ESSEX SOCIETY. 47 



ucts of ihe county. In the town of Dan vers, more money is 

 realized from the sale of the onion, than any other product of 

 the soil. Products of so much value, and commanding so much 

 attention, are fit subjects of inquiry; and if there be any facts 

 relating to their cultivation not generally known, it may be use- 

 ful to have them brought forward. 



In making these inquiries, our attention has been directed 

 almost entirely to practical cultivators, without reference to 

 scientific treatises — our intention being to tell their story, as 

 near as possible, in their own way. 



We shall treat of the subject in the following order : 



1. The preparation of the land. 



2. The manure best adapted to promote the growth. 



3. The raising and planting of the seed. 



4. The care necessary to be applied while growing. 



5. The blights and injuries to which the crop may be liable. 



6. The time and manner of harvesting. 



1. As to the preparation of the land. 



Differing from most other crops, the onion grows well, on the 

 same land, for an indefinite number of years. Instances of con- 

 tinued appropriation of the same pieces of land to the growing 

 of onions, for ten, fifteen, twenty, and even thirty years, have 

 come to our knowledge. It is the opinion of many that the 

 crop is better, after the land has been thus used a few years, 

 than at first. Whether this arises from any influence of the 

 crop upon the soil, or is the effect of continued dressing of ma- 

 nures, we have no means of determining. This is certain, that 

 the qualities of the soil necessary for the production of good 

 crops, are not exhausted by continued cultivation. 



Rarely, if ever, have we known the onion sowed upon the 

 turf when first turned over. It is usual to subdue and pulverize 

 the soil, by the cultivation of corn, or some other crop — not 

 unfrequently the first year with corn, the second with carrots, 

 and afterwards with onions. It is important, before the seed is 

 sowed, that the surface be mellow, finely pulverized, and clear 

 of stones, or other impediments to the free and unobstructed use 

 of the machine for this purpose. The finer and more uniformly 



