ONION GROWING FOR MARKET. 125 



been used,) and after sowing to be harrowed in, as de- 

 scribed in "Preparing the Ground." 



One of the most valuable manures for the Onion crop 

 are the droppings from the chicken or pigeon house, 

 which, when mixed with twice their weight of lime, or coal 

 or wood ashes, so as to disintegrate and pulverize them, 

 may be sown on the land after plowing, to be harrowed 

 in, at the rate of three or four tons per acre of the mix- 

 ture. Night soil, when mixed with dry muck, coal ashes, 

 charcoal dust, lime, or lime rubbish, as absorbents, and 

 spread on after plowing at the rate of six or eight tons 

 per acre, and harrowed deeply in, will never fail to pro- 

 duce a heavy crop of Onions in any suitable soil. 



There are many other manures that will answer the 

 purpose, often to be had in special localities, such as the 

 refuse hops and "grains" from breweries, which should 

 be used in the same manner and quantities as stable 

 manure; while fish guano, whalebone shavings, or shav- 

 ings from horn, when pulverized so as to be in proper 

 condition to be taken up by the plants, are nearly equal 

 in value to ground bone. Wood ashes alone, spread on 

 at the rate of five or six tons per acre, will usually give 

 excellent results. 



It is well ever to keep the fact in mind, that it will 

 always be more profitable to fertilize one acre of Onions 

 well than two imperfectly. If thirty tons of stable 

 manure or one and one-half tons of concentrated fer- 

 tilizer are used to an acre, the net profits are almost cer- 

 tain to be larger than if that quantity had been spread 

 over two acres; for in all probability nearly as much 

 weight of crop would be got from the one well-manured 

 acre as from the two that had been done imperfectly, 

 besides the saving of seed and labor in cultivating two 

 acres instead of one, 



