mixes. From three to five pounds of seed 

 are usually raised from a bushel of oniona 



No. II. 



BY JOHN H. SHERWOOD, F AIRFIELD CO., CT. 



THE Onion has become an important vegetable in 

 our markets, and the demand is yearly increasing at 

 prices which make their cultivation profitable. Large 

 quantities of onions are produced in this vicinity, and 

 I will offer a few remarks on their cultivation which 

 I have derived from much experience and observation, 

 trusting they may be of advantage to those who wish 

 to cultivate them. Experience will be found the best 

 teacher, but a few facts and general ideas put in print, 

 will be a great help to new beginners. 



THE SOIL most congenial to them is a strong damp 

 loam, and I think the crop is generally larger where 

 a small quantity of clay exists in the soil. I have 

 known large crops on quite stiff clay soil when the 

 land is well under-drained. 



To have onions succeed well, the ground on which 

 they are planted should have been cultivated at least 

 two yeare with some hoed crops, and highly manured 

 for those crops. Commencing with grass land, the first 

 crop might be corn, next year potatoes, or what is 

 better, carrots, as potatoes are apt to rot with 

 high wanting. My reason for cultivating two 



years before the onion crop, is, because the grass- 

 roots in the soil require that time to decay besides, the 

 soil is so loose, that worms are apt to injure the onions, 

 if not destroy most of the crop. 



The kind of onion usually grown here, is the red, 

 and those are preferred which approach the nearest 

 to a globe in shape, as the yield per acre is greater. 

 The white, though better for the table, and command- 

 ing near one third more in price, is but little cultivated, 

 as the crop is seldom as large, and the care required 

 in curing them, prevents their general cultivation. 

 They are very liable to mildew and decay, which, be- 

 ing conspicuous on their white skins, makes them less 

 salable than the stronger red skins 



SEED. Nothing is of more importance in securing a 

 good crop of onions, than having fresh new seed of tht 

 right kind, as many fail when they depend on imported 

 seed, or that which is raised we know not where 01 

 how raised to sell, probably. Many men in this v> 

 cinity loat their crop last year from this canse, the 

 fault being entirely in the seed, as that raised by them- 

 selves or neighbors, planted side by side, did well 



