CULTURAL DIRECTIONS 389 



Pounds 



Nitrate of soda, 14 to 16 per cent nitrogen 2,000 



Cottonseed meal 750 



Acid phosphate, 16 per cent 750 



Muriate of potash, 50 per cent 300 



Total 2,000 



For use in sections where cottonseed meal cannot 

 readily be obtained: 



Pounds 



Nitrate of soda, 14 to 16 per cent nitrogen 300 



Dried blood 500 



Acid phosphate 800 



Muriate of potash, 50 per cent 400 



Total 2,000 



When early maturity of large bulbs or bunching 

 onions is desired, nitrate of soda should be used more 

 freely. It is in general use among onion growers, the 

 amount for dressing varying from 50 to 200 pounds an 

 acre. The early applications are most valuable. 



The total amount of commercial fertilizer an acre has 

 a wide range among commercial growers. A very suc- 

 cessful Massachusetts specialist never uses less than 

 two tons. The application, however, usually varies from 

 one-half to one ton an acre. 



535. Sowing in the field. — The great bulk of the onions 

 grown in the United States is produced from seed sown 

 in the open ground where the crop matures. This sys- 

 tem is especially well adapted to conditions known to be 

 highly favorable to the production of onions. Practi- 

 cally all of the American varieties, as Yellow Danvers, 

 Yellow Globe, Southport Red Globe and Red Weathers- 

 field, are grown from open ground seedlings. 



