the lack of this alone. On soils which are 
inclined to bake or form a crust on the sur¬ 
face, planting in hills, as above described is 
preferable to drill planting, the seeds seem¬ 
ing to come up better when a number are 
together, and then it is much less work to 
hoc and weed a crop where you can go 
through them both ways. But where the 
business is carried on extensively a good 
Seed Sower is almost indispensihle. 'mere 
are several made which will sow- onion, as 
well as other kinds of seeds, with the great¬ 
est accuracy in perfectly straight drills and 
if care is taken in firming the soil after 
them an immense amount of labor may be 
saved over hand planting. Much time is 
also saved, and the crop may all be put in 
when a days delay mighc bring a storm and 
thus put ofE the work for a week when it 
should be finished. 
MATTHEW’S SEED SOWER. 
The above cut shows Matthew’s Improv¬ 
ed Seed Sower, which is one of the best 
made for rapidly and accurately sowing 
•onion and other small seeds in straight 
drills. We use it for sowing Cabbage, Cel¬ 
ery, Onion, Beet, Turnip, and in fact nearly 
nil kinds of seeds. Even Peas, Beans and 
Corn, may be evenly sown, as it has a 
changable dial -which may be instantly ad¬ 
apted to any sized seeds or to sow any de¬ 
sired quantity per acre. It opens the drill, 
drops the seeds, covers and rolls them, and 
makes a mark in which to run the wheel 
for the next row, all at one operation, but 
as we said above, for onions the drills 
should receive an additional firming with 
the ball of the foot to insure a successful 
germination. No gardener should be with¬ 
out a good sower, for although one like this 
•costs $12.00, he may save that amount by 
its use in a single season on a very smail 
place. This sower lias no cultivator attach¬ 
ed to it, but as every gardener needs a good 
hand cultivator we present a cut of one 
which will give perfect satisfaction. 
RUHLMAN’S HAND CULTIVATOR. 
This implement has been in use upon our 
grounds for several years, and is one of the 
most indispensihle things we own. The 
knives or hoes can readily be set to cut to 
any width desired from six to sixteen indi¬ 
es. It will work up to within one-half inch 
of the rows without injuring the plants 
and one man will do more work with it 
in a given time than six men without it. 
Its cost is only $5.50, so it is capable of 
paying for itself in one or two days time. 
It is strongly built, of the best material, 
the hoes being made of tempered steel, will 
wear well and remain sharp for a long 
time. 
RUHLMAN’S HAND CULTIVATOR. 
If you have the misfortune to be compel¬ 
led to sow onions on ground which is likely 
to become weedy, it will be a good plan to 
mix radish seeds with the onion seeds be¬ 
fore sowing. A half ounce to the pound 
will answer. These radish seeds will 
spring up in a few days and mark the rows 
so the work of the cultivator can begin be¬ 
fore the onions are up and one hours work 
then may be worth twenty-four a few days 
later. The radishes can be pulled and util¬ 
ized before the onions are large enough to 
need the room, this being clean profit as 
well as benefit. 
HOEING AND WEEDING. 
Early and constant weeding and hoeing 
indispensihle to success on an onion crop. 
It should be done as thoroughly as possible 
taking pains to stir the ground close to the 
onions. This will kill all the small weeds, 
even before they can be seen. Tliin out the 
onions so they will stand at least three 
quarters of an inch apart; the larger you 
want the onions the thinner they should 
stand. If you live near a city or large vil¬ 
lage you .can sell these onions in bunches 
at fair prices. 
After the first thorough weeding it pays 
well to apply some good compost or fertil¬ 
izer to keep them growing rapidly. A mix¬ 
ture of salt, plaster and leached ashes is 
used and recommended by many good 
onion growers, A compost of well rotted 
hog- or hen-manure, phosphate, or guano, 
will also answer, if well worked in and 
covered with soil to keep it from wasting, 
as it will if left lying on the surface expos¬ 
ed to the sun and winds. Two thor¬ 
ough, weedings are usually necessary after 
which the wheel hoe if kept running about 
