3° 



taken together, the weeds being dropped between the rows. 

 Just before the crop ripens down, larger weeds will show them- 

 selves here and there over the beds ; these are generally gath- 

 ered in baskets and dropped at the end of the rows. If the 

 seed of such weeds get ripe before they are pulled, the weeds 

 should be carefully deposited in a pile in some by-place, where 

 they can be burned when dry. Growers who practice throw- 

 ing such weeds to their hogs because they are large and suc- 

 culent, make an annual seeding of their beds with weeds. 

 Particularly is this true of Purslane, one of the greatest pla- 

 gues in the heat of the season. The habit of this plant is to 

 ripen the seed, well down on the stock, while the main body 

 of the plant is in its full vigor ; hence it usually happens that 

 much seed drops into the land some time before it is pulled, 

 while the farmer never mistrusts it has ripened. I have seen 

 Purslane completely eradicated from garden plots where it 

 formerly was a pest, by a little care in this matter of letting it go 

 to seed. The same remarks apply to the weed known as 

 chickweed. When blank spots occur from poor seed, poor 

 planting, or the ravages of the onion maggot, bush beans, cab- 

 bages or tomatoes may be planted. 



When the plants are too thick, over one to two inches, they 

 should be thinned ; but the beginner had better pull with a 

 sparing hand, for, if the ground has been manured very liber- 

 ally, the crop will do well when the plants are very thickly 

 together, and they will oftentimes grow as large when very 

 thick as they will with three times the room. Onion-growers 

 like to see their onions piled two or three deep as they grow, 

 the upper layer being entirely out of the ground with the ex- 

 ception of the roots. When the tops begin to fall over, the 

 onion is rapidly maturing, and the bulbs will now grow very 

 fast. Farmers will tell you that "the top is going down into 



