CULTURAL DIRECTIONS 
391 
peii, Prizetaker and White Victoria. Those showing the 
smallest gain were Danvers, Weathersfield and Michigan. 
2. The transplanted onions were larger and more uni- 
form in size than those grown from seed in the ordinary 
manner. 
3. The transplanted onions ripened from three to four 
weeks earlier than those grown from seed sown in the 
open ground. 
4. The extra labor involved in transplanting was off- 
set by the saving of labor in weeding. The increase in 
crop, without a corresponding increase in labor, lessened 
the cost per bushel in production.” 
Investigations at many of the experiment stations 
have been favorable to this method of culture, which is 
popular with a large number of growers, although sel- 
dom practiced on a very extensive scale, except in the 
growing of Bermuda onions in the South. A Michigan 
grower transplants annually about seven acres and there 
may be gardeners who transplant even larger areas. The 
method unquestionably meets with favor among grow- 
ers who have a market for large, fancy bulbs of the for- 
eign type. Prizetaker is the most popular variety for 
this method, although other varieties of the foreign types 
are used. 
The seed should be sown at least six weeks in advance 
of planting in the open ground. Many successful grow- 
ers prefer 10 weeks, because it enables them to grow bet- 
ter plants. 
Any rich, porous garden soil free from damping-off 
fungi may be used for starting the plants. Sow in drills 
^2 inch deep and 3 inches apart. Ten or 12 seeds to the 
inch of furrow should give a good stand. A tempera- 
ture suitable for other vegetables will meet the require- 
ments of the onion. If hotbeds are used, a 3 x 6-foot 
sash should produce 8,000 or 9,000 plants. When set 
4x15 inches apart in the field, 170,000 plants will be re- 
