20 ONION-RAISING. 



within about a week or ten days of the Early Red and 

 Cracker onions. It is very prolific, and, like the Red Globe 

 onion, gives larger crops by about one-third than the flat 

 varieties. When each are seen just before pulling, the differ- 

 ence in the bulk of the crop is not very apparent ; but when 

 measured, the globular form of the Danvers " tells." When 

 overgrown by too thin planting of seed, this onion is at 

 times rather coarse in structure; but ordinarily it is very 

 compact, fine of structure, heavy, and a good keeper. 

 When well ripened, I find it keeps equally well under the 

 same circumstances as the Strasburg. The earliness of 

 the Danvers is a great gain in short seasons, or very wet 

 ones ; and as this onion begins to form its bulb quite early 

 in its growth ("bottoms down" is the farmer's phrase), it 

 presents marked advantages over the Strasburg for early mar- 

 keting. In the Boston market the Danvers sells for some- 

 what more a barrel than the Red. In the South and West the 

 Red varieties are generally preferred. 



Having had considerable experience in selecting onions 

 for seed purposes, I find that I can obtain a much greater 

 propor.tion of handsome, well-developed seed-onions from 

 those that have been raised from seed-stock that has been 

 carefully selected through a long series of years : I am 

 therefore led to believe that there can be " pedigree " onions 

 as well as pedigree cattle, and that seed raised from them 

 can be rehed on under the same conditions to give a hand- 

 somer onion than can the average of seed. 



WHITE PORTUGAL. 



nPHE CULTIVATION of this early onion is mostly confined to 



*■ the raising and planting of what are known as " Sets " 



or Button onions, or onions for early family use, as it is a 



