244 GARDENING FOR PKOFIT. 



It is the generally received opinion that Onions grow 

 best in old ground. This we think is an error ; it is not 

 because the ground is "old," or has been long cultivated, 

 that the Onions do better there, but because such lands, 

 from their long culture, are usually better pulverized ; 

 and experience has shown us repeatedly that when new 

 soil has been equally well pulverized and fertilized with 

 the old, an equally good crop is obtained and usually a 

 crop more exempt from rust. As a matter of fact, the 

 finest crop of Onions we ever beheld was on sandy 

 swamp land, which had been first thoroughly drained 

 and broken up. In fact, new soils, particularly when 

 broken up from pasture land turned over early enough 

 in the full so that the sod is completely rotted make 

 excellent land for Onion crops, as they are usually free 

 from weeds. Soils of this kind, however, must be well 

 pulverized by the use of the plow, Acme and smooth- 

 ing harrow, or good results may not follow. Much de- 

 pends on the quality of such soil. If rather sandy loam, 

 it will, of course, be much easier to pulverize than if stiff 

 or clayey loam, and such soil, in our experience, is always 

 preferable for most crops. Such soils, also, are nearly 

 always free from under water, rarely requiring artificial 

 drainage if tho land is level, and it always should be 

 selected as level as possible for the Onion crop, as when 

 land slopes to any great extent, much damage is often 

 done by washing out, the Onicn roots being near the sur- 

 face, consequently cannot so well resist floods, as crops 

 that root deeper. 



Many Onion growers who make a specialty of the busi- 

 ness, find it is economical to alternate the Onion crop 

 with a green one, such as German Millet, which can be 

 cut for hay in July, the "stubble" plowed down in 

 August, giving a fresh fibrous soil clear of weeds for the 

 Onion crop to be sown next spring. It is not claimed 

 that the alternation of a green crop with the Onions is a 



