344 How THE FARM PAYS. 



The onion crop is usually fit to harvest in this section from 5th to 

 20th of August; that is, when the seed has been sown in early spring, 

 which should be not later than May 1st, if possible, and if by April 

 1st all the better. If the seed is sown too late, it may delay the time 

 of ripening, which may result in a complete loss of the crop; for if 

 the bulbs are not ripened by August, there is danger, if September is 

 wet, that they will not ripen at all; hence the great necessity of early 

 seeding in spring. If the onion crop is growing very strong, it will 

 facilitate the ripening process by bending the leaves down with the 

 back of a wooden rake, or some such implement, so as to " knee " 

 them, as it is called, at the neck of the bulb; this checks the flow of 

 sap and tends to ripen the bulb. 



After the tops of the onions become yellow and wither up, they 

 should then be pulled without unnecessary delay, for if continued 

 wet weather should occur and delay the pulling too long, a secondary 

 growth of the roots may be developed, which would injure the crop 

 seriously. After pulling, lay the bulbs in convenient rows, so as to 

 cover the ground, but not to lay on each other. By turning them 

 every day or two, in six or eight days they will be usually dry enough 

 to be carted to their storage quarters, where the shriveled tops are 

 cut off, and the onions stored on slatted shelves, to the depth of six 

 or eight inches, in some dry and airy place. It is of importance to have 

 the bottom of the shelves slatted, so as to leave spaces an inch or so 

 apart, that air can be admitted at the bottom as well as the top of the 

 heap. The shelves, when all the space at hand is to be made avail- 

 able, may be constructed one above another. But if to be kept 

 through the winter, they must be protected in some building capable 

 of resisting severe frost, or covered with hay or straw, as a protection 

 against extreme cold. For although the onion will stand a moderate 

 degree of frost, yet any long continuation of a zero temperature 

 would injure. When frozen they should never be handled, as in that 

 condition they are easily blemished and would rot. When kept in 

 barrels holes should be bored in the sides, and they should be left 

 unheaded until shipping so as to permit the escape of any moisture 

 that may be generated. 



For the 



INSECTS AND OTHER ENEMIES 



that attack the onion crop, I am much afraid there are few, if any, 

 effective remedies. Every year's experience with the enemies that 

 attack plants in the open field convinces me that with very few of 

 them can we successfully cope. The remedy, if remedy it is, for rust, 



