STARTING EARLY VEGETABLES 



129 



has been found that onion seedlings may be very successfully 

 transplanted, and that the crops so grown yield better results 

 than when the seed is sown in the open ground. The onion 

 seed may be sown sparsely in drills in the seed-boxes as 

 early as the first of February, and the young plants allowed 

 to grow until about the first of May, when 

 they may be transplanted out-doors. It 

 is desirable to cut the tops off about one 

 inch from the ground with a pair of scis- 

 sors once or twice during this period of 

 growth. This will cause a better devel- 

 opment of root to take place and will 

 lead to a thriftier, stockier plant. At the 

 time of transplanting the tops should be 

 trimmed so that they are about one inch 

 high, and the plants should be set but 

 very little deeper than they were in the 

 seed-bed. 



Many people make a practice of start- 

 ing seedlings of lettuce in-doors for trans- 

 pl an ting out-doors. It is somewhat 

 questionable, however, whether under 

 ordinary school conditions anything is thus 

 gained in the case of this crop. But it is generally worth 

 while to get such a start with the slow-growing parsley, 

 especially as the parsley in a dry spring will sometimes be a 

 total failure. 



One of the most satisfactory crops with which one can get 

 an early start is that of potatoes. It has lately been found 

 that the season of growth of potatoes can be shortened very 

 considerably by allowing the tubers to sprout in a well-lighted 



Onion Seedling. 



