118 FARM-GARDENING AND SEED-GROWING. 



Cultivation. It requires plenty of manure and light 

 soil, and may be cultivated in the same manner as sweet 

 corn. The seeds should not be planted before the middle 

 of May. It is well to use plenty of seed, as some are 

 liable to rot, and when the plants are nicely up thin to four 

 in a hill, or twelve inches apart when grown in rows. 



Cutting for Market, The pods are edible when about 

 half-grown, or before the upper part has become hard, 

 when they should be cut and shipped in open barrels. 



Seed. The pods are ribbed, and contain an abundance 

 of seeds, which lay in rows under each rib. When ripe, 

 which may be known by the pods cracking open, they 

 should be cut and put in a loft to dry, when they may 

 be thrashed in bags, or opened by hand, giving the pod a 

 sudden twist, and shelling the seeds into a sieve. I much 

 prefer this plan, as the seeds are not so apt to be broken, 

 and the work may be done of evenings, rainy days, or at 

 odd spells. 



It can be easily cleaned by the fan-mill or a good breeze 

 and a No. 8 sieve. The seed is not good more than two 

 years. 



Varieties, The varieties usually grown are the " tall " 

 and " dwarf," the former growing six feet high, and pro- 

 ducing long slender pods ; the latter three feet high, with 

 short thick pods, and is considered more productive than 

 the former, which however produces the most showy pods 

 for market. 



ONION. 



This is a very important crop, both to the market-gar- 

 dener and for the farm-garden. Its culture is simple, the 

 demand large, and the crop most generally a paying one. 

 Perhaps I cannot express myself more comprehensively on 

 this subject than to give entire an article entitled "Onion 



