84 THE CULTURE OF VEGETABLES 



patting the bed all over with the back of the spade. If the ground is 

 damp or heavy, this final touch may be omitted, as the Onion makes 

 a weak grass that cannot well push through earth that is caked over 

 it. But speaking generally, an Onion bed newly sown should be like 

 a long pie, and as smooth as if finished with a rolling-pin. To the 

 beginner this will appear a protracted and complicated story, but the 

 expert will attest that Onions require and will abundantly pay for 

 special management, and if we do not begin well in the business we 

 shall surely not end well. 



As soon as possible after the crop is visible, the ground between 

 should be delicately chopped over with the hoe to check the weeds 

 that will then be rising. And immediately the rows are defined, a 

 first thinning should be made with a two-inch hoe, care being taken 

 to leave a good plant on the ground. The next thinning will produce 

 young Onions for saladings, and this kind of thinning may be con- 

 tinued by removing plants equally all over the bed to insure an even 

 crop, the final distance for bulbing being from three to six inches. 

 The hoe must be kept at work between, for if weeds are allowed to 

 make way, the crop will be seriously injured. When Onions are 

 doing well, they lift themselves up and sit on the earth, needing light 

 and air upon their bulbs to the very axis whence the roots diverge. 

 If weeds spread amongst them the bulbs are robbed of air and light, 

 and their keeping properties are impaired. But in the use of the hoe 

 care must be taken not to loosen the ground or to draw any earth 

 towards the bulbs. When all the thinning has been done, and the 

 weeds are kept down, it will perhaps be observed that in places 

 there are clusters of bulbs fighting for a place and rising out of the 

 ground together as though enjoying the conflict. Now with almost 

 any other kind of plant this crowding would bode mischief, but with 

 Onions it is not so. Bulbs that grow in crowds and rise out of the 

 ground will never be so large as those that have plenty of room, but 

 they will be of excellent quality, and will keep better than any that 

 have had ample space for high development. It is a pity to touch 

 these accidental clusters, for the removal of a portion will perhaps 

 loosen the ground, and so spoil the character of those that are left, 

 for fine Onions are rarely produced in loose ground, and hence the 

 necessity for care in the use of the hoe. Watering is not often needed, 

 and we may go so far as to say that, in a general way, it is objection- 

 able. But a long drought on light land may put the crop in jeopardy, 

 unless watering is resorted to, in which case weak manure water will 

 be beneficial. Still, watering must be discontinued in good time, 



