246 The Profitable Culture of Vegetables. 



this operation by putting in the seed before the soil' is in the 

 proper condition ; the surface should be dry, friable, and free 

 from stickiness; it is better to defer sowing for a week, or 

 even two, if necessary to get a really good seed-bed. Drill the 

 seed in rows from 9in. to 12in. apart, according to the variety 

 to be grown and the cleanliness of the ground. When the 

 variety is one which attains only a moderate size and the 

 ground is clean the smaller distance, with the plants ultimately 

 thinned out to Sin. or 4in. apart, will answer very well, but 

 when the ground is not particularly clean or one of the larger 

 sorts of Onions is grown, 12in. between the rows, with the 

 plants standing Gin. apart, is close enough. Make the drills 

 very shallow, so that the seed is only just covered, and then, 

 if the surface is dry, tread it in or pass a roller over the 

 ground. On heavy ground the treading or rolling must be 

 done very lightly, or omitted altogether if the surface is not 

 quite dry. As soon as the lines can be seen, the soil between 

 should be gently hoed, and immediately the seedlings are 

 well above the ground they should be thinned with a 2in. hoe, 

 but care should be taken to leave a good plant. A few weeks 

 later the final thinning can take place, and on this occasion the 

 surplus may be bunched as " Spring Onions," though in some 

 seasons it scarcely pays to send them into the market so late. 

 The hoe must be kept going at frequent intervals to keep the 

 weeds in check, for nothing is more detrimental to an Onion 

 crop than to allow weeds to make headway. In hoeing, be 

 careful not to move the soil deeply nor to draw it towards the 

 bulbs, which ought to be on top of the soil and not buried in it. 

 Harvesting. In a normal season the Onions will begin to 

 ripen soon after the middle of August, which is seen by the 

 tops changing colour, but if the weather is cool and moist 

 ripening may be considerably delayed, in which case growth 

 should be checked by bending over the tops at the necks. This 

 may be done with a wooden rake, held teeth upwards. When 

 the tops are yellow and the necks shrunken, usually about the 

 middle of September, they are ready for pulling, and advantage 

 must be taken of fine weather to draw them and lay them out 

 to dry. If the quantity is not large they will finish off better 

 if carried to a piece of hard dry ground, and laid with their 



