234 CHOP GROWING AND CROP FEEDING 



ment, throwing hardly any furrow, but working the surface clean and fine. 

 The seed is drilled as early as the land can be gotten in good condition in 

 the spring, here during the latter part of February, and later with the advanc- 

 ing season, northward. The success of the crop depends on its having the 

 longest part of the cool spring season for its growth. As in the case with 

 sets, we have found that onions keep much better by being cured with the tops 

 left on and stored in this way. We try to get them cured as rapidly as pos- 

 sible, but not too much in the hot sunshine, and above all things take care 

 that rain does not fall on them before being stored. We place them in flats 

 in the hottest place we have under cover, up near the barn roof, and when 

 well cured store them in a cooler place. If spread out thinly and not dis- 

 turbed while frozen a little freezing will not do any harm, but we prefer to 

 keep them just above the freezing point. 



VARIETIES FOR KEEPING. 



We have tested a great many varieties of onions and while almost any of 

 the sorts commonly grown in the North will keep very well, we have found that 

 the best keepers to grow here in the South are the Southport White Globe 

 and the New Opal. This last is a yellowish red onion introduced to our 

 notice by Messrs. George Tait & Son, of Norfolk, Va., and it is the best keep- 

 er out of 16 varieties tried at the same time. Any of the Italian onions will 

 make large crops from the black seed, but as a rule they are poor keepers. 

 Their earliness makes them desirable in the South as they can be sent to mar- 

 ket before the Northern crop comes in. The same may be said of the Potato 

 onion grown from fall planted sets. These, when allowed to ripen, are ready 

 for sale earlier than any other ripe onions and usually bring good prices. 

 But they must be disposed of at once as soon as ripe, as they will not keep 

 long unsprouted. 



ANOTHER METHOD OF GROWING ONIONS. 



Of late years a new plan has been proposed for the growing of early 

 and large onions. This is by sowing the seed under glass and transplanting 

 the young onions to their permanent quarters as soon as the weather will 

 permit. We tried this method of culture with a large number of varieties, 

 and have found that with the Bermuda, Spanish and Italian onions the 

 method is a good one, but that it is of no advantage with the sorts commonly 

 grown from seed by the large onion growers in the North. We have found 

 it a very good plan with the Bermuda onions in this climate to sow the seeds 



