THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 211 



securing an average yield of 669 bushels an acre. 

 Four acres made gross returns of 3,000 bushels of 

 yellows, an average of 825 bushels to the acre. An- 

 other tract of five acres returned 3,176 bushels, an 

 average of 635 to the acre. This last tract of land 

 was not stocked, and the seed proved to be poor. 



" I use Connecticut-grown seed and prefer the 

 late varieties. I fertilize my land thoroughly, 

 favoring a low-grade fertilizer. I use a ton and a 

 half an acre, and about 500 pounds high-grade bone, 

 containing 53^2 per cent ammonia and 20 per cent 

 phosphoric acid. I usually apply the fertilizer be- 

 fore sowing the onion seed. If my land is not full 

 of weed seeds I prefer to apply some fertilizer dur- 

 ing the summer so as to facilitate rapid growth." 



" The average yield of my last crop," writes 

 Willard Jones of Madison county, New York, 

 " was 500 bushels an acre. The maximum yield 

 of one lot was 900 bushel crates. The price re- 

 ceived was 50 cents a bushel for the firsts, and 25 

 cents for the little ones, that is, not less than Ij4 

 inches in diameter separated by screening. A com- 

 mon way of putting the crop on the market is to 

 pack in bushel crates, draw to the railroad siding 

 and dump in bulk, returning to the onion crib with 

 the crates for other loads. We have sold some 

 onions packed in 100-pound sacks. The local 

 buyer pays for the sack. Harvesting is over by 

 November 1. Six rows of onions are pulled and 

 thrown loosely into one windrow and left about a 

 week to dry, then the onions are hand-clipped and 

 put in crates by girls, boys, and women. In the 

 field the crates are stacked up, ten in a heap, for a 

 few days, when they are cribbed and ready for 

 screening. 



