248 GARDENING FOR PROFIT. 



hoeing, after the seed shows the lines, we prefer the 

 Planet Jr. Double Wheel Hoe. 



The distance at which Onions should stand in the rows 

 is from one to two inches, and if the crop is sown evenly 

 and thinly, few require to he taken out, but whether it 

 is weeds or onions that are to he removed, one thing 

 should never be lost sight of that when this operation 

 is done, every inch of the surface should be broken. 

 This is best done after hoeing, by using a wooden lawn 

 rake all over the land, raking lightly 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, 

 not only is it most likely that he passes another crop of 

 weeds in embryo under the unbroken crust, but the por- 

 tion unbroken loses the stirring so necessary for the well- 

 being of the crop. 



In our long experience in garden operations, we have 

 had more trouble to keep our workmen up to the mark 

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

 I discover a man guilty of 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. 



The Onion crop is usually fit to harvest, in this section, 

 from 5th to 20th of August; that is, when the seed 

 has been sown in early spring, which should be not 

 later than May 1st, if possible, and if by April 1st all the 

 better. If the seed is 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 facili- 

 tate the ripening process if we bend clown the leaves 

 with the back of a wooden rake, or some such implement, 



