274 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



HOW AND WHEN TO HARVEST THE ONION CROP. 



MR. T. GREINER gives some good hints in his "Onion Culture" on 

 harvesting onions. When grown by the new method they matured 

 much earher than when grown in the old way, and as soon as mature 

 they need to be harvested. A long period of rainy weather afterward will 

 injure the bulb for the market if left unpulled. At maturity the tops fall over 

 and begin to waste away, the substance being gradually absorbed by the bulbs, 

 so, when the majority of the tops are dying down, the time has come for pulling. 

 They should be left upon the ground for some time to cure, and for this, it is 

 very desirable to have dry weather. If rain comes, the onions should be raked 

 over carefully with a lawn rake. A week or more of dry weather is necessary 

 for curing. Then, on an afternoon of a dry day, gather the crop and dry them 

 inside, storing them in open sheds, lofts, on the barn floor, or any dry airy place 

 where the onions can be spread out thinly. There they may be left until per- 

 fectly cured, that is, until the tops have almost entirely dried away. 



Where a business is made of onion growing for market, a shed suitable for 

 storing onions should be built, varying in dimensions according to the needs of 

 the grower. All the bins are made of slats, with spaces between for free circula- 

 tion of air. In rainy weather the sides may be covered with canvas or adjust- 

 able boards. 



Mr. Henry Price, of Missouri, furnishes a description and plan of an onion 

 curing crib which seemed worthy of commendation. It is described as 

 resembling a double corn crib. " It is sixteen feet wide, and eighty long, with 

 a ten-foot driveway in the centre the whole length. This leaves the width of 

 crib on each side four feet, its height eight feet. The building is lathed all 

 around, inside and outside, similar to a corn crib. Of course it can be put up 

 to suit the notions of the person building it, and quite cheaply, if desired. 

 Ordinary rough posts cut in the woods, set into the ground three or four feet 

 deep, may serve as a frame work. I think I would divide the storage rooms on 

 each side into shelves, making at least four of them, each two feet deep. The 

 onions can then be stored twelve to eighteen inches deep, leaving space enough 

 for free airing and drying between the layers. The loft may also be used for 

 curing onions, or for storing corn, and for other purposes." 



Tin-: currant worm is said to be greatly inconvenienced if the bushes are 

 well mulched with coal ashes. Probably if some wood ashes were mixed with 

 the coal ashes greater results would be obtained. At the New York Experiment 

 Station bushes mulched with the material mentioned suffered much less from the 

 ravages of the larva: than others, although one plat was given no other treatment 

 than ashes, while the plat unmulchcd was several times treated with hellebore. 



