1138 
ONION 
not as good a keeper, but altogether one of the best 
onions which the home grower, as well as the market- 
gardener who can sell his crop before late fall and at 
good prices, could produce. 
Start the plants under glass (preferably in green- 
house) during Januarv or February, sowing seed rather 
1 J- J ■'*'/''  
bed surfn.-r.  
Keep tlir |il;ui  
outdoors cull  
seedlings in r  
inches apart  
necessary, bui  
also grow a pi  
this way. For 
1534. Onion in flower. 
thickly in drills an inch and a half or two inches apart, 
and using about an ounce of seed to ten square feet of 
bed surface. the soil should be sandy and very rich. 
keep the plants in good growth, and as soon as the patch 
outdoors can be properly prepared in spring, set the 
seedlings '1 rows about 14 inches apart, and from 3 to 4 
inches apart in the rows. little hand-weeding will be 
necessary, but the wheel-hoe should be used freely. We 
also grow a portion of our green or bunching Onions in 
this way. for that purpose the plants are set more 
closely in the rows, say not over 2 inches apart. seed 
of the prizetaker is mostly grown in the united States, 
while that of the Gibraltar is as yet all imported. 
T. greiner. 
commercial onion culture IN THE north.- 
soil.-the soil Should be a rich, moist, but not wet, 
loam with a subsoil of clay, or close compact sandy loam, 
not coarse gravel. as that lets the water leach out too 
quickly. Onions will stand a large amount of fertiliza- 
tion, and there is littl, danger of getting the soil too rich. 
Soil that has been under cultivation for three or four 
years at least is much better than new land. The ten- 
dency of the latter is to produce too much top-growth 
and improperly ripened bulbs. 
To prepare the soil, plow 10 or 12 inches deep, if the 
soil is of sufficient depth, or down to the subsoil. Care 
should be taken not to turn up much subsoil, or the crop 
will not mature evenly. 
fertilizers.-if the soil is poor, plow in 5 to 10 cords 
of stable manure to the acre, and spread on an equal 
amount of well-rotted manure after plowing, to be har- 
rowed in. Unleached hard wood ashes is also a good 
fertilizer, especially on rather dry land, as it aids in the 
conservation of moisture. The action is quick, which 
makes it valuable where a little of the subsoil has been 
turned up in plowing, giving the young plants a good 
start, when, without it, they would be too light-colored 
and weak in growth. Ashes should be spread as evenly 
as possible, 75 to 100 bushels per acre on the ground 
after plowing, and harrowed in. 
tillage.-the harrowing should be thorough, using 
Some kind of a disk or spring-tooth, for the first time 
over, with a Meeker or some other smoothing harrow 
for the finish. It is impossible to get a good even stand 
of plants ii i the ground is rough or lumpy, while those 
that do grow are weak and puny on rough ground. hand- 
raking is sometimes necess: y to insure germination of 
seed in a satisfactory manner. drainage.-the drainage must be nearly perfect to 
get best results. There should be no hollow places in the 
beds. Even on a sloping piece of land, the dead fur- 
rows or alleys should be kept open. If there is a natural 
sag ill the land which cannot be surface-drained, it is 
often practicable to underdrain so as to get satisfactory 
results: for there is no crop grown in the ordinary 
market-garden which will pay a larger percentage of re- 
turn for underdraining. in nearly all locations. If the 
foliage is of a light color, and the crop does not ripen 
evenly, an underdrain will usually correct the trouble. 
The time to drain is when the ground is being pre- 
pared for planting, not after a heavy rain, when water 
is standing in pools over the field. 
onion seed.-there are a few growers who can proflt- 
ably grow their own seed, but the masses should buy. 
this should be done early, so that there may be no delay 
at planting time, and also that one may get the best 
stock obtainable If one wants 10 pounds or more it is 
sometimes advisable to order from some one of the large 
seed houses of the country, but if there is a reliable 
local dealer who buys seed in bulk, go to him and make 
your wants known and you can often do better than to 
send direct to the large seed house, even on quantities 
of 50 to 100 pounds. Be sure to know where the seed comes 
from, and if possible test it before planting. In any case 
always buy the best seed obtainable, no matter if it costs 
double the price of other stock. 
The sowing of the seed Should be done with one of the 
standard garden seed drills, the first essentials of which 
are that the machine can be regulated to sow evenly and 
in the quantity desired without clogging. The machine 
should open a row, sow, cover, roll, and mark the next 
row, all at one operation. The machines which have a 
sliding piece at the bottom of the hopper, which opens 
and closes a diamond-shaped opening, are the best, as 
the operator can regulate exactly the amount of seed 
The Seed should be sown in rows 12-14 in. apart, and 
at the rate of 3 1/2-4 1/2 pounds per acre, according to soil 
and seed. A soil which produces heavy tops requires 
less seed than the drier, sandy soil which grows small 
tops. The plants should stand" from 1-3 in. apart in the 
row. The seed should be sown from 1/2-1 in. deep, 
according to soil. 
Tillage should begin 
as soon as the plants are 
up enough for the rows 
to be seen. Begin with 
a double-wheel straddle 
cultivator if one is at 
hand, setting the knives 
as closely as can be 
worked without covering 
the young plants, and 
continue as often as nec- 
essary to keep weeds de- 
stroyed and the ground 
loose on top until the 
plants are too large to get 
through. The last time 
through may be done 
with a single-wheel ma- 
chine, which will throw 
a little earth up to the 
plants. A single-wheel 
machine may be used 
throughout the season, 
but the double-wheel is 
preferable for the first 
part of the work. 
A hand-weeder may be 
used with profit after the 
young plants have gotten 
3-5 in. high. This works two rows at one passage, stir- 
ring the soil in the rows where the wheel-hoes do not 
work, and greatly reduces the amount of hand-weeding 
to be done. Of course, hand-weeding must be done as 
often as necessary to keep the beds welsh onion. 
