NEW ITALIAN ONIONS. 
Keep the weeds down, and about the time for sowing Onion seed, transplant these Onions 
to the open ground, giving them a rich soil and plenty of room. Every one will form a large 
bulb, and very early. 
12 iikMi* 1^ ^ ^ '"d^ The hot-bed work and 
transplanting will be 
some trouble, but the 
troublesome hoeing and 
hand-weeding and thin- 
ning of young Onions 
will be avoided, which 
all Onion growers know 
is no small labor. We 
hope many of our read- 
ers will try a few in this 
way, at least, as we 
have pursued this course of culture for some years with the most gratifying results. It is doubt- 
less known to most of our readers that it has been considered difficult to grow Onions from 
seed at the South, because the warm weather checks their growth before bulbs are formed. 
The hot-bed plan suggested we think will remedy this evil, but the one usually pursued 
IS to plant what is called Onion Sets. These are small Onions, about the size of large 
peas. The seed is sown in the spring in broad rows, in a poor soil, and very thick, where 
they have not space to make a fair growth. About twenty-eight pounds of seed are sown to 
the acre. The result is a large quantity of stunted Onions, that are taken up in July and dried 
thoroughly on the ground. They are then stored away to be 
sold for planting the following spring. These, when planted in 
the spring, produce good Onions, and are used extensively in 
the South. It is, of course, a good deal of labor to raise a 
bushel of these little Onions, and they generally sell at high 
prices, from ^10 to ^15 a bushel. 
Another Onion very largely grown by those who cannot suc- 
ceed with seed, or who want early green Onions, is the English 
Potato Onion, which is the best underground variety. A large 
Onion produces, the first season, under ground, a large cluster 
of Onions, like that shown in the engraving, but the size is 
reduced. Many of them, with good culture, will be half the size of ordinary Onions. These are 
put out in the spring, and very early they are ready for use as summer Onions, and are a great 
favorite with market gardeners. It is this sort that is usually sold in bunches in the markets. 
Those that are allowed to remain in the ground during the summer make very large bulbs, 
to be sold or re-planted the next spring for small Onions. They are rather poor keepers, and the 
practice here is to spread them on the floor of a barn-loft and cover with straw, where they will 
freeze and keep frozen all the winter. They will then be in pretty good condition, but if kept in 
a wai-m place they must be turned every day, or they will rot, as they will if subjected to fre- 
quent freezing and thawing. If they were good keepers they would be veiy popular. The 
price is always high, generally about ^5 a bushel. 
Another variety not so good or so popular as Potato Onion, is 
the Top Onion. When large Onions of this sort are planted, 
each one sends up a strong stem, just like the seed-stem of the com- 
mon Onion, but instead of bearing on its top a number of seeds 
it produces a cluster of small Onions, just as we show in the engrav- 
ing. Next spring these small Onions are planted, and each one pro- 
duces a full sized Onion. They can be eaten during the summer, 
and are often sold in bunches, or they can be kept for winter use for 
spring planting. Each of these large Onions, of course, produces 
a cluster of small ones after a season's growth. Onion culture has 
become such an important interest, throughout our country, and in fact, throughout the civilized 
world, that we thought it important to give pretty thorough information on this subject. 
157 
POTATO ONION. 
TOP ONIONS. 
