. 
44 D. M. FERRY & CO., DETROIT, MICH. 
ns000 ©O RI TO NR] S&S Gece. 
The Onion not only contains considerable nutriment and has valuable medicinal properties, but is most useful in counter- 
acting the bad effects of sedentary life. The disagreeable odor it Lp ATS to the breath may be avoided ina great measure 
by thorough cooking, or by eating a few leaves of parsley. Thoroug 
of after culture will avail nothing unless seed of the best quality is sown. Given the same care and conditions, the product 
from two lots of onion seed of the same variety, but from different growers, may be so unequal in the quantity of merchant- 
able onions, that the good seed would have been the cheaper at ten times the cost of the inferior. 
Our thorough equipment, with long experience in growing onion seed of the very best quality, enables us to say without 
hesitation, that our stock is fully equal to any, and superior in quality to most that is offered. 
Of all the various modes of propagation, sowing the seed for a main crop deserves the first rank. Its cheapness com- 
pared with other modes, the facility with which seed is sown, and the superior bulbs which it produces, recommend its gen- 
eral use. 
HOW TO RAISE ONIONS 
=y A crop of onions can be grown on any soil 
The Soil which will produce a full crop of corn, but 
on a stiff clay, very light sand or gravel, or certain varieties 
of muck or swamp lands, neither a large nor a very profitable 
crop can be grown. We prefer a rich, sandy loam, with a 
light mixture of clay. This is much better if it has been cul- 
tivated with hoed crops, kept clean of weeds and well ma- 
nured for two years previous, because if a sufficient quantity 
of manure to raise an ordinary soil to a proper degree of fer- 
tility is applied at once, it is likely to make the onions soft. 
The same result will follow if we sow on rank, mucky ground 
or that which is too wet. 
H There is no crop where a liberal use of 
Manurin manure is more essential than in this. If 
it is too rank, it is quite sure to make soft onions, with many 
scallions. It should be of the best quality, well fermented 
and shoveled over, at least twice during the previous Summer 
to kill weed seeds. Of the commercial manures, any of the 
high grade, complete fertilizers are good for ordinary soils, 
but very rich soils are often benefited by fine ground bone, 
and mucky ones by a liberal dressing of wood ashes. 
Remove all refuse of previous crops 
Preparation in time to complete the work pete 
the ground freezes up, and spread the composted manure 
evenly, at the rate of about fifty cart-loads to the acre. This 
should first be cultivated in, and then the ground ploughed a 
moderate depth, taking a narrow furrow, in order to thor- 
oughly mix the manure with the soil. Carefully avoid tramp- 
ing on the ground during the winter. Cultivate or thoroughly 
drag the soil with a heavy harrow as early in the spring as it 
can be worked, and then, in the opposite direction, with a 
light one, after which the entire surface should be raked with 
steel hand rakes. It is impossible to cultivate the crop eco- 
nomically unless the rows are perfectly straight; to secure 
this, stretch a line along one side, fourteen feet from the edge, 
and make a distinct mark along it; then, having made a 
wooden marker, something like a giant rake with five teeth 
about a foot long and standing fourteen inches apart, make 
four more marks by carefully drawing it with the outside 
tooth in, and the head at right angles to the perfectly straight 
mark made by the line. Continue to work around this line 
until on the third passage of the marker you reach the side of 
the field where you began; measure fifteen feet two inches 
from the last row, stretch the line again, and mark around in 
the same way. This is better than to stretch a line along one 
side, as it is impossible to prevent the rows gradually becom- 
ing crooked, and by this plant we straighten them after every 
third passage of the marker. 
= This should be done as soon 
Sowing the Seed as the ground can be gotten 
ready, and can be done best by a hand seed drill. This should 
be carefully adjusted to sow the desired quantity of seed and 
about one-half inch deep. The quantity needed will vary with 
the soil, the seed used, and the kind of onions desired. Thin 
seeding gives much larger onions than thick. Four or five 
pounds, per acre, is the usual quantity needed to grow large 
onions. We usea drill with a roller attached, but if the drill 
has none, the ground should be well rolled with a hand roller 
immediately after the seed is planted. 
5 5 Give the onions the first hoeing, just 
Cultivation skimming the ground between the 
rows, as soon as they can be seen the length of the row. Hoe 
again in afew days, this time close up to the plants, after 
which weeding must be continued. This operation requires 
to be carefully and thoroughly done. The weeder must work 
on his knees astride of the row, stirring the earth around the 
plants, in order to destroy any weeds that have just started. 
At this weeding or the next, according to the size of the plants, 
the rows should be thinned, leaving from eight to twelve 
plants to the foot. In ten days or two weeks they will require 
another hoeing and weeding similar to the last, and two 
weeks later, give them still another hoeing, and if necessary 
another weeding. If the work has been thoroughly done at 
the proper time, the crop will not require further care until 
ready to gather. 
7 As soon as the tops die and fall, the 
G atheri n i) bulbs should be gathered into windrows. 
If the weather is fine they will need no attention while curing, 
but if it is not, they will need to be stirred by simply moving 
them slightly along the row. Cut off the tops when perfectly 
dry, about half an inch from the bulb, and then after a few days 
of bright weather the onions will be fit to store for the winter. 
Onions may be kept in fine condition through winter by 
spreading straw to the depth of about 18 inches on the floor 
of a barn or shed and on this spread the onions to the depth of 
about a foot and cover them with about two feet of straw. 
EXTRA EARLY RED 
A medium sized flat variety; an abundant 
producer, and very uniform in shape and size; 
moderately strong flavored, and comes into 
use nearly two weeks earlier than the Large 
Red Wethersfield. Very desirable for early 
market use. Pkt. 5c; Oz. 15c; 2 Oz. 25e; 
The First to Ripen, 
and one of the 
Handsomest 
of the Red Sorts. 4, Lb. 40c: Lb. $1.50 
| i ih | 
ExTRA EARLy RED. 
| arge Red Wethersfield 
THIS IS THE STANDARD RED VARIETY 
and a favorite onion in the East, where immense crops are grown for ship- 
ment. Large sized; skin deep purplish-red; form round, somewhat flat- 
tened; flesh purplish-white; moderately fine grained, and stronger flav- 
—— ored than any of the other kinds. Very productive, the Best Keeper, 
Lara@—E RED WETHERSFIELD. 
and one of the Most Popular for General Cultivation. It is more in- 
clined to form large necks if planted on unsuitable soil than the Danvers, 
but is the best variety on poor or dry soils. 
Pkt, 5c; Oz. 15c; 2 Oz. 25c; % Lh, 40c; Lb. $1,50 
Tae ve a 
preparation of the ground, careful sowing and the best . 
