SOILS SUITABLE FOR ONIONS. 339 



but because such lands, from their long culture, are usually better 

 pulverized; and experience has shown us repeatedly that when new 

 soil has been equally well pulverized and fertilized, an equally good 

 crop is obtained, and usually a cleaner crop, more exempt from rust 

 or mildew. As a matter of fact, the finest crop of onions we ever 

 beheld was on sandy swamp land, which had been first thoroughly 

 drained and broken up. In fact, new soils, particularly when broken 

 up from pasture land turned over early enough in the fall so that 

 the sod is rotted completely make excellent land for onion crops, as 

 they are usually free from weeds. Such land, however, must be well 



EARLY FLAT BED ONION. YELLOW DUTCH ONION. 



pulverized, by the use of the plow, harrow and smoothing harrow, 

 or good results may not follow. Much depends on the quality of 

 such soil. If rather sandy loam, it will, of course, be much easier to 

 pulverize than if stiff or clayey loam, and such soil, in our experience, 

 is always preferable for most crops. Such soils, also, are nearly 

 always free from under water, rarely requiring artificial drainage, if 

 the land is level, and it always should be selected as level as possible 

 for the onion crop, as when land slopes to any great extent, much 

 damage is often done by washing out, the onion roots being near the 

 surface, and consequently cannot resist floods as crops that root 

 deeper. 



Many onion growers, who make a specialty of the business, find it 

 is economical to alternate the crop with a green crop such as German 

 millet, which can be cut for hay in July, the "stubble" plowed 

 down in August, giving a fresh fibrous soil, clear of weeds, for the 

 onion crop to be sown next spring. It is not claimed that the alter- 



