7 
SEED-TIME 
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is in good shape to sow, which is done with 
a “Planet Jr. Improved Drill,” sowing font- 
pounds to the acre, in drills one fool apart. 
Next comes the weeding, which needs to | 
be strictly attended to, as the success of the ! 
crop depends greatly on how the onions 
have been kept free of weeds. As soon as 
we can see the rows we go through them 
with a Rhulman’s Wheel Hoe, which will 
work them all out nicely within one-half 
i ncli of the raw, then in about three days 
we commence the hand weeding which is 
done by boys armed with an ordinary table 
knife bent at the point. The wages paid 
these boys is from 40 to GO cents per day. 
It takes from forty to fifty minutes to 
weed across the field which is 28 rods in 
length. After resting five minutes all 
hands begin work and come back again, 
and so on, taking live minutes rest at each 
end. In this way we weed an acre of 
onions in a day, at a cost of $6.00. We 
have to weed them five times, the last 
weeding being done with hoes in the mid¬ 
dle of July. In August the tops begin to 
drop and the onions make buttons very 
rapidly. When the tops are all dead, 
which usually is the first of September, we 
pull them throwing lour rows together, 
and the next day if the weather is dry, we 
put them in piles of five bushels in a place, 
and leave them to sweat for four or five 
days when they are topped, using sheep 
shears for the purpose. 
The next in order is to sell the crop. We 
find from past experience that it is better 
so sell from the field at 30 cents per bushel, 
: ban to store for higher price, for, like 
everything else, there are always plenty 
who have onions and imagine theirs are 
the best, and want more than the market 
price; consequently the later market is 
worse than the early. I know of several 
tots that could have been sold for GO cents 
in September, but were held for more, that 
are now looking-for buyers at a muchlower 
price. 
My crop has averaged for a single acre 
from two to three hundred bushels the 
second year on the same ground. I tind 
that the land is improving very much, also 
the onion crop both in quality and quantity. 
J have helped work one-quarter of an acre 
of onions for a friend of mine, whose land 
is lighter, that produced the first year from 
one pound of seed, one hundred and thirty 
bushels of fine onions; and this year from 
the same ground and same quantity of seed, 
one hundred and seventy-five bushels of 
extra onions. I pay no attention to thin¬ 
ning, as 1 think they do best where they 
grow the thickest. The cost of my crop 
was as follows: 
30 loads of manure,.,.,$25.00 
Ploughing one acre,. 
Spreading manure,.. 
50 bushels of unleached ashes, at 6c 
Fitting land,.. 
Sowing seed,.. 
4 lbs. Danvers seed, at $2 lb... 
Weeding and cultivating 5 times,.. 
Pulling, 6 boys, 1 day,.. 
Topping, 300 bushels,.. 
Carting,. 
»’ * •* r » < 
1.50 
1.50 
3.00 
3.00 
1,00 
8.00 
30.00 
3.00 
9.00 
1.50 
Total,. l . ...... $86.50 
I sold 300 bu. at 70c.. .$210.00 
Making a balance of profit of..... .$123.50; 
In conclusion, I would add a little friendly 
advice to the amateur, which, I trust, wifi 
be favorably considered. If you are not 
able to cultivate more than one rod of 
ground thoroughly, why be satisfied, and 
let that be the extent of your onion patch ; 
on the other hand, if you are prepared, 1 
would advise not more than one-quarter 
of an acre, which may be increased as you 
get experience. In all I have written, 1 
trust some one may be benefited. I look 
anxiously each month for the coming of 
this great help to the gardener —“Seed- 
Time and Harvest” —which I read with 
pleasure, feeling that each number is worth 
more to me than a whole year’s subscription. 
In addition to the onions I cultivate toma¬ 
toes and early cabbage. I find the Alpha 
Tomato the earliest of all, so far, and the 
Early Essex next, and a very fine cropper 
also, it is not affected with rot like Per¬ 
fection or Acme. I would like to hear 
from some one on the cultivation of early 
tomatoes and early cucumbers. Come, 
now, my friends, don’t be timid, but let us 
help the Editor of Seed-Time and Har¬ 
vest all we can. Will some one please in¬ 
form me what variety of onions to culti¬ 
vate that will yield as well as Yellow Dan¬ 
vers, and be ready for market two or three 
weeks earlier. 
Trcmnseh, Mich. 
