VEGETABLES OXIOX. 243 



and the soil broken between the plants by the fingers, 

 where the hoe cannot reach, so as to destroy the germs of 

 the weeds. If attended to in time, twice going over with 

 hoeing and weeding is sufficient until the crop is fit for 

 market, which it begins to be about the first week in 

 June, and is usually all gathered by the first week in July, 

 so as to give us time for second crops. 



When we first begin to send them to market, they are 

 usually not more than half grown, and are washed and 

 tied in bunches containing from nine to twelve Onions ; 

 later, when full grown, from six to seven. This crop is 

 one requiring considerable labor and expense to get it in 

 shape to sell, taking cost of sets, labor, manure, etc., 

 probably not less than $300 per acre, for the past fifteen 

 years ; but the receipts have been correspondingly high, 

 averaging in that time quite $500 per acre. 



Onions, planted from sets, rarely fail to give a crop on 

 any kind of soil, provided it has been well manured ; and 

 although they are sold by the market gardeners in the 

 green state, they are equally good, ripened and dried, 

 when raised from sets as from seed. The quantity of 

 sets required per acre is from six to ton bushels, accord- 

 ing to size. At present prices, they cost $6 per bushel. 



Another plan to get early Onions to sell green, is to 

 sow the seed in fall in rows from nine to twelve inches 

 apart. The time of sowing is of great importance, and 

 varies, of course, with the locality. In the latitude of 

 New York they may be sown from 5th to 20th Septem- 

 ber ; they do not always stand the winter well here, but 

 it is well worth the risk, as the cost of seed is trifling, 

 compared to cost of setting, and when they stand well 

 the crop is usually better than from sets. A dry, well 

 sheltered soil in this location is a necessity to enable the 

 crop to stand the winter. 



The following instructions are given for raising Onions 

 as a farm crop to be sold when mature : 



