*" ON ROOT CULTURE. 41 



JAMES P. KING'S STATEMENT. 



Sir, — My cultivation of onions the present year has been, on a lot 

 of land, situate adjoining the Emerson farm containing one acre and 

 one third. In 1842 it was broke up and planted with corn. About 

 four cord of compost manure was then applied. It yielded about fifty 

 bushels to the acre. In 1843, 1 ploughed about nine inches deep, and 

 put on eighteen cartloads of stable manure, and planted carrots, and 

 raised twenty-one tons, which I sold on an average for eight dollars a 

 ton. In 1844, 1 ploughed about six inches deep, and applied about 

 five cords of manure, mostly from stable. I then obtained about 

 four hundred bushels of onions to the acre. 



In 1845, I ploughed shallow, and put on about one hundred bush- 

 els of leached ashes, and four cords of stable manure, and obtained 

 about four hundred and twenty-five bushels to the acre. 



In 1846, 1 put on two leaches of ashes, one hundred and eighty 

 bushels, and three cords of manure ; all costing twenty-five dollars ; 

 and obtained five hundred and sixty bushels of onions. 



In 1847, I ploughed the land but once, applied two cords of mus- 

 cle bed, two leaches of ashes, and one and a half cords of manure ; 

 and obtained six hundred and fifty bushels. Until this year, I have 

 sown the flat onions; this year I sowed part flat and part round. 

 The flat yielded at the rate of four hundred and twenty bushels to the 

 acre. The round yielded at the rate of five hundred and thirty-three 

 bushels to the acre. No difference in the land or treatment. I 

 have used the machine for distributing the seed, and the onion hoe, 

 for clearing the weeds. They were wed twice thoroughly, and hoed 

 and wed the third time. I have been careful to clean all the weeds 

 and refuse material from the land in the autumn. My crop was se- 

 verely injured by the wind in the early part of August. Until this 

 wind came, they looked very large and promising. We thought the 

 injury amounted to one hundred bushels to the acre. The ground is 

 level, and a strong hard soil, rather rocky. My crop has sometimes 

 been affected with what we call the grub-ivorm. It is a dark colored 

 worm, about one and a half inches long, that eats oJ0f the plant close 

 to the ground. I have sometimes known them destroy the rows, sev- 

 eral feet in extent. They operate in the night time, and the only way 

 to prevent it, is to hunt for them, and destroy them. I have known 

 fields entirely destroyed by this worm. 



My mode of management has been much the same as that of oth- 



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