Cultural Directions. — 263 



Growing Sets. — The selection of soil is of greatest import- 

 ance. It should be of a sandy nature, or even clear sand, free 

 from weed seeds, rubbish and coarse gravel, and at least 

 moderately fertile. A good top-dressing of some good fertilizer 

 may be sufficient. Weedy manure must be scrupulously avoided. 

 Such land needs thorough preparation. After plowing, the 

 harrow and roller should not be spared, and the Meeker small 

 disk harrow, or a steel rake, is needed to put on the finish. What 

 we want is a perfect, smooth, mellow seed-bed. The seed is 

 sown thickly in rows, either by hand or with the drill. The rows 

 may either be made 9 to 12 inches apart, and sown in the usual 

 way, only more thickly, or from 15 to 20 inches apart, and sown 

 scatteringly in a strip 2 or 3 inches in width. I prefer the drills 

 12 inches apart, and to sow in a strip of about i^ inches in 

 width, which allows of the convenient use of the wheel-hoe. 



Sowing. — The easiest method of sowing onion seed for sets 

 is with one of the common garden drills, and in doing so, I 

 usually let the seed run moderately free, and go twice or even 

 three times over the same row, thus sowing the required quantity, 

 and at the same time spreading it over the desired width in each 

 row. To give a full crop, the plants have to stand pretty thick. 

 It is always an advantage to roll the ground after sowing. 



For sowing by hand, the rows should be marked out with a 

 marker having wide blunt teeth, in order to make wide marks, 

 and allow the seed to be scattered over a wider space across the 

 rows. The covering is done with both hands, the gardener 

 moving along over the rows on his knees, and drawing the soil 

 over the row from both sides, or with the feet in the way quite 

 commonly practiced for covering the larger seeds. 



The amount of seed needed ranges between 40 and 60 pounds 

 per acre, according to distance between the rows, and width 

 of sowing. The aim is to grow bulbs of less than Yi inch in 

 diameter, and the largest bulk without undue crowding. The 

 varieties used for this purpose are Extra Early Red, Yellow 

 Dutch, and Silver Skin. 



Cultivation and Harvesting. — Cultivation is given in the 

 usual way, with wheel-hoe ; and weeds are pulled up by hand 

 without thinning the crop. 



When the tops begin to die down, in August, the bulbs are 

 harvested, either by lifting out with the onion set attachment of 

 the Planet Jr. wheel-hoe, or by raking in windrows, 5 or 6 

 rows together, care being taken, of course, to get the teeth well 

 under the bulbs. They are left on the ground for 2 or 3 days 

 to cure, and then taken under shelter, and spread out on a dry 

 floor to be cleaned at leisure. This is done by rubbing the sets 

 between the hands, to remove remnants of tops and roots, and 

 adhering soil or sand, and by running through fanning mill 



