THE onion; its varieties and cultivation. 131 



force-feeders, and agitators. I prefer the first two. There is 

 one that plants two rows at a time. Two men will produce 

 very different results with the same machine or with seed from 

 the same bag. In Connecticut the seed is sometimes dropped 

 in bunches alternating with carrots ; the carrots then have an 

 opportunity to make a late growth. From three and a half to 

 eight pounds of seed is sown on an acre ; four pounds is about 

 the usual quantity, but four and a half or five pounds may 

 be used on new soil, and from five to six pounds on very rich 

 soil. It is important to plant early ; certainly before the close of 

 the first week in May. The rows should be from twelve to eigh- 

 teen inches apart. If there are any blank spaces the}' should not 

 be filled in with tomatoes, cabbages, or other large-growing 

 plants, as these grow to shade more of the crop than they are 

 worth. 



As to weeding, I would say — Be sure to weed just as soon 

 as a row can be seen. It is a good plan to sow radish seed 

 with the onions, that the rows may be distinguished more plainly. 

 If two or three rainy days come, this means an extra weeding. 

 I have tested twelve different sorts of weeders and like the hori- 

 zontal best for use when the onions are small. One kind, which 

 I think well of, weeds two rows at a time. There is one, called 

 the finger-weeder, which gives the operator very complete control 

 over his work. With a sliding weeder there is danger of cutting 

 or bruising the bulbs. It is an excellent plan to double-slide 

 them as we go along, first close to one row and then close to the 

 other. They should be weeded from five to seven times during 

 the season. 



For the onion maggot, I have found hens and chickens a pos- 

 sible remedy. A hen and brood of chickens will take care of from 

 an acre to an acre and a half. 



In harvesting green onions should not be mixed with dry ones. 

 "When most of the tops are down there is danger of their re-root- 

 ing. In Connecticut they are harvested earlier than here. On 

 highly manured land they will be ready to harvest earlier than on 

 land not so much enriched. A cultivator with a scraper attached 

 is a good thing to clean the bed with. I freeze a part of my 

 crop, piling them fifteen inches deep and from fifteen inches to 

 two feet from the wall of the building, the space between the wall 

 and the onions being filled with hay ; they are then covered two 



