THE CULTURE OF ONIONS. 323 



crop, the soil is the vehicle for the conveyance of food to the 

 crop, quite as much as for the furnishing of it from its own 

 resources. Hence perfect tillage is indispensable for the 

 proper digestion of the manure in the soil, to fit \ it for the 

 nutrition of the plants. This point is especially noteworthy; 

 for as has been explained heretofore, plant food is digested 

 in the soil by the chemical action of the atmosphere aided 

 by the finely divided and porous condition of the land; and 

 therefore where high manuring is necessary for the produc- 

 tion of any crop, it is equally necessary that the soil should 

 be most thoroughly pulverized. And while this is desira- 

 ble for any crop, it is indispensable for success with onions. 



For this reason onions will grow upon any kind of soil if 

 it is made quite fine, and is filled with manure. "As rich as 

 an onion bed" has thus become a popular byword, but it is a 

 true one> and is justified by the facts. The manure should 

 be fine so that it may be intimately mixed with the soil by 

 harrowing; and no other implement so perfectly does this 

 work as the Acme pulverizing harrow; for its peculiar ac- 

 tion in cutting up the soil, smoothing it, and turning it over, 

 mixes the fine manure with it so that these shallow rooted 

 plants can get a full supply of it. This crop needs to have 

 its food near the surface. 



The best fertilizers for onions are superphosphate of lime, 

 of which 600 Ibs. per acre is generally used; wood ashes, 20 

 to 40 bushels per acre; salt, 5 or 6 bushels; and night soil 

 composted with earth which is the best of manures, because 

 it is fine, rich in all the required elements of plant food, and 

 rapidly decomposes in the soil. The land thus well pre- 

 pared and brought to a smooth level surface, is sown with 

 12 to 20 Ibs. of seed per acre. The most popular varieties 

 are the yellow Danvers; white globe; and red Wethersfield; 

 in the order named. The last mentioned is the best keeper; 

 the second is the mildest flavored; and the first is the most 

 prolific and is but slightly inferior to the others in their best 

 points. The seed is sown by a hand drill which drops and 

 covers it and rolls the land over it. This is a convenient 

 method, because it leaves the rows well marked for the early 



