CHAPTER XII 



THE; ONION AND KINDRED PLANTS 



ONIONS. The onion is relatively a cool 

 season crop in that the seed should be 

 sown very early in the spring so that the young 

 onions may have not only the best temperature 

 to grow in but may have an abundance of mois- 

 ture which is very necessary. 



Onions will grow in clay and alluvial loam, 

 sandy garden loam, and muck soil. The essen- 

 tial requirements of any soil are a good 

 mechanical condition (full of humus and easy 

 to work) , a high state of fertility, natural or 

 artificial drainage, and finely pulverized, being 

 free from stones and weeds. 



If ideal conditions are desired, manure the 

 land heavily and plant it to some root crop the 

 first year. In the fall scatter a little manure 

 over the surface of the soil (horse, cow, or pul- 



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