1138 



ONION 



not as good a keeper, but altogether one of the best 

 Onions which the home grower, as well as the market- 

 gardener who can sell his crop before late fall and at 

 good prices, could produce 



Start the plants under glass (preferably m green- 

 house) during Januar^ oi Febiuarj, sowing setd nither 



thickly in drills an inch and a half or two inches apart, 

 and using about an ounce of seed to ten square feet of 

 bed surface. The soil should be sandy and very rich. 

 Keep the plants in good growth, and as soon as the patch 

 outdoors can be properly prepared in spring, set the 



rowed in. Unl i ' -I !,■ - i .i' - ,, l',,,,,1 



fertilizer, esp,,' : , i , ■ , :- m tin- 



conservation ,, I ^i,,,,-, i i,,- ;,■■,,,>!, ,~ ,|,,,, k. i\lii,'h 



makes it valual.U- \\l,,ii a liUli- i,L Llie .-.uij.^,,il lia,, been 

 turned up in plowing, giving the youug plants a good 

 start, when, without it, they would be too light-colored 

 and weak in growth. Ashes should be spread as evenly 

 as possible, 75 to 100 bushels per acre on the ground 

 after plowing, and harrowed in. 



Tillage. ~1l\i& harrowing should be thorough, using 

 some kind of a disk or spring-tooth, for the first time 

 over, with a Meeker or some other smoothing harrow 

 for the finish. It is impossible to get a good even stand 



ONION 



of plants if the ground is rough or lumpy, while those 

 that do grow are weak and puny on rough ground. Hand- 

 raking is sometimes necessary to insure germination of 

 seed in a satisfactory manner. 



Ih-'ihuuif. — 'The drainage must be nearly perfect to 

 ;^, 1 I, -I r,-,ili . There should be no hollow places in the 



I , I a sloping piece of land, the dead fur- 



1 ii,,iild be kept open. If there is a natural 



evenly, an uuderdraiu will usually correct the trouble. 

 The time to drain is when the ground is being pre- 

 pared for planting, not after a heavy rain, when water 

 is standing in pools over the field. 



Onion ScecZ. — There are a few growers who can profit- 

 ably grow their own seed, but the masses should buy.. 

 This should be done early, so that there may be no delay 

 at planting time, and also that one may get the best 

 stock obtainable. If one wants 10 pounds or more it is 

 sometimes advisable to order from some one of the large 

 seed houses of the country, but if there is a reliable 

 local dealer who buys seed In bulk, go to him and make 

 your wants known and you can often do better than to 

 send direct to the large seed house, even on quantities 

 of .")0 to 100 pounds. Be sure to know where the seed comes 

 from, and if possible test It before planting. In any case 

 always buy the best seed obtainable, no matter if it costs 

 double the price of other stock. 



The sowing of the seed should be done with one of the 

 standard garden seed drills, the first essentials of which 

 are that the machine can be regulated to sow evenly and 

 in the quantity desired with,,ut <,|,,^'i;iii;;. 'I'l,,, i,ia,liine 

 shiiulil open a row, sow, cov, r. r,,||. an, I inaik III,' iii-xt 

 row, all at one operation. Tin- ma, hin, s \vlii,li have a 

 sliding piece at the bottom nf tli,- li,,i>]i,-r, \\lii,'li ,ipens 

 and closes a diamond-shaped opening, are the best, as 

 the operator can regulate exactly the 



The seed should be sown in rows 12-14 in. apart, am 

 at the rate of SH-lJa pounds per acre, according to sol 

 and seed. A soil which produces heavy tops require^ 

 less seed than the drier, sandy soil which grows sinal 

 tops. The plants should stand from 1-3 in. apart in tlu 

 row. The seed should be sown from K'\ in. ik-eii 

 according to soil. 



Tillage should begin 

 as soon a.s the plants are 

 up enough for the rows 

 to be seen. Begin with 

 a double-wheel straddle 

 cultivator if one is at 

 hand, setting the knives 

 as closely as can be 

 worked without covering 

 the young plants, and 

 continue as often as nee- 



keep weeds df 



through may be done 

 with a single-wheel ma 

 chine, which will throw 

 a little earth up to the 

 plants. A single-wheel 



the seaso 

 ible-wheel 



1535 Album bstulo 



We 



Onic 



ynini- plants have gotten 

 3-.") in. high. This works two rows at one passage stir 

 ring the soil in the rows where the wheel hoes do not 

 work, and greatly reduces the amount of hand-weeding 

 to be done. Of course, hand-weeding must be done as 

 often as necessary to keep the beds clean. 



