394 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



planted as early in the spring as the ground can be pre- 

 pared, as there is no danger of injury from freezing. The 

 rows are usually i foot apart and the sets 3 inches apart 

 in the row. They should be barely covered in the heav- 

 ier soils ; the depth slightly increased in sandy types. The 

 number of bushels of sets required for an acre will de- 

 pend upon the planting distances and the size of the 

 bulbs. The quantity usually ranges from 8 to 12 bushels. 

 A Massachusetts specialist plants about 20 bushels of 

 sets to the acre. The gross sales of bulbs sometimes 

 amount to $500 an acre, although this is an unusual re- 

 turn from sets. 



538. Cultivation. — As the onion is a shallow-rooted 

 plant, care must be taken not to injure the roots by deep 

 tillage. When hard rains incrust the soil before seeds 

 have germinated, light raking or rolling will be an ad- 

 vantage. Horse cultivators are sometimes employed, 

 especially in the heavier soils, which are difficult to work 

 by hand. However, the additional spacing between 

 rows, required for horse tillage, necessarily limits the 

 yield. If ground has been properly prepared, there will 

 be few instances when the rows should be more than i 

 foot apart. Hand wheel hoes must then be employed in 

 cultivating. Both single and double wheel types are in 

 common use, but it is more economical to use double 

 than single wheel hoes when the plants are small. Many 

 growers prefer the single wheels at all stages of growth. 

 Straight rows and uniform spacing are a great advantage 

 in the operation of wheel hoes. The vertical shovels or 

 teeth are most useful in heavy soils, while the horizon- 

 tal sweeps are most serviceable in light soils. The lat- 

 ter attachments may be used without danger of cover- 

 ing the small plants. It is necessary to cultivate from 8" 

 to 15 times during the season. 



Hand weeding and thinning are required. This work 

 is often done by boys and girls. The thinning is usually 



