ONION 



ONION 



2351 



and closes a diamond-shaped opening, are the best, as 

 the operator can regulate exactly the amount of seed 

 .sown. 



The seed should be sown in rows 12 to 14 inches 

 apart, and at the rate of three and one-half to four and 

 one-half pounds to the acre, according to soil and seed. 

 A soil which produces heavy tops requires less seed 



2588. Top onions. ( X H) 



than the drier, sandy soil which grows small tops. The 

 plants should stand from 1 to 3 inches apart in the row. 

 The seed should be sown from J^ to 1 inch deep, accord- 

 ing to soil. 



Cultivation should begin as soon as the plants are 

 up enough for the rows to be seen. Begin with a double- 

 wheel straddle cultivator if one is at hand, setting the 

 knives as closely as can be worked without covering 

 the young plants, and continue as often as necessary 

 to keep weeds destroyed and the ground loose on top 

 until the plants are too large to get through. The last 

 time through may be done with a single-wheel machine, 

 which will throw a little earth up to the plants. A 

 single-wheel machine may be used throughout the 

 season, but the double-wheel is preferable for the first 

 part of the work. 



On light soil, a hand-weeder may be used with profit 

 after the young plants have reached 3 to 5 inches in 

 height. This works two rows at one passage, stirring 

 the soil in the rows where the wheel-hoes do not work, 

 and greatly reduces the amount of hand-weeding to be 

 done. Of course, hand-weeding must be done as often 

 as necessary to keep the beds clean. 



Harvesting may be done in the following manner: If 

 the crop ripens evenly, so that there are no green tops 

 standing, the topping can be done most rapidly before 

 the onions are pulled. By using a thin, sharp knife, 

 taking the dry tops in one hand and cutting from the 

 person, the work can be done quickly and well. Be 

 careful not to tear the skin down the side. The length 

 to cut the tops is a point of importance and must not 

 be overlooked. If the tops are left too long they have 

 a ragged appearance, and if too short, there is danger 

 of causing the onions to rot in the tops, because of 

 bruising or because of water having gone to the inside 

 of the onions. The proper length is about ^ inch from 

 the bulb; or, take an onion by the top, with the thumb 

 and forefinger close to the bulb, and cut the top close 

 to the fingers The pulling may be done by hand, but a 



puller made to fit a hand-cultivator is much more rapid 

 and does not injure the bulbs. The puller is simply a 

 curved knife with one or more fingers to move the bulbs 

 slightly after the roots are cut. In light dry soil it 

 works very well without any fingers. 



Many growers prefer to pull the onions first, allowing 

 them to dry a few days before topping. This is what 

 should be done if the tops do not dry evenly, or if the 

 crop is late and needs to be hurried; and is all right in 

 any case, though not quite so rapid as the other way. 



After the onions are topped, they should be gotten 

 under cover as soon as possible. Let them dry a day or 

 two if the weather is favorable and then pick them up 

 and store in the curing-shed. If allowed to lie too long 

 on the ground the skin peels off too much. The shed 

 should have doors or ventilators at each end from top 

 to bottom, so that the air can pass through freely 

 and be free under the floor. If the floor is tight, with no 

 circulation under it, lay some 2 by 4 scantling on the 

 floor and lay a loose board floor over them without nail- 

 ing; then take some pieces of 2 by 4 sawed just 1 foot 

 long and nail them to the floor at even distances for 

 posts to carry stringers for the next floor. Use 2 by 4 

 for the stringers; set them on edge, nail them to the 

 posts and all is ready for the onions. This gives a space 

 of 16 inches. Fill 12 inches (the length of the posts) and 

 leave the 4 inches for air-space. Lay another floor and 

 proceed as before, being careful to get the upper posts 

 directly over the lower ones, or the stringers will break 

 after two or three floors are in. 



In handling the onions, bushel boxes are the most 

 convenient. Pick them up in common baskets, leaving 

 all small, defective, or odd-colored bulbs on the ground, 

 to be picked up separately and sorted as occasion may 

 require. Dump in the boxes, then drive along the side 

 of the bed with a platform wagon, and load. Have a 

 screen about 4 feet long by 2 feet wide made of narrow 

 strips Yt to 1 inch wide and about 1 inch apart and the 

 sides 10 inches high. Put legs on one end about 14 or 15 

 inches long and on the other end long enough to give it 

 a sufficient incline to make the onions roll down freely. 

 With an old coffee sack, make a bag like a sheet hung 

 by the corners with hooks, to hang under the screen, in 

 order to catch the dirt and leaves. Carry the boxes of 

 onions directly from the wagon to the screen and pour 

 them over it, moving the screen back as the floor is 

 filled to the proper depth. This will take out all the 

 dirt and most of the loose leaves, and make the onions 

 come out of the shed in much better shape. They should 

 lie in the shed until they are dry enough to peel off 

 another skin, and rattle and crackle when the arm is 

 run in among them. 



If all has gone well, the crop should average 500 

 bushels to the acre on good land, or 600 bushels on very- 

 rich land, and 700 or 800 bushels on a single acre selected 

 from the best part of a 10-acre field. 



2589. A multiplier onion. 



2590. Section of a mul- 

 tiplier onion. 



There is an old saying, "the time to sell is when some- 

 one wants to buy." This is a very good rule to apply, 

 unless one is prepared for cold weather or is reasonably 

 sure of an advance in price. In a general way, it is best 

 to ship in sacks of even size and not too large, one and 

 three-fourths to two and one-fourth bushels. These 

 points must be governed by the market. In sacking to 

 ship, always throw out all defective bulbs and all of 



