174 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



inches thick on the floor of a loft and cover with a foot or so 

 of hay. Thus arranged they will not freeze until severe 

 weather sets in and will remain frozen until spring. They 

 may also be put in water-proof bins in the field where grown 

 and treated in the same way. They should never be han- 

 dled when frozen, as they are apt to bruise. Freezing and 

 thawing several times seriously injures them, but if kept 

 frozen and gradually thawed out they come out in very nice 

 condition. After thawing out, they will not keep well, but 

 quickly start to grow, and should be disposed of at once. 

 The Prizetaker and similar kinds are an exception to this 

 rule and are likely to be ruined if frozen. 



Onion sets is a term applied to small onions that are 

 planted out in the spring instead of seeds. If onions under 

 three-fourths of an inch in diameter are planted out in the 

 spring, they do not go to seed as do larger onions, but form 

 new bulbs, much earlier than they are formed when grown 

 from seed. Taking advantage of this fact, it has become 

 a common practice to raise these small onions (sets) and 

 plant them out for early summer use. It does not matter 

 how small the set is, and one the size of a pea is as good as 

 one much larger. The size generally preferred is about one- 

 half an inch in diameter. 



Planting Onion Sets. The method of planting sets 

 is to have the land in the same condition as recommended 

 for onion seed and plant the sets as soon as the soil can 

 be worked in the spring. In doing this mark off the land 

 in drills twelve inches apart and push each set down firmly 

 three inches deep into the mellow soil, leaving them three 

 inches apart. This is done by hand, and each set is han- 

 dled separately, so as to have them right side up. The 

 drill is then closed in with the feet or rake, so that each set 

 is entirely covered up. If the ground is dry, it is some- 



