THE HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN 107 



not, apply some water after planting in the frame or cellar, and 

 always take a nice ball of earth with each plant. 



Onions are one of the most popular of vegetables and it is not 

 difficult for the small grower to produce an all the year round 

 supply on a small piece of ground. The ground can hardly be 

 made too rich: cow manure, with some soot added, is extra good 

 as a fertilizer. The ground must be prepared and the seed planted 

 just as soon as possible after frost has left the ground, and it has 

 sufficiently dried out. For the earliest crop plant small sets; we 

 prefer the yellow ones, four inches apart in the rows. Very small 

 sets are the best; those from one-third inch in diameter upwards 

 will largely run to seed. We like to roll or tramp the onion ground 

 before drawing the drills, which can be twelve inches apart, giving 

 another tramp after covering the drills. Just as soon as the seed 

 is sown start cultivating and keep at it constantly until the tops 

 are so much grown as to prevent it; also weed the rows carefully, 

 especially after a rain, when they will pull up most easily. It is 

 no use planting this crop unless this matter of weeding is religiously 

 attended to. 



The so-called new onion culture is really a very old practice 

 and was in vogue in Great Britain half a century or more ago. 

 It consists of sowing seeds in flats or in a cold-frame late in Febru- 

 ary or early in March, and transplanting the seedlings in well- 

 prepared ground about April 20. Very large bulbs are secured in 

 this way; fine for exhibition, but they will not keep well; in fact, 

 very few are sound after Christmas, and this mode of culture is 

 not to be recommended where onions are wanted through the 

 whole winter. For this method of culture Ailsa Craig and Prize- 

 taker are excellent. For sowing outdoors, Danvers Yellow is the 

 onion par excellence; Prizetaker, Australian Brown, and Red 

 Wethersfield are all good. Shallots are a species of onion which 

 if planted at the same time as the onion sets will produce a very 

 heavy crop, each tuber producing ten or twelve new sets, which 

 mature earlier than the onions, keep better, and are excellent for 

 salads as well as cooking. It is surprising that more of these are 

 not grown. 



Asparagus is one of the most highly prized of vegetables and 

 comes in season very early. It does not take a very large bed to 



