274 SCHOOL AND HOME GARDENS 
Bottom sets are best adapted to home gardens. The 
white ones are excellent for early green onions, and the 
yellow and red varieties for the main crop. 
Soil. Onions need well-prepared and well-drained, rich 
soil. The land should be given an ample supply of well- 
rotted manure in the fall. If this is supplied in the spring, 
it must not contain coarse material that will make the 
earth loose. The soil for onions must be firm enough to 
hold the bulbs in place. Wood ashes are valuable for 
this vegetable, on account of the potash which it contains. 
Mixed fertilizers may also be used ; they must be worked 
into the soil near the surface, for onions are not deep 
feeders. 
Planting sets. Place sets right side up, with their tops 
just showing, in rows twelve inches apart and two inches 
apart in the row. 
Sowing seeds. Sow the seeds half an inch apart or 
thicker, and thin to two inches apart. Cover half an 
inch deep and pack the soil firmly with the back of a 
hoe or with some flat surface. 
Onions can stand considerable frost. Plant sets or sow 
the seeds as early in the spring as the ground can be 
worked. 
How to grow sets. Sow seeds broadcast in a sandy 
seed bed. After the tops dry, pull the onions and keep 
them in a dry place until the next season. 
Perennial onions. Plant top sets of perennial onions 
in the fall or in early spring. Give them a coating of ma- 
nure each fall. In the spring remove the coarse part of 
