EXPERIENCES WITH ONIONS. 



735 



or four may be placed in a four-inch pot. Where the 

 economizing of room in the greenhouses in winter is of 

 great importance — as during that season every avail- 

 able spot is occupied with flowering plants — these 

 young plants of coleus are very convenient. They can 

 be stored away in all sorts of places, favorable enough 

 too, but where larger plants could not stand. Hanging 

 shelves, for instance, are just the thing for them. I 

 have, in years past, used a great many of these shelves, 

 although now I am inclined to look on them as very poor 

 contrivances ; yet in a pinch, although they may be in- 

 convenient and cost a great deal of labor, they help out 

 wonderfully. 



There are cases where it is always advisable to prop- 

 agate young plants for stock, as, for instance, where the 

 stock of some particular variety is very limited, and it 

 is desirable to increase it as much as possible. To ac- 

 complish this, cuttings should be made of every branch. 

 These as soon as rooted should be potted singly, and 

 encouraged by every means to grow rapidly. From 

 them, cuttings may soon -be obtained, and these again 

 in turn will quickly yield a crop, the first cuttings being 

 kept and encouraged to produce more wood, from which 

 to propagate again. 



Another case where cuttings only should be taken for 

 stock, is when, as frequently happens, the old plants 

 have become badly infested with mealy bug. In gen- 

 eral these insects lodge more on the old leaves or in the 

 axils of these than on the younger parts of the plant, 

 therefore by taking the points for cuttings, the insects 

 may be avoided. Cuttings are also preferable to old 

 plants which have grown all summer closely packed 

 together in a flower bed. These are generally so weak- 

 ened by fall as to be unfit for stock. Old plants have 

 also their advantages, and where a sufficient amount o^ 

 bench room can be given them for a few months, are, I 

 think, the most profitable. It is always desirable, how- 

 ever, to prepare them, and not be content to take these 

 which have done duty in a bed as a lawn ornament all 



summer. My plan is to plant the required number in 

 the garden in rows about eighteen inches apart each way, 

 so that they cannot become crowded. They are also 

 pinched to keep them dwarf, and cause them to branch 

 out. Early in the fall, when the nights become cool, 

 usually about the first of September, they are carefully 

 taken up, potted in six or seven-inch pots, and set in the 

 greenhouse, and are shaded for a few days until they 

 make new roots. From that time until the cuttings are 

 taken off, they demand but little attention, unless at- 

 tacked by mealy bug, which necessitates a good deal of 

 work to keep it in subjection. I do not find it necessary 

 to keep these plants in a temperature higher than from 

 55° to 60°. The object is not to increase the growth 

 any more than is just sufficient to keep the points of the 

 branches already formed healthy and fresh. In the 

 temperature named very little water is required to keep 

 the plants in good health. A daily syringing overhead 

 is usually sufficient ; it keeps the foliage clean, and just 

 enough water drops into the pots to keep the soil moist. 

 Occasionally a plant may not get sufficient water, which 

 is quickly noticed by the drooping leaves, and then a 

 little should be poured in the pot. But the soil must 

 never get very wet, or surely the plants will suffer. In 

 a much higher temperature water may not onl}' be given 

 more freely with impunity, but it is demanded. A 

 strong growth is, of course, the consequence, but this 

 is not always desirable. About the first of January the 

 cuttings, which are usually strong and healthy, are taken 

 off ; and as soon as they are rooted the old plants are 

 thrown out. These cuttings in due time furnish 

 others, so that by the first of June, when we can begin 

 planting out, there is no trouble in obtaining, as we do, 

 ten thousand strong plants in four-inch pots from one 

 hundred and fifty old plants taken up in fall. After ex- 

 perimenting with old and young plants for stock for 

 many years, I prefer, under the circumstances recited, 

 the former. James Currie. 



Mil-i'aiikee, Wis. 



EXPERIENCES WITH ONIONS. 



SOME FIELD NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS OF VALUE. 



OILS AND MANURES. —The onion 

 needs a rich friable soil, one which is 

 easily worked and which never bakes. 

 Well drained alluvial soil or thoroughly 

 subdued muck is best. The difficulty of 

 caring for a crop on hard stony ground, 

 is of itself sufficient reason for not plant- 

 ing on such land, even if a good crop 

 could be obtained. Analysis of onions 

 show that they make similar demands 

 upon the nitrogen, potash and phos- 

 phoric acid of the soil ; consequently they require a com- 

 plete fertilizer. When plenty of good stable manure 

 can be obtained at a reasonable price it is unnecessary 

 to look for anything better. It is more suitable and 



sooner available if well rotted, but do not be afraid of 

 good fresh manure if not so coarse as to prevent being 

 well plowed under. It needs to be thoroughly incor- 

 porated with the soil, and quite likely this has much to 

 do with the fact that the crop often does better on the 

 same ground year after year, than on new ground. 

 This practice is fast giving away, however, for growers 

 are beginning to learn that new ground in the right state 

 of fertility and cultivation produces better crops. An 

 old pasture plowed the season before to bring it into 

 good condition makes a favorable location. It is found 

 advisable, in some cases, to alternate with a green crop, 

 German millet being the favorite, to free the land from 

 weeds, spores and insects, leaving it fresh and health> 

 for onions the following year. A coarse soil not thor- 



