ONIONS ON MUCK 



39 



soil. If it is wet, the small amount of muck on top becomes 

 very wet and stays wet, because the clay is right underneath, 

 whereas if you have the deep soil, and the drainage is good, 

 it sucks away a certain amount. In a dry season, the deep 

 soil will hold considerable moisture. It keeps coming up and 

 keeps the ground moist to within an inch or two of the top. 

 We find that the deeper soil gives the best results in the long 

 run. 



We have to properly prepare the soil to raise onions. Some 

 people believe that the fall is the proper time to plow ; others 

 believe that the time to plow is in the spring. We have seen 

 crops of onions raised on ground plowed either spring or 

 fall or not plowed at all. I would suggest that we plow in 

 the fall and plow reasonably deep. Then, the ground is al- 

 lowed to freeze and so is pulverized by the frost till the spring 

 thaws it out, when we get to work and drag it well. After 

 it is dragged we smooth it, sometimes we roll it to get it into 

 proper condition. Then it is ready for planting. Some 

 people prefer to put the fertilizer on the soil first, drag it 

 in thoroughly, follow with the smoother, and then sow the 

 seed. In either case, whether they put fertilizer in at first 

 or later, we do not know which brings the better results. We 

 have obtained good results either way; we have obtained 

 poor results either way. I would advise putting on half the 

 fertilizer before and half after sowing the seed. 



Disease Control. 



While sowing our onion seed, we also have in mind the 

 sowing of something to prevent pests. We have the smut to 

 contend with in our soil, we have blight, we have maggots, 

 we have winds, we have it too wet sometimes and sometimes 

 we have it too dry. Recently a number of us have found 

 that sowing sulphur and lime with the onion seed, so that 

 the sulphur and lime intermingle with the seed and form an 

 envelope, has been the means of increasing our yield of 

 onions from sixty to three hundred per cent. On land that 

 has been very badly affected with smut, it is shown that the 

 increase has been as high as three hundred per cent. On 



