394 THE KITCHEN GARDEN. [MAY 



of this very excellent vegetable ought to be cultivated in every gar- 

 den. (For the methods of sowing, see page 203.) 



ONIONS. 



The onions which were sown at an early season, with an expecta- 

 tion of their growing to a sufficient size for table use the first year 

 from seed, should now be perfectly cleared from weeds, and the 

 plants thinned to about three inches from one another, being careful 

 to leave the largest and best. They should be thinned at an early 

 period, atad kept totally free of weeds from the moment of their ap- 

 pearance above ground to the period of their perfection. 



This work may either be performed by hand or with a small hoe. 

 The latter is the quickest method, and the stirring the ground there- 

 with will be of great service to the growth of the plants. Have for 

 this purpose a small one-hand hoe about two inches broad, or, in 

 want of this, an old table-knife, bent a little at the end, about an 

 inch, by heating in a fire, will answer very well for small or mode- 

 rate crops, and use a six inch wide scuffle hoe between the rows. 



The plantations arising from seed onions should now be kept very 

 clean, and also the late sown crops intended to produce small bulbs 

 for next year's planting. 



TURNIPS. 



Hoe and thin your advancing crops of turnips, and sow some more 

 of the early Dutch or early stone kinds for a succession. This sowing 

 should be performed in the first week of the month, in order that 

 the roots should have time to grow to a good size before their being 

 overtaken by the great summer heat and drought, which' are very 

 inimical to them. In the doing of this, take advantage of moist or 

 cloudy weather or immediately after rain, and sow the seed on a bed 

 of good mellow ground, thin and even ; tread it down and rake it in 

 regularly. It is only in very damp and cool seasons, however, that 

 these late sowings will be of use. 



HAMBURG PARSLEY, SCORZONERA, AND SALSAFY. 



The young crops of Hamburg or large-rooted parsley, scorzonera, 

 and salsafy, must now be carefully cleaned from weeds, and the plants 

 should be thinned or hoed out to proper distances, that their roots 

 may have room to swell, thinning them to about six inches asunder. 



Early in this month you may sow principal crops of salsify and 

 scorzonera, for autumn and winter use ; for those that are sown now 

 will not be so subject to run to seed as those which were sown in the 

 former months, and their roots will be in excellent order for the table 

 during the entire autumn and winter.* For a more particular ac- 

 count of these plants, see pages 207 and 338. 



* Late sown salsafy does not always vegetate, although the roots of such 

 are more tender for winter use. The seedsman sometimes gets blamed for 

 this without reason. Sow early for surety. 



