184 TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTH. 



portant to have a good strain of seed. If saved from bulbs 

 of objectionable form, or imperfect development, seal- 

 lions, instead of the desirable globular onions, will be 

 the result. 



No seed older than of the previous crop should be used, 

 as it rarely retains vitality over one year; it is also well 

 to put it to the preliminary test recommended in the 

 chapter on " Seeds," in order to gauge the drill in accord- 

 ance with the percentage of sound seed. It will germi- 

 nate in three or four days, if kept warm and moist. The 

 seed is frequently soaked from one to four days, but I 

 cannot recommend the practice. If it is found to be of 

 fair quality, to be perfectly reliable, the drill may be 

 gauged to drop a seed every quarter to half an inch, at 

 which rate it will require from three to four pounds to 

 the acre. If sown too thickly, great labor is required to 

 thin the plants, as it must be done early enough in their 

 growth to prevent injury by crowding, and to avoid 

 breaking the roots of those to be left. 



SOIL AND SOWING. 



Onions may be sown at any time in the fall, the weather 

 being favorable, but there is nothing to be gained by 

 such very early planting. In the latitude of Savannah, 

 and northward, the young plants or October or Novem- 

 ber sowing may be exposed to injury from heavy rains, 

 or, notwithstanding the very hardy nature of the onion, 

 from severe freezing in December. The crop from seed 

 sown about January 1st escapes these dangers, comes in 

 early enough for the better demand, and, growing through 

 a shorter and warmer period, will require less extended 

 care. 



The onion is intolerant of the vicinity of trees, and 

 requires an open exposure. 



The soil best adapted to this crop is a deep, rich, fria- 

 ble warm mould, full of vegetable matter, such as is fre- 



