69 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
I 
Onion Culture —(Prize Essay.*) 
BY WM. T. JENNINGS OF WESTPORT, CONN. 
[The writer of the following has, we believe, had an 
experience of some thirty years in growing onions for 
market,—E d.] 
SELECTION OF GROUND. 
A deep loamy soil is considered the best for onions, 
though they will grow on soil, a large proportion of which 
is clay. A light porous soil with a gravelly subsoil should 
be avoided. The surface of the ground should be nearly 
level, as hilly ground is liable to wash from heavy rains. 
In selecting a piece of ground for onions, there are sever¬ 
al things that should be considered. 
1st. Ground that is stony should be avoided, un¬ 
less the cost of removing the stones is first considered. 
2nd. Ground that is overrun by weeds and troublesome 
grasses, should not be chosen until they are first subdued. 
3d. Ground that is shaded will not do; neither that 
which is too wet to be worked early in the Spring. 
Having attended to the foregoing hints, it is also impor¬ 
tant to select with reference to cultivating the same 
ground for onions for an indefinite length of time, 
(or in so doing, the labor of first preparation is avoided, 
besides each succeeding crop is more easily cultivated, 
provided the previous work has been thoroughly done. 
PREPARATION OF GROUND FOR SOWING. 
Having made a suitable selection of ground, the next 
thing to be considered is its preparation. First gather out 
the stones pretty thoroughly—putting the largest ones into 
fences, the middling sized ones into blind ditches, and 
the smallest ones into the mud holes of the roads. In 
this way some good is done. Above all avoid the heathen¬ 
ish practice of emptying them by the road side, not only 
disfiguring the roads, but giving a harbor for briers, elders, 
and the ten thousand noxious weeds that now infest such 
places. In the ne*t place give the ground a heavy coat 
of the best manure. Hog-pen is the best home-made ma¬ 
nure, next, stable, if not too coarse ; next, common barn¬ 
yard well rotted. As to the quantity of manure on an 
acre, that must be determined in part by the condition of 
the soil. From 20 to 30 loads of 40 bushels per load, make 
-i very good coat to begin with. After this, is deeply 
■plowed in, a top dressing of wood ashes—say 150 or 200 
mshels to the acre may be given, or from 300 to 500 lbs. 
of guano, or bones ground or sawed are good, or any well 
pulverized manure that will not be in the way of Ihe har¬ 
row and rake, may be used. But take care not to use 
seedy manure if you w ish to save much labor and patience. 
Manure may be carted on and plowed under in the Fall, 
or in the Spring just before sowing. If the ground is 
plowed in the Fall, it will not be necessary to replow in 
the Spring. Fail plowing should be put off as long as 
possible—say to the middle of November. 
Having manured and plowed your ground, it is now to 
be harrowed and raked, until it is as even and smooth as 
a beet bed. Harrows of either iron or wooden teeth are 
first used to bring the ground to a general level, and the 
stones to the surface, the brush or bush harrows are then 
used until the lumps are pulverized, and the surface of 
the ground made smooth, then wooden hand-rakes of 
twelve teeth each, are applied to take off the small stones 
and finish for sowing. 
Manure for top dressing may be harrowed or raked in, 
and if guano is used, it is well to make a second applica¬ 
tion during the growth of the crop, which may be scuf¬ 
fled in by the hoe. All manure used should be plowed 
under or mixed with the soil immediately after it is 
spread. 
SOWING. 
Now then the seed is to be committed to the ground. 
And here a word or two of caution is necessary. Be care¬ 
ful what seed is sown. If you are under the necessity 
of buying seed, procure it of some reliable man, a reg¬ 
ular, honest onion grower. It should not be over one 
* In response to the call upon experienced cultivators for prac¬ 
tical information on ihe Culture of Onions, twenty seven essays 
were received, of which six were too late, or were ruled out be¬ 
cause from practical writers but not practical onion growers. 
l’be remaining tweutv-one essays were submitted to a commit¬ 
tee of intelligent gentlemen—our own time and health not al¬ 
lowing: us ro do more than take a cursory glance at a pari of the 
articles. The committee devoted several days to the subject, 
separately reading each article carefully through, and first se¬ 
lecting six ff the best. These six they read twice again, and 
two were SLtected, and on a final reading the one was selected 
which most nearly responded to the terms of the call. On com¬ 
ing together, it was found that each gentleman had, without 
consultation, fixed upon the same essay—the one which is here- 
with published. The Committeewish nsto say that tlipv found 
great merit in nearly all the essays, and it was with difficulty 
■that they con hi come to a final decision—so nearly equal in value 
were many of the essays_In consideration of the increasing 
importance of this subject, and the little that has been written 
on it, we have addressed a note to eighteen of those contribut¬ 
ing essavs, requesting permission to print their articles together 
in book, or pamphlet form. Replies have not yet been received 
■from all, hut if permission be given the work will be announced 
Mi thebuqinoss.or advertising columns.—E d. 
year old, and should sink when placed in water. Better 
not trust to seed merchants, unless actually obliged to. 
