ESSEX SOCIETY. 51 



4. The care necessary to be applied while growing. 



Much of the success of the crop depends on this care. At 

 first, the plant is extremely tender, and requires to be handled with 

 much caution. Any derangement of the fibres or roots of the 

 young plant, is attended with prejudicial consequences. Much 

 attention is necessary to prevent weeds gaining the ascendency ; 

 and in eradicating the weeds. Want of due care in this is often 

 the cause of failure of the crop. We have known, the present 

 season, a highly promising crop to be injured tiventy per cent, at 

 least, by permitting the weeds to remain unnoticed one week too 

 long. This is especially true when there has been a want of 

 due care in preventing the scattering of the seeds of the weeds 

 on the land in the years preceding. Care should be taken, both 

 that no weeds shall ripen their seed upon the land, and that no 

 weed-seed shall be found in the manure. In this respect, warm 

 stable manure, muscle-bed and ashes have a decided superiority 

 over all other manures. Perhaps there is no plant more liable 

 to be injured by weeds than the onion. The fibres it sends out 

 are very numerous, minute, and tender; any fracture of any of 

 these necessarily impairs the perfection of the plant. When the 

 land is in proper condition, two careful weedings are all that 

 may be necessary. The rest of the stirring of the ground that 

 may be required to promote the growth, can be done with the 

 onion hoe ; an instrument, specially constructed for the purpose, 

 moving on wheels, and adapted to the width of the rows. This 

 hoe was invented by Joseph Bushby, of Danvers, an intelligent 

 and successful cultivator of garden vegetables, about twenty-five 

 years since ; and was used by himself and neighbors only for 

 about ten years. It has now come into general use, and saves 

 much of back-aching labor. The usual distance between the 

 rows is fourteen inches. This can be varied according to the 

 quality and condition of the soil. Keeping the ground well 

 stirred, loose and free of weeds, greatly facilitates the bottoming 

 of the onion. There is no plant that will better reward diligent 

 care in the cultivation. The entire difference between a boun- 

 tiful crop, and no crop at all, often depends on this. The old 

 maxim, "a stitch in time saves nine," applies with great force 

 in raising onions. 



