GARDEN FARMING 



Storing in frost-proof houses. In localities where freezing 

 weather is not continuous it is not safe to attempt to store onions 

 in this way. Buildings like those shown in figure 119 are espe- 

 cially constructed for this purpose and, while frost-proof, are well 

 ventilated and so arranged that they can be held with but slight 

 change in temperature throughout the season. The bulbs are kept 

 at a temperature a few degrees above the freezing point and are 

 never allowed to freeze. 



Bulbs stored in frost-proof houses are either handled in venti- 

 lated slat crates or spread in layers upon slat shelves similar to 

 those used for the stor- 

 age of squashes. A pre- 

 caution taken in such 

 a house is to leave a 

 passage between the 

 crates and the outside 

 wall. It is also an ad- 

 vantage if the crates 

 can rest on either a 

 concrete floor or sup- 

 ports in direct contact 

 with the earth. The 

 jar and vibration of 

 elevated benches and floors seem to interfere with the perfect 

 keeping of the bulbs. The room should be kept dark so as to 

 prevent growth ; and should be moist, rather than dry, to pre- 

 vent shrinkage. For further details concerning the construction 

 of onion storage houses, see page 88. 



FIG. 119. Frost-proof onion storage houses 



ONIONS AS A FIELD CROP AT THE SOUTH 



Growing Bermuda onions. The Bermuda type of onion is now 

 quite extensively cultivated in southern Texas. These onions re- 

 quire a somewhat longer season for developing than the hardier 

 types grown at the North, and for this reason they have never 

 found favor there except when grown by the hotbed method, 

 known as the new onion culture. In subtropical regions of the 

 South, however, this plant does well as a winter crop. 



