Food for there is no danger, as we have sown an extra pound of seed 

 ^'^"^^ to allow for some being pulled out. 



^^ When the onions are about four inches high it will prob- 



ably be necessary to go through and weed them once by hand, 

 but which will prove to be a not very tedious job if the 

 weeder and wheel hoe have been used with good judgment. 

 . In fertilizing, the Nitrate should be applied 



hertihzmg. ^^ follows : One hundred pounds scattered 



broadcast over the field within a week after the seed is sown 

 and before the plants break through the ground, and two 

 more broadcast applications of lOO pounds each at intervals 

 of two or three weeks, depending somewhat on the appear- 

 ance of the plots as to growth, color, etc. 



. Generallv speaking the Nitrate should all 



When to Apply ^ applied during Mav and June, except 

 Nitrate ^^ ■ •' t i -r i • 



that in a very dry time m July, if the onions 



should show signs of turning yellow at the tips, an extra 

 dressing of 50 pounds per acre may be applied to advantage. 

 In a wet season it is well to avoid putting it on late in the 

 growth of the crop, as it might aggravate the tendency to 

 produce a considerable number of thick-necked onions, or 

 scullions, which sometimes happens in a wet season. 



Nitrate is usually in a finely pulverized condition, but 

 if lumpy from anv cause it may easily be fined by emptying 

 it on the barn floor and crushing the lumps with the back 

 of a shovel or similar tool. In applying it broadcast to 

 growing crops, especially those having a large leaf surface 

 Hke cabbage, it should be done when the plants are not wet 

 with rain or dew, for if very much should adhere to the 

 leaves it might injure them. 



The onion is also an alkali-loving plant, 



and, like asparagus, seems to have 



Use of Com- 

 mon Salt. peculiar fondness for salt ; and the results 

 of experiments on widely different soils shows that it nearly 

 always responds profitably to an application of about 200 

 pounds of salt per acre. This guides us to the choice of 

 kainit for this crop, as that product contains about 3 5 per 

 cent, of chloride of soda or common salt, which also has a 

 value for conserving moisture in the soil during a dry 

 season. Some little judgment must be used here, however, 

 as the kainit might have a harmful effect in a wet season on 

 a low and naturally damp soil. 



