ONION. 85 



crops of Onions from the same ground, it having had every 

 season a supply of cow, hog. or barn-fowl manure. There are 

 hundreds of acres grown in this vicinity for shipping to the 

 southern market. The system pursued is to manure the ground 

 heavilj'', with the best of dung. Dig or plow the ground early 

 in Spring ; level it well with the rake or harrow ; then with 

 the Beet rake draw drills about one and a half inch deep and 

 about nine inches apart, leaving a space of about fifteen inches 

 between every three drills, called an alley. Plant these drills 

 with young Onions, about the size of Beans, and do not cover 

 them. They will be green in a few days. Hoe frequently 

 and keep clear of weeds. In June, dig the alleys and plant 

 them with late Drumhead Cabbage and Savoys for a Winter 

 crop, or large York for a Fall crop. The Onions will be ripe 

 in July, when they are pulled and cleared off. The soil must 

 then be dug up and well broken, to allow the Cabbage crop to 

 extend and grow freely. This is the system pursued by our 

 market gardeners ; but one error they all commit, and in con- 

 sequence are not able to keep full-grown Onions over Winter, 

 the bulbs rotting and decaying, from the drills having been 

 drawn too deep, and pulling the crop two or three weeks too 

 soon. My method is, after the ground has been well dug and 

 raked even, to roll it before the drills are drawn, which must 

 not exceed half an inch deep, being merely a mark whereon to 

 lay the sets. Hoe to keep down the weeds ; lift the crop after 

 the tops are fully dried off ; expose them in the sun a few days, 

 to harden them ; t^ke them to a shed and spread them out 

 thin, to dry ; or tie them up in ropes and hang them up for 

 use ; by this treatment they will keep perfect throughout the 

 whole Winter. 



Sowing Seed. — The general method is to sow the seed very 

 thickly, in shallow drills, early in April. The bulbs grow to 

 the size of Peas or Beans by the middle of July, when they 

 are lifted and put away in an airy loft, to keep till next Spring 



