102 JOHNSON & STOKES 
Choice of Soil. — Heavy, stiff clay land is to be avoided. 
Sand and gravel dry out too quickly. Stony land renders 
good culture difficult. The best soil for onions is a deep, 
rich, mellow loam. Soils which afford natural advantages 
for irrigation should not be overlooked, as the rainfall is 
often lacking when greatly needed. 
Fertilizers — Onion culture demands high manuring. 
No amount of rotted stable manure is likely to be excessive. 
A ton per acre of high-grade, complete fertilizer is not too 
much, if moisture can be supplied. Hen manure is a good 
top dressing for onion-beds, furnishing the needed nitrogen. 
Nitrate of soda is a good source of nitrogen, if nitrogen must 
be purchased. The clovers and other leguminous crops 
yield the cheapest nitrogen. Wood ashes, kainit, etc., fur- 
nish potash. Either ground bone or acid phosphate will give 
the needed phosphoric acid. An analysis of the onion shows 
that it carries away fertility in just about the proportions 
furnished by stable manure. 
It is a singular fact that onions can be grown year after 
year on the same ground, if well manured. Rotation is 
necessary only in case of the occurrence of disease or insect 
attack. The onion loves cool weather. 
Planting. — To grow onion sets, the seed is sown in close 
rows, at the rate of from fifty to sixty pounds per acre. To 
grow large onions direct from seed, five pounds of seed per 
acre will be required. To plant a field with onion sets will 
require twelve to fifteen bushels per acre, according to size 
of the set. 
Onions. — For farm gardeners' purposes, we especially recommend 
Philadelphia Yellow Globe Danvers, Mammoth Yellow Prizetaker, 
White Prize Winner. Earliest Onions are — Extra Early Red Globe 
Danvers, American Extra Early White Pearl, Rhode Island Yellow 
Cracker. The best for sets — Extra Early Red, Philadelphia Yellow 
Dutch and White Silver Skin. For descriptions of varieties, see "John- 
son & Stokes' Garden and Farm Manual." 
