88 GABDENING FOE .YOUNG AND OLD. 



produce seed. The discovery that I think I have made 

 is this : sow the seed in the spring in the usual way, ex- 

 cept that you sow it very thickly; the object being to 

 get small bulbs. Set these small onions out in the fall, 

 and let them produce large onions, rejecting any that go 

 to seed at that time. The next fall, set out these large 

 onions for seed. The way we do this, is to make the 

 land very rich, thoroughly mixing the manure with the 

 soil and have it as clean and mellow as possible. Mark 

 off the land with a common corn-marker in rows forty- 

 two inches apart; set out the onions in these rows, four 

 or five inches apart, or so near that they will almost 

 touch each other in the row, press them down into the 

 mellow soil, and cover carefully with the hoe or plow. 

 If the plow is used, follow with a hoe so as to be sure 

 that every bulb is well covered to the depth of two or 

 three inches. The best time here to set out onions for 

 seed is about the first of October. Nothing more needs 

 to be done until spring, when the soil must be thoroughly 

 and repeatedly cultivated, and not a weed suffered to 

 grow. The seed is gathered by cutting off the heads into 

 baskets, and spreading them out on canvas to dry. 

 Thrash with a flail, and clean by running through a fan- 

 ning mill. 



THE POTATO ONION. 



The cultivation of Potato Onions is similar to that of 

 onion sets. The small potato onions are planted early in 

 spring, in rows fifteen inches apart, and four to five 

 inches distant in the row; keep the land clean, and that 

 is all there is to be done. Each small bulb will make a 

 large one. The next spring set out some of the large 

 bulbs that have been saved for the purpose, and each will 

 give a cluster of small ones to be planted the following 

 year. This is the usual routine, but generally a share of 



