CHAPTER XXIII. 

 CULTURE OF ONIONS. 



NIONS are best grown in an old and well cul- 

 tivated soil. The soil should be plowed deep, 

 well fertilized and allowed to settle thoroughly 

 before planting time. Take care to select a 

 piece of land that is not infested with weed 

 seeds. Onions have no bad enemies except 

 cut-worms, and are generally very easily 

 grown. The variety which thrives best in this 

 country is the Bermuda, which is largely grown in similar cli- 

 mates, and has reached such a state of perfection in both quality 

 and flavor that it is grown to the exclusion of all others for early 

 shipment to the Northern states. 



For growing in the open field, about three or four pounds 

 per acre of seed is sown. These should be thinned when about 

 three or four inches high and thoroughly cultivated at all times. 

 Cultivation should be shallow, as the roots of an onion do not 

 penetrate to any great depth in the soil. The ground on which 

 they are planted must, of course, be well enriched, and this should 

 be done some time previous to prevent any possible effect from 

 the caustic action in the fertilizer. 



Growing onions from sets has frequently been practiced with 

 admirable results. The seed for sets is sown very thickly rather 

 late in the spring and must be allowed to grow somewhat larger 

 than the sets that are usually grown in the North, say three- 

 fourths of an inch in diameter. These sets can be planted in 

 the early Fall, say October, in the open field, which has been 

 specially prepared in the same manner as for seed. Should any 

 of these start to seed they can be bunched and shipped green for 

 shallots in our local markets, they being in great demand through- 



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