VEGETABLES ONION. 179 



crop ; this time the Onions are wanted as large as they 

 can be got, and the best soil of the garden is chosen, ma- 

 nured with' short, well rotted manure, plowed in at the 

 rate of 75 tons to the acre; when only concentrated ma- 

 nures can be obtained, crushed bone is preferable to gu 

 ano. The ground is further deeply harrowed ; the har 

 row turned on its back, and the soil still further broken up 

 with the short teeth, and if any inequalities are left, they 

 are leveled and smoothed with the rake. The line is now 

 stretched along the bed, and the 9-inch marker again 

 makes the drills, 6 in each bed, with one rubbed out for 

 an alley. The sets are now planted in the drills, at a dis- 

 tance of 3 inches apart, pressing each bulb down firm- 

 ly, so that it will keep right side up ; the row is then 

 closed in by the feet or a rake, so that the set is entirely 

 covered up. The ground is then rolled over, so as to ren- 

 der it still more compact around the bulbs ; as soon as the 

 lines can be traced, by the Onions starting to grow, the 

 hoe is applied between the rows, and the soil broken be- 

 tween the plants by the fingers, where the hoe cannot reach, 

 so as to destroy the germ of the weeds. If attended to in 

 time, twice going over with hoeing and weeding is suf- 

 ficient 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 re- 

 quiring considerable labor and expense, to get it in shape 



