ONION GROWING FOR MARKET. 123 



ONION GROWING 



FOR 



MARKET. 



SOIL. 



IT is the generally received opinion that Onions grow 

 best in old ground. This, I think, is an error. It is not 

 because the ground is "old," or has been long cultivated, 

 that the Onions do better there, but because such lands, 

 from their long culture, are usually better pulverized; 

 and experience has shown me repeatedly, that when new 

 soil has been equally well pulverized and fertilized, an 

 equally good crop is obtained, and usually a cleaner crop, 

 more exempt from rust or mildew. As a matter of fact, 

 the finest crop of Onions I ever beheld was on sandy 

 swamp land, which had been first thoroughly drained and 

 broken up. In fact, new soils, particularly when broken 

 up from pasture land, (turned over early enough in the 

 fall, so that the sod is rotted completely,) make excellent 

 land for Onion crops, as they are usually free from weeds. 

 Such land, however, must be well pulverized by the use of 

 the plow, harrow, and smoothing harrow, or good results 

 may not follow. Much depends on the quality of such 

 soil. If rather sandy loam, it will, of course, be much 

 easier to pulverize than if stiff or clayey loam, and such 

 soil, in my experience, is always preferable for most 

 crops. Such soils, also, are nearly always free from un- 

 der water, rarely requiring artificial drainage, if the land 



