72 GARDENING 



beds should be hoed and thinned out^and these 

 should be then young onions fit for salads. The 

 beds should be again hoed and thinned out from 

 time to time as the onions may be wanted. Care- 

 fully remove all weeds, as they are very injurious 

 to the crops, and let the air circulate freely 

 among them. Onions sown in March will be ready 

 to take up in August or September. It is a 

 good plan about a month or six weeks before the 

 onions are ready to take up, bend the stalk down 

 flat on the bed, to throw all the strength of the 

 plant into the bulb, and to prevent its thickening 

 at the neck ; the bend should be made two inches 

 from the neck. Watering is not often needed 

 except after transplanting, which must be given for 

 several successive evenings. 



A little liquid manure given twice a week is 

 most beneficial to their growth. Watering the 

 bulbs after they have attained to a reasonable size 

 will do more harm than good. 



When onions are ready to take up, they should 

 be drawn and dried on the ground, about ten 

 days after which they may be gathered together 

 and topped and tailed, and made into bunches or 

 ropes. 



Onions of the largest size are obtained by sow- 

 ing the seeds in August and pricking out the seed- 

 lings from six inches to one foot in the early 

 spring. In storing onions, any dry cool place will 

 answer ; they may be hung in bunches on an open 

 wall, under the shelter of the eaves of any building, 

 but during frost they must be taken down and put 

 into a dry place under cover ; damp starts them 

 into growth, when they will have topped and 

 tailed again. Onions may also be placed in heaps 



