22 ONIONS FOR PROFIT. 



Stable Manure. 



Always pick out the very oldest, most nearly rotted man- 

 ure in the yards, and reject all that is coarse, freshly made, 

 and full of weed-seeds. We cannot be too careful in re- 

 gard to the last-named item, especially when growing the 

 crop directly from seed (in the old way). Weedy land 

 and weedy manure render the crop a pretty costly one, and 

 usually eat up all the profits. 



Any kind of fine and clean manure will do. It matters 

 little whether it comes from the horse and cow stables, the 

 sheep sheds, or the pig sty. A mixture is as good as 

 anything. Poultry droppings and night-soil are also 

 especially useful as an addition to the compost heap. 



But let us make no mistake concerning the quantity 

 needed. A looo bushels of onions cannot be manufac- 

 tured out of half a dozen or a dozen loads of such manure. 

 Unless the land is already well provided with humus, 

 nothing less than sixty loads, each load containing a plump 

 ton or more, will answer, and soils that are poor in organic 

 matter may require considerably more to give best results. 

 By all means be liberal. People accustomed to the methods 

 employed by the average farmer in feeding (or rather 

 starving) the ordinary crops are apt to be afraid of hurting 

 onions by excessive manure applications. Put your mind 

 at ease. The more you fill the soil with good compost, 

 the more will the proceeds from the crop fill your pocket. 



Market gardeners seldom get from their own stock what 

 manure they need ; but often they can purchase it at rea- 

 sonable rates, either at the livery stables in the nearest city, 

 from dairymen, or other farmers who have not yet learned 

 the real value of good manure, or from railroad stock yards. 

 A ton of ordinary good mixed manure that is neither fire- 

 fan ged nor leached out is worth at the established values 



