46 



ONIONS ON MUCK 



straddling the row, using in each case the ordinary hoes or 

 blades. By this time the weeds are usually advanced enough 

 to be a menace, and we put on the disks and go ahead of the 

 weeders, working as close to the onions as possible, but being 

 careful not to cut too deep. We aim to go through our fields 

 ten times with the hand cultivator, but sometimes we only 

 get over the ground some eight times. This includes once 

 banking the onions, using the plows. This is usually done 

 after the second weeding when the purslane and other small 

 weeds first appear. The banking smothers the small weeds, 

 this saving considerable finger work. It is sometimes pos- 

 sible to get through the onions with the cultivator after bank- 

 ing them, but sometimes the banking remains except for so 

 much of it as we can tear down with the scuffle hoe. A bet- 

 ter color is obtained on the onions by leaving the banking up, 

 but there is more danger on old ground of increasing the 

 number of scallions and reducing the yield of good onions. 

 I do not know that to be true on new ground. When we can 

 no longer get through the onions with the wheel hoe, we use 

 the scuffle hoe, cutting any weeds between the rows and pull- 

 ing such as are in the rows as we go along. Care is used to 

 pull these weeds before they get too large, otherwise the roots 

 of the onions are torn up and groAvth retarded. If somie 

 weeds get too large, we either cut them off with a Imife or 

 leave them. However, leaving weeds to bear seeds for years 

 to come is only storing up trouble. Our practice is, with the 

 exceptions noted, to use the ordinary fiat hoes and shallow 

 cultivation. If, however, the ground becomes packed and 

 hard or A^ery wet, we put the narrow teeth on the cultivator 

 and dig deep, even at the cost of breaking many roots. Parts 

 of fields showing a yellowish color and not growing well have 

 often shown as good color and as vigorous gro^^^h as the rest 

 of the field after such treatment. 



H arvesting. 



We aim to pull our onions as soon as the majority of the 

 tops fall over. If the crop shows signs of not ripening even- 

 ly, a light roller is passed over it to break down the tops, thus 

 causing them all to dry at practically the same time. In pull- 



