THE ONION. 205 



crop, Tvliich ripens and coraes off in July.* After being 

 pulled they are laid out to dry, and then placed under 

 shelter. 



The young onions intended for planting the succeed- 

 ing year are raised from seed sown in shallow drills 

 early in April. About the middle of July, when they 

 have attained the size of beans, these are taken out of the 

 ground, and put away in some dry place where there is 

 a free circulaticm of air, and thus kept till the following 

 spring to be planted out as described. 



With regard to the onion in the American climate, it 

 is a singular fact that they will not ripen (in the Mid- 

 dle States at least) unless the seed be sown very early 

 in the spring. . They may, however, be preserved in 

 their places through the winter by a light covering of 

 old or short manure, straw or other litter, placed over 

 them in the fall. 



Although they may not become fully matured, onions 

 can, however, be raised from the seed in one season suf- 

 ficiently large for culinary purposes, and, where the soil 

 and other circumstances are peculiarly congenial, quite 

 as large as those which have occupied two seasons in 

 their development. 



With regard to the Potato or Underground Onion, it 

 may be necessary to state that they should be planted 

 in March, in rows eighteen inches apart, and six inches 

 from bulb to bulb, which should be covered about three 

 inches deep. Cultivate and earth or hill up like pota- 

 toes, and they w^ill continue to grow till about the first 



* When the onion bulbs are well expanded, they are injured if 

 the ground be stirred around them with the hoe. Therefore, if 

 the weeds require removal, this must be done by hand. 



■ 18* 



