FARMER'S ASSISTANT. 271 



Those which have thick necks and the bulbous part small, 

 and are commonly called scallions, may as well be left in 

 the ground during the Winter, as they will continue green 

 till that time: They will stand the frost; and the next 

 Spring will grow in their places to be good onions ; or they 

 may then be taken up and set in a bed made for that pur- 

 pose. At all events, they are good for nothing, without a 

 second year's growth. 



There is a kind of onion which, instead of bearing seed, 

 bears bunches of small onions on its top, and these being 

 preserved, and set out the next year, grow to be large, and 

 their tops again bear the small ones. Probably these are 

 best calculaied for more southerly climates, though they 

 grow very well in this. 



In the Fall, after the onions have been dried, and the tops 

 cut off, they are to be carried in and spread over a floor; 

 and, at the commencement of cold weather, put into 

 casks, and set in a place where they will not freeze. A 

 little freezing, however, will not essentially injure them. 

 The place where they are kept, should not, at all events, 

 be too warm and moist, as this will cause them to rot. IE 

 they be kept where they are somewhat frozen, they should 

 not be disturbed in their frozen state ; but the better way is, 

 cot to suffer them to be frozen, but to keep them in a tem- 

 perature a little above the freezing point. 



Those which are shiped from Newengland, for market, 

 are usually tied up in wisps of straw, and if they be hung 

 up in this way they will, perhaps, keep longer than any 

 other. If they incline to sprout, sear the roots with a hot 

 iron, which will stop their growih. 



To obtain seed from the onions, plant them in the Spring 

 in beds, about nine inches apart. Take the largest and 

 soundest for this purpose, and keep them clear of weeds 

 while growing. When they have come to a head, tie them 

 loosely to stakes drove clown for that purpose ; otherwise 

 they will fall to the ground, and then the seeds will not 

 come to perfection. 



A bed thus prepared, and cultivated, will last many years; 

 and the seeds which it produces will be better as the bed 

 grows older. For the purpose, however, of preserving the 

 bed, it must be protected from the severity of the Winter*, 

 by covering the onions over with earth, to the depth of 

 about three inches, or more if requisite ; and, in the Spring, 

 they are to be uncovered again. If any of them happen to 

 die, their place is to be supplied by suing others in their 

 stead. 



It is said that soot, and ashes are, each, very good ma- 

 nures for onions. Apply these when the bulb begins to 

 form. 



