104 VEGETABLE GROWING. 



5,000. There are so many elements that enter into the 

 question that the number cannot be exact. When the 

 seed is cared for properly, it will give plants in six 

 weeks that are large enough to be set out. They 

 should be set out before they are as large as a thin 

 lead pencil. 



TIME TO SOW. 



As in the case of potatoes, one should watch the 

 Northern markets and crops. If onions are selling for 

 a very small price in the fall, it is clearly not wise to 

 plant a large crop for early spring, but seeding time 

 should be delayed a month or two. A good crop never 

 fails to bring a fair return ; it is quite unusual to sell 

 any portion of the crop in the South for less than a 

 dollar a bushel. 



The seed may be sown any time from the first of 

 September to first of January. The last date brings 

 it into competition with the crops raised in the section 

 just north of us, but the price is not low enough usually 

 to make the crop cease to be profitable. October is a 

 favorite date, and one that brings the crop into market 

 after the stored crop has been consumed. Immedi- 

 ately after the seed has been sown in the cold frame 

 the preparation of the field should be commenced. 



FERTILIZING. 



Good compost or well-rotted barn yard manure will 

 be found excellent, and guano still better. Whatever 

 kind be used, be sure that it contains no weed seed. 

 If both home-made and commercial fertilizer are to be 

 used, plow the former in, and after the land has been 

 well worked down, use the latter broadcast, and mix 

 it with the soil by using a cut-away harrow. In the 

 matter of usinaj fertilizer, Mr. Gaitskill's advice to the 

 Florida State Horticultural Society should be followed. 



