226 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



who grows fine vegetables for the love of it: Sow the seed in the 

 spring, say March, not later than April, then as the plants develop 

 in the drills which have been sown not too thick, and begin to as- 

 sume size and form of bulb, at both sides of the row begin to re- 

 move the earth with the hoe, the object being to retard the growth 

 or top and form a "set" below. This is repeated, going along each 

 side of the growing onions, removing the dirt and even cutting 

 some of the roots a second time. The tops begin to wither but the 

 bulb increases in size until finally you run the hoe entirely under 

 the roots severing them and leaving the now new-formed "sets" to 

 dry for a few days, when you take them by the handful from the 

 row and shake off the dirt and put them away under cover from 

 sun in a cool place until, say, October. Then plant these "sets" 

 and they will grow to onions fast and in advance of anything you 

 can get from seed and give you large juicy onions. 



Rotation. The advantage of clean land for onions has been 

 mentioned. This is often best secured by allowing onions to follow 

 carrots or potatoes or corn. The cultivation of these vegetables 

 sprouts and kills many weeds, which are more easily handled in 

 connection with those crops than with the onions. The cultivation 

 also renders the soil more friable, which is a prime requisite to the 

 growth of onions. 



Intercropping. Large quantities of onions are grown in straw- 

 berry regions, being irrigated incidentally in connection with the 

 berries. The strawberry plants are on ridges in rows eighteen or 

 twenty inches apart; the onion row between the strawberry rows 

 parallel thereto in the center of the ridge, the ridges being also 

 eighteen to twenty inches apart, so the water runs down between 

 the ridges. Onions are also grown between the trees in young 

 orchards on rich, deep, moist, or irrigated land. This cannot be 

 long continued to advantage, as onions do not take kindly to shade, 

 but delight in full sunshine. 



Varieties. Out of the multitude of varieties a few have proved 

 most serviceable and satisfactory for California conditions : 



Barletta: very early, small, pure white, smooth and handsome; largely 

 grown for pickling, also for early top onions in garden culture. 



California Early Red: very early, large size, flattish, mild flavor; not a 

 good keeper. Chiefly grown by Italian market gardeners and the variety 

 probably was introduced from Italy. 



New Queen or Pearl : small, early white, fine flavor. Chiefly grown for 

 pickling and for top onions. 



Silver Skin or White Portugal: silvery white, medium size, excellent 

 flavor and esteemed for table use. Small bulbs largely used for pickling. 



e Southport White Globe : leading variety in Los Angeles market ; silvery 

 white, wax-like; young onions very handsome; mature bulbs keep well. 



Prize-Taker or Spanish King: very large and beautiful, rich straw color, 

 flesh white, sweet and tender; productive and keeps well. 



Australian Brown: flat, light brown, a long keeper and good shipper; 

 very productive on rich sandy soil with ample moisture. A leading com- 

 mercial variety. 



