322 The Frinciples of Yegetahle - Gardening 



onions prefer to buy seed from parties whom they know, 

 even though it costs twice as much as the ordinary seed 

 of the markets. Poor seed may mean mixed varieties, 

 lack of uniformity in the crop, the production of 

 scullions or onions that do not make large bulbs. 

 It is very important that onion rows be perfectly 



Fig. 95. A four-row onion seeder. 



straight, as this facilitates tillage. Fig. 32, p. 118. 

 Usually the rows are placed about 14 inches apart, and 

 the tillage is done by means of hand wheel -hoes. 1 

 the laud is rough, hard and uneven, these hoes cannot 

 be worked to the best advantage. The land should be 

 so finely pulverized that the lum^ps and clods will not 

 roll on the young plants. Usually the onion patch will 



