62 



PRACTICE OF GARDENING. 



may thus be more readily tliinned, and the weeds re- 

 moved with greater facility. 



Weed carefully, and when the plants are three inches 

 high, thin them first to three inches, and afterwards to 

 four, six, or eight inches apart ; and where the seed has 

 failed, or there are any defects in the crop, they may be 

 filled up, by planting out some of the thinnings in damp 

 weather. 



It is important in weeding onions with the carrot hoe^ 

 not to stir the earth much, or raise it around the plants, 

 which will prevent them from forming their bulbs pro- 

 perly. When the leaves begin to lose colour, bend them 

 down at the neck, which will hasten their withering. 

 This is likewise important where any of the crop manifest 

 a tendency to grow into leaves instead of bulbs, as by 

 bending them in this manner, the unnecessary luxuriance 

 in foliage will be checked, and the nutriment which is 

 thus drawn from the bulb will be returned to it, which 

 will, of course, render it larger and finer. 



Some sorts are much more liable to this defect than 

 others, and it may be observed, that sorts which produce 

 long bulbs are peculiarly so ; therefore, the round or flat 

 kinds are preferable. 



Onions must be taken from the ground as soon as the 

 leaves are sufiiciently withered, and, for this purpose, dry 

 weather must be chosen. After leaving them on the 

 ground for a few days to dry, they should be removed, 

 and either placed on dry shelves, or tied up in bundles, 

 and kept through the winter in a shed or outhouse, with 

 due preservation from frost, though they are not very 

 tender. 



When veiy large onions are wanted, sow very thickly 

 in the end of May, or beginning of June, in good soil, or a 

 month or two earlier, in very poor soil, as under a hedge 

 or tree, some of the Spanish or Portuguese soi-t. These 

 will nob be much larger than a bean in autumn, and are 

 to be kept for plantiug till the next March or April, in 

 rows or drills, a foot apart, and eight inches between the 

 sets. They must only be pressed a little into the ground, 

 and no earth brought up to cover the bulb. Keep the 

 ground clear from weeds by hoeing it frecjuently between 



