ONIONS AND CHIVES 169 



needed in its selection. Pay a good price and 

 secure the best seed. Germination is slow; so 

 scatter the seeds thickly along the smooth-sur- 

 faced straight rows, using some quickly germi- 

 nating seed to mark the rows. Place the rows a 

 foot or more apart. Careful attention must be 

 given to weeding and keeping the top soil stirred. 

 For a successful crop, the onion strip must grow 

 nothing except onions. Sometimes, if the onions 

 have too much foliage food, the tops will grow 

 at the expense of the bulbs. If so, the tops should 

 be broken down by drawing a hoe handle down 

 the garden row or rolling a barrel over. 



When the tops begin to wither and dry and 

 harvest time has come, choose a clear dry day for 

 digging. Leave them in rows on the surface to 

 dry and cure for a few days. Cut the tops a half 

 inch above the bulbs. When thoroughly dry, they 

 are ready for storing. Onions ordinarily will not 

 stand freezing and thawing, so they must be stored 

 in a dry frost-proof place. Cared for properly, 

 they will be ready all winter for seasoning and 

 salad, to smother the steak, to serve all tender and 

 white and delicious in cream, or sliced thin with a 

 sprinkle of salt or a spreading of mayonnaise for 

 the salad. 



Chives 



The delicate onion flavor of chives was formerly 

 esteemed in all kinds of old-fashioned cookery. A 



