8 



HOW TO EAISE ONIONS 



the onions, to clean out any weeds that may be still 

 standing on the ground. The carrots will grow rapid- 

 ly till frost, and even after. 



HARVESTING. The onions should be pulled as soon 

 as the tops have mostly fallen, which shows ma- 

 turity. Lay them in rows, two or three rows together, 

 straight and evenly, and when the tops are nearly dry. 

 cut them off, leaving about two inches of the stalk. 

 Leave them to dry a few days longer if they are to be 

 stored, or they may be marketed immediately. In 

 topping, have the bottoms at the left hand, and the 

 knife or shears (some use common sheep-shears) in the 

 right, when, if they are laid evenly, you can take a 

 number at once instead of taking each one singly, and 

 boys that are used to it will top them very fast. 



BUNCHING. To bunch onions rapidly and handsome- 

 ly requires much practice, but some boys will make 

 from three to four hundred bunches a day. It is done 

 thus : Take about two feet in length of the butt- end 

 of rye straw, and in size nearly as large as a broom- 

 stick when drawn together by the twine. Commence 

 at the bottom, and wind common wrapping twine 

 around it for three inches, drawing it up tight, then 

 put on a circle of four medium-sized onions to begin 

 with, take a turn round the neck of these, draw them 

 up snug to the straw, tying the next on the top of 

 them. As you proceed, press them down snug upon 

 each other with the thumb of the left hand, and wind 

 the twine once around to each onion, tapering them 

 up from a good-sized one at the bottom, to the size of 

 a large walnut at the top, and from ten to twelve in 

 length. Keep the rows straight, and with a little 



practice, you can make a neat bunch that will suit, is 

 many markets, better than loose onions, and also U3*r 

 up and make salable the small-sized onions. 



An average crop with us may be stated at from four 

 hundred to five hundred bushels per acre, though we 

 sometimes get six hundred. The price varies from thir- 

 ty-five to fifty cents per bushel delivered at the landing 

 on tide-water direct from the field. "When the shippers 

 pay from two to three dollars the hundred bunches, of 

 three pounds to the bunch, for large quantities, taking 

 the whole crop at once and directly from the field, it is 

 considered a profitable crop. There is little done in the 

 retail way, except for a few early ones iu our home 

 markets. 



STORING. Store your onions in a dry cool place, to 

 keep through the winter. The garret is a good place 

 for those who wish to keep a few for family use, cov- 

 ering them with some old cloth to prevent their thaw- 

 ing when once frozen. But if you wish to keep a 

 large quantity, any out-building that is tolerably tight, 

 will answer by packing the sides with hay or straw, 

 and covering the top with the same. The cellar, unless 

 very dry, is not a good place to keep them, on account 

 of their growing if kept too warm. A basement-story 

 perhaps would answer if not too warm. They should 

 not be moved while frozen, except you wish to cook 

 them immediately. 



I have written especially with regard to the onion 

 as a field crop, for in this section they are raised aa 

 such, by farmers who cultivate quite large tracts, and 

 in fields from one half-acre to three acres. 



No. IV. 



BY D. C. REYNOLDS, CLINTON CO., PA. 



THE onion tribe, consisting of the onion, leek, garlic, 

 and shallot, are all natives of Eastern countries, but 

 they seem to be well adapted to certain portions of the 

 United States, and acquire considerable pungency of 

 flavor in this climate. 



In order to be successful in growing the onion, the 

 soil must be rich, light, and deep, and in a situation 

 well exposed to the sun. You must not think of sow- 

 ing the seed until you have worked the bed well to 

 the depth of eighteen inches, enriching it, and beating 

 it flat and firm with a spade. 



Some may suppose it early, but I always sow my 

 omon seed sometime in March, not being at all parti- 

 cular as to the precise time of the month, or having 

 any regard to the superstition so prevalent in regard to 

 signs. No good gardener can dispense with the line : 

 he will therefore scratch drills by the line just deep 

 enough to be clearly eeen, and then distribute the 



seeds along the drills about three or four seeds to the 

 inch. 



Next, sift fine sandy earth over the seeds, and pat 

 the surface even. Finally, scatter leached ashes over 

 the bed, evenly, to the depth of about one eighth of 

 an inch. Be careful to allow no weeds to grow up and 

 choke the young plants. This is a very important pre- 

 caution, as I think the shade caused by rank weeds is 

 one of the greatest causes of small crops in this coun- 

 try. As the onions grow, they must be thinned out; 

 allowing alternately a space between, fully equal to 

 the breadth of the onion from bulb to bulb. There 

 are some who prefer to sow onions broadcast, but I am 

 satisfied they lose more by their indolence than they 

 gain in point of economy of time. After the onions 

 have somewhat advanced, it will be beneficial to scat- 

 ter common salt among them, the chemical properties 

 of the salt seem to cause them to enlarge. 



