324 THE CULTURE OF FARM CROPS. 



use of the cultivator which follows the sowing very soon, 

 and before the young plants are visible. The rows are 

 made 12 inches apart. 



In a week the seed sower is changed to a hand cultivator, 

 and is run along the rows, straddling them and stirring the 

 soil on both sides, so as to destroy the newly germinating 

 weeds. This work is repeated frequently, not only to kill 

 the weeds, but for the purpose of helping the growth of the 

 crop. When the young plants are well up, they are thinned 

 out with a narrow "onion hoe" to 6 inches apart; some 

 growers leave them no more than 4 inches from each other, 

 and when the soil is very rich, the bulbs may crowd upon 

 each other in the rows. A crop thus grown has measured 

 800 bushels to the acre and has sold for $1.25 per bushel. 



The rows must be kept clean and free from weeds. This 

 is a special point in the culture of this crop. When the 

 bulbs are of good size, some of the plants will throw up thick 

 hollow seed stems, and these are to be broken down, lest the 

 bulbs stop growing. A light roller or a bundle of brush 

 is drawn over the rows to effect this purpose. When they 

 are ripe the bulbs are taken up with a digging fork or hook, 

 and left in rows upon the ground to dry for two or three 

 days. They are then stored on an upper floor of a dry loft, 

 or in shallow bins, in a building kept for the purpose. 

 Freezing does not injure them, if they are kept frozen by 

 covering them with straw to prevent thawing in a mild 

 spell. Warmth will cause them to sprout and become in- 

 jured for sale or use. 



The worst en^my of the onion grower is the maggot which 

 bores in the bulb when it is small; and the cutworm whose 

 bad habits are well known. Prof. Biley the first entomolo- 

 gist in America, advises the following method of evading 

 these pests. 



"As a preventive treat the land early in spring with a 

 mixture of lime and ashes, preferably wood ashes. This 

 mixture should be lightly spread over the land after plow- 

 ing and harrowed in. If, after the seed is sown, and the 

 plants begin to come up, the worms appear and threaten 



