March.3 the KITCHENGARDEN. 197 
Sowing Leeks. 
Leek seed may be sown, and treated in every respect for the pre- 
sent, as directed for onion seed. 
Planting Seed Onions. 
By seed onions is meant, the small bulbs produced from seed sown 
last season, which should be planted out, as early in spring as it is 
possible to get the ground in a good state for tillage; the southern 
states, in particular, have to depend on such for a general crop, as 
the summer heat is too powerful in these, and indeed in the middle 
states, except the ground is peculiarly suitable, for the bulbs arriving 
at a sufficient size the first year from seed. 
Having prepared an open piece of strong ground, well dug and 
enriched with manure, you may proceed to plant these bulbs in 
rows, either by line and dibble, or by hoe; planting them not more 
than half an inch over the crowns: let the drills or rows be six 
inches asunder, and the onions three inches one from the other in 
the rows. 
But for expedition sake, especially when there are large quanti- 
ties to be planted, prepare an instrument, just in form of a com- 
mon hay-rake, having four round teeth or pegs, either of wood or 
iron, placed in the head, at the distance of six inches from each 
other, four inches long, and near an inch in diameter, close to the 
head, tapering to a blunt point: this being in readiness, proceed to 
mark out your ground into two feet wide beds, leaving a twelve inch 
alley between each; then pull this rake along each bed from one 
end to the other, pressing it down as you proceed, by which it will 
make four regular drills in each, for the reception of the small 
onions, which you are to plant by hand in these drills, at the dis- 
tance above mentioned, and just so deep as that you can cover the 
crowns, by drawing a little earth over them with the hand as you 
proceed. 
By the same method, you may plant these onions in beds of any 
dimensions you please, either lengthwise, or across the beds. 
The Jllium canadense, or tree onion, merits culture both as a 
curiosity in producing the onions at the top of the stalk, as well as 
for their value in domestic use, particularly for pickling, in which 
they are excellent, and superior in flavour to the common kinds; 
and may also be used for any other purposes that onions are. 
It is perennial, and propagated by planting the bulbs in spring 
or autumn, either the root-bulbs, or those produced on the top of 
the stalks; the latter if planted in spring as directed for the other 
kinds will produce very fine handsome sized onions of excellent 
flavour. 
The root-bulbs increase greatly by oft'sets, and should be taken 
up once in every two or three years, when the stems decay in au- 
tumn, and replanted again to produce a supply of top-bulbs. 
