128 GARDEN AND FARM TOPICS. 



through by the hand cultivator, by using a wooden lawn 

 rake all over the land, lightly raking across the rows. It 

 is one of the most common mistakes in a laborer when 

 weeding or hoeing, if he sees no weeds, to pass over such 

 portions without breaking the crust. By this neglect, he 

 not only most likely passes another crop of weeds in em- 

 bryo under the unbroken crust, but the portion unbroken 

 loses the stirring so necessary for the well-being of the 

 crop. In my long experience in garden operations, I 

 have had more trouble to keep the workmen up to the mark 

 in this matter than in any other; and I never fail, when 

 I discover a man in such negligence, to set him back over 

 his work until he does it properly; and if he again fails 

 to do so, promptly dismiss him. 



HARVESTING. 



The Onion crop is usually fit to harvest in this section 

 from the 5th to the 2oth of August; that is, when the 

 seed has been sown in early spring, which should be not 

 later than May ist, if possible, and if by April ist, all the 

 better. If the seed be 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 be pulled without unnecessary delay; for 



