RAISING ONION-SEED. 47 



onions are much sprouted, the sprout may be cut off quite 

 home to the onion, which will insure a straighter and health- 

 ier growth. Care should be taken to plant right end up ; 

 for, odd as it sounds, in the spring it sometimes requires a 

 little care to determine which is the right end. After the 

 seed-shoot is well pushed out, earth should be drawn up to 

 it J and this should be done three times during the season, 

 until it" is heaped around them six or eight inches above 

 the surface of the ground. The first hoeing should be given 

 them very soon after the sprout starts, to fully cover the 

 onion, as when exposed it is very apt to decay. With this 

 support, on land that is not too moist, I find that no further 

 precaution is necessary to keep the seed-tops from the 

 ground j though it is the practice of some growers to support 

 the stalks with light strips of wood, or a line drawn along 

 about two feet from the ground. After the last hoeing (and 

 very clean culture should b^ given then), they should be 

 gone among as Httle as possible. 



The seed-tops may be safely cut (leaving two or three 

 inches of the stem on) when the seed-vessels begin to crack, 

 or, what is a better guide yet (for, after the seed-vessels begin 

 to crack, much ' seed is apt to be lost, especially by heavy 

 storms), after the turning yellow, near the ground, of the 

 seed-stalk : when this occurs, the top may be removed im- 

 mediately, even though it should appear quite green above. 



Seed-tops will be often found in which the seed in the 

 shortest-stemmed receptacles is ripened, and the receptacles 

 themselves are cracked, while a, fresh growth of seed-vessels 

 in a green state almost conceal them : in such cases I would 

 advise the cutting of the top. The tops when cut should be 

 spread to a depth of three inches or less/ in a warm place 

 where heat and air abound, and be turned two or three times 



