1138 



ONION 



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 in green- 

 house) during January or February, sowing seed rather 



1534. Onion in flower. 



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 

 seedlings in rows about 14 inches apart, and from 3 to 4 

 inches apart in the rows. Little hand-weeding will be 

 necessary, but the wheel-hoe should be used freely. W e 

 also grow a portion of our green or bunching Onions in 

 this way. For that purpose the plants are set more 

 closely in the rows, say not over 2 inches apart. Seed 

 of the Prizetaker is mostly grown in the United States, 

 while that of the Gibraltar is as yet all imported. 



T. GKEINER. 



COMMERCIAL ONION CULTURE IN THE NORTH. 

 Soil. The soil should be a rich, moist, but not wet, 

 loam with a subsoil of clay, or close compact sandy loam, 

 not coarse gravel, as that lets the water leach out too 

 quickly. Onions will stand a large amount of fertiliza- 

 tion, and there is little danger of getting the soil too rich. 

 Soil that has been under cultivation for three or four 

 years at least is much better than new land. The ten- 

 dency of the latter is to produce too much top-growth 

 and improperly ripened bulbs. 



To prepare the soil, plow 10 or 12 inches deep, if the 

 soil is of sufficient depth, or down to the subsoil. Care 

 should be taken not to turn up much subsoil, or the crop 

 will not mature evenly. 



Fertilizers. If the soil is poor, plow in 5 to 10 cords 

 of stable manure to the acre, and spread on an equal 

 amount of well-rotted manure after plowing, to be har- 

 rowed in. Unleached hard wood ashes is also a good 

 fertilizer, especially on rather dry land, as it aids in the 

 conservation of moisture. The action is quick, which 

 makes it valuable where a little of the subsoil has been 

 turned up in plowing, giving the young 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. The 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 



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. 



Drainage. The drainage must be nearly perfect to 

 get best results. There should be no hollow places in the 

 beds. Even on a sloping piece of land, the dead fur- 

 rows or alleys should be kept open. If there is a natural 

 sag in the land which cannot be surface-drained, it is 

 often practicable to underdrain so as to get satisfactory 

 results; for there is no crop grown in the ordinary 

 market-garden which will pay a larger percentage of re- 

 turn for underdraining, in nearly all locations. If the 

 foliage is of a light color, and the crop does not ripen 

 evenly, an underdrain 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 Seed. 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 50 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 without clogging. The machine 

 should open a row, sow, cover, roll, and mark the next 

 row, all at one operation. The machines which have a 

 sliding piece at the bottom of the hopper, which opens 

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

 the operator can regulate exactly the amount of seed 

 sown. 



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

 at the rate of 334-4% pounds per acre, according to soil 

 and seed. A soil which produces heavy tops requires 

 less seed than the drier, sandy soil which grows small 

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

 row. The seed should be sown from %-l in- deep, 

 according to soil. 



Tillage should begin 

 as soon as 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 nec- 

 essary to keep weeds de- 

 stroyed and the ground 

 loose on top until the 

 plants are too large to get 

 through. The last time 

 through may be done 

 with a single-wheel ma- 

 chine, which will throw 

 a little earth up to the 

 plants. A single-wheel 

 machine may be used 

 throughout the season, 

 but the double-wheel is 

 preferable for the first 

 part of the work. 



A hand-weeder may be 

 used with profit after the 

 young plants have gotten 

 3-5 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. 



1535. Alhum fistulosum 

 Welsh Onion. 



