ONION. 107 



To set the plant, insert the dibber on the line and 

 press it from you ; set the plant with the other 

 hand ; remove the dibber, and set it in the ground be- 

 yond, and press the soil firmly to the plant. This 

 operation ensures that the soil will be pressed firmly 

 about the roots of the plants. The plants must be set 

 perpendicularly, or an ill shaped onion will result. 

 When one has many hands at work, they should be 

 divided into squads, and each placed under a careful 

 foreman, who should see that the work is done properly 

 and keep the planters supplied with sets. 



The seedlings may be removed from the bed by 

 passing a trowel under the row and lifting a lot of 

 them at once ; then separate from the soil, and trim off 

 the long roots and leaves. The leaves are in the way 

 of later cultivation and the roots bother in planting. 



If the roots do not start off readily, and the condi- 

 tions of temperature and moisture are all right, a 

 light dressing of nitrate of soda will be found valua- 

 ble. Mr. T. Greiner advises the use of seventy-five 

 pounds of nitrate of soda to the acre. Make one appli- 

 cation as soon as the field has been set out ; and a repe- 

 tition of this about every ten days, until five applica- 

 tions have been given. If this is done when the plants 

 are free from dew and rain, there will be no difficulty 

 from scalding the foliage. It should not be carried on 

 too long, as it will keep the onions growing after they 

 should have ripened ; this same difficulty will be ex- 

 perienced if one uses a fertilizer containing an unu- 

 sual amount of nitrogen, or if one uses a complete 

 fertilizer on muck laud. 



CULTIVATION. 



"Tillage is manure," is an old and true saying, but 

 in cultivating onions we must be careful that it is done 

 properly. There are just two points to be kept in 



