142 Subtropical Vegetable-Gardening 



should be done with a knife, that is, large weeds should 

 not be pulled when growing in the row. For this purpose 

 there are knives made, which may be obtained from most 

 supply stores, but an old case-knife may be bent into good 

 shape without costing as much. The point is turned up to 

 lessen the danger of hacking into the onion plants as the 

 knife is being used. The ordinary garden-hoes do not 

 work well in the fields ; a worn-out one that has been cut 

 down to half its width, so as to leave the corners acute, 

 will work fairly well. A sharp Dutch or thrust-hoe is 

 also useful for weeding onions. All tools should be kept as 

 sharp as the steel will permit ; a dull hoe will soon use up 

 more time than would pay for a new one. 



The large-scale method of onion-growing. 



The large-scale method of raising onions, where labor 

 is expensive, is to sow the seed in the field where the crop 

 is to grow. This method is followed in many onion- 

 growing sections. The land is prepared in the same way 

 as for setting out. Sowing is best done by a seed drill. 

 The drill is set so it will sow from 12 to 36 seeds to the 

 linear foot, according to the variety and the germinating 

 quality of the seed. The rows should be made from 

 15 to 20 inches apart for hand culture, and 2 to 3 feet for 

 horse culture. In dry weather, the seed is very slow to 

 germinate. It has been known to lie in the ground for 

 six weeks without a perceptible change. To anticipate 

 such a condition, one should mix radish or rape seed with 

 the onion seed in such proportion that one of these seeds 

 will be dropped about every foot. Radish and rape seeds 

 spring up quickly and are easily seen. They will mark the 



