ONION 



Harvesting may be done in the following manner: If 

 the crop ripens evenly, so that there are no green tops 

 standing, the topping can be done most rapidly before 

 the Onions are pulled. By using a thin, sharp knife, 

 taking the dry tops in one hand and cutting from the 

 person, the work can be done quickly and well. Be 

 careful not to tear the skin down the side. The length 

 to cut the tops is a point of importance and must not 

 be overlooked. If the tops are left too long they have 

 a ragged appearance, and if too short, there is danger 

 of causing the Onions to rot in the tops, because of 

 bruising or because of water having gone to the inside 

 of the Onions. The proper length is about half an inch 

 from the bulb; or, take an Onion by the top, with the 

 thumb and forefinger close to the bulb, and cut the top 

 close to the fingers. The pulling may be done by hand, 

 but a puller made to fit a hand-cultivator is much more 

 rapid and does not injure the bulbs. The puller is 

 simply a knife with one or more fingers to move the 

 bulbs slightly as the roots are cut. In light, dry soil it 

 works very well without any fingers. 



Many growers prefer to pull the Onions first, allowing 

 them to dry a few days before topping. This is what 

 should be done if the tops do not dry evenly, or if the 

 crop is late and needs to be hurried ; and is all right in 

 any case, though not quite so rapid as the other way. 



Storage. After the Onions are topped they should be 

 gotten under cover as soon as possible. Let them dry 

 a day or two if the weather is favorable and then pick 

 them up and store in the curing shed. If allowed to lie 

 too long on the ground the skin peels off too much. The 

 shed should have doors or ventilators at each end from 

 top to bottom, so that the air can pass through freely 

 and be free under the floor. If the floor is tight, with 

 no circulation under it, lay some 2x4 scantling on the 

 floor and lay a loose board floor over them without nail- 

 ing; then take some pieces of 2x4 sawed just 1 ft. 

 long and nail them to the floor at even distances for 

 posts to carry stringers for the next floor. Use 2x4 for 

 the stringers; set them on edge, nail them to the posts 

 and all is ready for the Onions. This gives a space of 

 16 inches. Fill 12 inches (the length of the posts) and 

 leave the 4 inches for air space. Lay another floor and 

 proceed as before, being careful to get the upper posts 

 directly over the lower ones, or the stringers will break 

 after two or three floors are in. 



In handling the Onions, bushel boxes are the most 

 convenient. Pick them up in common baskets, leaving 

 all small, defective, or odd-colored bulbs on the ground, 

 to be picked up separately and sorted as occasion may 

 require. Dump in the boxes, then drive along the side 

 of the bed with a platform wagon, and load. Have a 

 screen about 4 ft. long by 2 ft. wide made of narrow 

 strips %-l in. wide and about 1 in. apart. Put legs on one 

 end about 14 or 15 in. long and on the other end long 

 enough to give it a sufficient incline to make the Onions 



roll down freely. With 

 an old coffee sack make 

 a bag like a sheet hung 

 by the corners with 

 hooks, to hang under the 

 screen, in order to catch 

 the dirt and leaves. 

 Carry the boxes of 

 Onions directly from the 

 wagon to the screen and 

 pour them over it. This 

 will take out all the dirt 

 and most of the loose 

 leaves, and make the 

 Onions come out of the 

 shed in much better 

 shape. They should lie 

 in the shed until they 

 are dry enough to peel off 

 another skin, and rattle 

 and crackle when the arm 

 is run in among them. 

 If all has gone well the crop should average 500 

 bushels to the acre on good land, or 600 bushels on very 

 rich land, and 700 or 800 bushels on a single acre selected 

 from the best part of a ten-acre field. 



Marketing. There is an old saying, "The time to sell 



ONIQN 



1139 



1536. Allium Schcenoprasum 

 Give. 



is when someone wants to buy." This is a very good 

 rule to apply, unless one is prepared for cold weather 

 or is reasonably sure of an advance in price. In a 

 general way it is best to ship in sacks of even size and 

 not too large, one and three-fourths to two and one- 

 fourth bushels. These points must be governed by the 

 market. In sacking to ship, always throw out all de- 

 fective bulbs and all of 

 another color. In size 

 down to about 1% to 1% 

 inches in diameter is a 

 good scale to use in a 

 general way, but this 

 point must also be gov- 

 erned by the market. 

 Sell by sample as far as 

 possible. 



Va rieties. There are 

 three varieties of Onions 

 which take the lead 

 clearly above all others 

 in the big markets of the 

 country, the White 

 Globe, Yellow Globe, and 

 Red Globe. These come 

 under different names, 

 as Southport Yellow 

 Globe and Michigan Yel- 

 low Globe, but the object 

 in view among seed- 

 growers is to get bulbs 

 as nearly globe-shaped 1537 . L eek-Allium Pomun. 

 as possible. The skin 



should be thick and two or three layers deep, to prevent 

 bruising. IRVING C. SMITH. 



ONION CULTURE IN THE SOUTH. Twenty years ago 

 Onion-growing from seed was not considered practicable, 

 and by many it was considered impossible south of the 

 Potomac. The introduction of varieties from South 

 Europe and more careful attention to details of the 

 work have made Onion-growing not only possible but 

 often exceedingly profitable. 



The eastern South consumes large quantities of the 

 mild forms, such as the Bermudas. In the markets at 

 Jacksonville, Fla., these are sold by the piece, frequently 

 retailing at 5 cents and 10 cents each. Nowhere in the 

 South are Onions grown exclusively on an extensive 

 scale, but they form a supplementary crop, or may be 

 grown extensively at times. The southern Onion-grower 

 must keep in close touch with the northern and foreign 

 Onion markets. As there are no extensive cold storage 

 plants, the crop must be sold soon after ripening. The 

 extensive Onion-grower of this section must therefore 

 keep his land in proper tilth and wait for the year when 

 the price of Onions will warrant his planting. 



Soil. The soil should be alluvial, sandy, and of a 

 fine texture. A level tract, freed of all debris, and one 

 that can be plowed deeply, is desirable. In the coast 

 region such land maybe obtained in great abundance. 

 It is frequently used for vegetable-growing, but large 

 areas are still uncleared or are used for farm crops. In 

 the hilly regions of the interior, Onion lands must be 

 sought mainly along rivers or old river beds. 



Fertilizer. Undecomposed vegetable matter should 

 not be applied immediately preceding the crop. Even 

 cotton-seed meal should be used three weeks or more 

 before the seed is sown and then carefully incorporated 

 with the soil where the rows are to be, or if the rows are 

 to be a foot or 14 inches apart the cotton-seed meal 

 may be sown broadcast and cultivated in. 



When the land is deficient in the three ingredients 

 considered essential in fertilizers, the following formula 

 will supply the approximate proportion taken off by a 

 crop of Onions: 



Nitrogen 5* 



Phosphoric acid, available 6* 



Potash 9 * 



From one to two tons of the above formula will not 

 be found excessive, but the amount that will give the 

 greatest profit will be different on each field. 



The following table gives the amounts of different 



