162 THE PRACTICAL GARDEN -BOOK 



potted, using soil with a large proportion of sand. Well 

 established plants may be repotted in good loam and well 

 rotted manure. 



Onions are grown from seeds (" black seed") 



for the main crop. They are also grown from sets (whioh 

 are very small Onions, arrested in their development), from 

 "tops" (which are bulblets produced in the place of flowers), 

 and from multipliers or potato onions, which are compound 

 bulbs. 



The extremely early crop of Onions is grown from sets, 

 and the late or fall crop is grown from seed sown in April 

 or early May. The sets may be saved from the crop har- 

 vested the previous fall, saving no bulbs measuring over % 

 of an inch in diameter, or, better, they may be pur- 

 chased from the seedsman. These sets should be 

 planted as early as possible in the spring, preferably 

 on land that has been manured and trenched in the 

 fall. Plant in rows 12 inches apart, the sets being 2 

 or 3 inches in the row. Push the sets well down into 

 the ground and cover with soil, firming them with the 

 feet or a roller. In cultivating, the soil should be 

 thrown towards the tops, as the white stems are 

 usually sought as an indication of mildness. The 

 crop will be in condition to use in from three to 

 four weeks, and may be made to last until small 



Early Onions J 



seed Onions are to be had. Tops or multipliers 

 may also be used for the early crop. 



In growing Onions from seed, it is only necessary to say 

 that the seed should be in the ground very early in order 

 that the bulbs make their growth before the extreme hot 

 weather of August, when, for want of moisture and be- 

 cause of the heat, the bulbs will ripen up while small. 

 Early in April, in New York, if the ground is in condition, 

 the seed should be sown thickly in drills from 12 to 16 inches 

 apart, and the ground above the seeds well firmed. Good 

 cultivation and constant weeding is the price of a good crop 