Rather pay $5 per pound for reliable seed, than gel doubt¬ 
ful seed for nothing. Having obtained your seed, say 
from 3 to 4 lbs. per acre, you now proceed to deposit it in 
the ground, which is done, where onions are raised to 
much extent, by a simple machine (costing $5) drawn by 
hand, making tw'o drills twelve inches apart, and drop¬ 
ping the seed in them at the same time. Next comes the 
covering process which consists in drawing a hand roller 
over the ground lengthwise the rows; or which is the 
most common way, pushing a clean bright hoe over the 
drills. This may be done by boys, as they make smaller 
and lighter tracks than men. Commence the work 
straight, and then be careful to keep it so; not but that 
crooked rows make straight onions, but for the beauly 
and neatness of the thing. A man accustomed to it will 
sow three acres a day. The time for sowing is the month 
of April, earlier or later according to the state of the 
ground. It is generally found that the earliest sowed 
onions, other things being equal, do the best. 
CULTIVATION. 
About four weeks from the time of sowing, cultivation 
commences in earnest. The first thing to be done in 
this department is to go through them with an onion hoe, 
as soon as (he rows can be distinctly seen when the dew 
is on in the morning. The hoeing this time must be 
light—just skimming the top of the ground—the hoe being 
put forward and drawn toward the hoer. In the course 
of a few days weeding must be commenced; removing 
all the weeds from among the onions. This part of the 
work is usually performed by boys, for various reasons. 
1st. Because they can be hired for about half the price of 
men. 2nd. A good active boy, fifteen or sixteen years old, 
can do as much, or more work than a man ; and also be¬ 
cause it is less tiresome for boys than full grown men : 
for it must be remembered that the stooping, or crawling 
posture must be assumed in weeding onions. In other 
words, whoever does this work must get down to them, 
eyes, fingers and all, and not be ashamed of his occupa¬ 
tion, or of soiling his clothes. The tools needed for hoe¬ 
ing and weeding onions are few and simple. The most 
approved hoe in use, is usually made from a buck saw 
plate, either new or worn, cut about eight inches in 
length, and from one to two inches in width, with a goose 
neck riveted on the inside of it ; or to make the hoe stif- 
fer, two goosenecks are used, riveted as before, but about 
one and-a-ha if inches from the ends of the plate, and 
uniting in one shank in the handle, w hich may be about 
five feet long. This hoe should be kept clean and bright 
so that the dirt will slide over it without being much dis¬ 
placed. A push or scuffle hoe is sometimes used in the 
advanced grow th of the crop. The tools used for weed¬ 
ing, aside from what nature has provided, are a crooked 
knife, (common case or shoe knife with the lower end 
bent up) and a weeder made of thin steel plate, about two 
inches long and one wide, riveted with a goose neck, like 
the hoes, and fixed in a handle about eight inches long. 
Later in the season, a larger weeder is used, about four 
inches in length, and set in a handle about two feet long. 
This is used, w hen the onion tops have become large, for 
the purpose of taking out single w'eeds, and when hoeing 
the ground would injure the onions. 
After this description of tools, we will return to hoeing 
and weeding. As no definite rule can be given for the 
number of hoeings or weedings, this must be left to the 
discretion of the owner, or the person in charge. Suffice 
it to say, the oftener the ground is stirred, the better for 
the crop. Ground should usually be hoed about once in 
two weeks during the earlier Dart of the season, and the 
weeding must he governed by numbers and growth of the 
weeds. It is all important that the weeds be not suffered 
to get the advantage. Keep them do wn—keep them out— 
be vigilant. Think of the old adage about the stitch in 
time, and apply it here. 
This same vigilance must be exercised during the growth 
of the crop. Some persons, owing to extra work during 
harvest, are apt to neglect their onions. This should nev¬ 
er be. July is an important month to the onion grow er. 
If neglected then, the crop is as good as half lost. Nei¬ 
ther is it true that onions are injured by working among 
them when bottoming, although care is necessary not to 
knock down the tops, nor disturb the bulbs when growing; 
but bad usage is better than entire neglect. Neither 
should weeds be permitted to go to seed on the ground 
intended for onions the next year, after the crop is re¬ 
moved. It is sometimes necessary to hoe the ground over 
entirely, and carry off the weeds that may have grown 
after the onions have been pulled. The great pest of 
onion ground usually is purslain ; and this must be watch¬ 
ed and dealt with in a sumrpary way. It may be hard¬ 
ly necessary ta suggest here that the fences and bor¬ 
ders of onion grounds should be kept entirely clean and 
tidy. 
A man will hoe from half an acre to an acre of onions 
in a day. A smart boy will take care of from one to two 
acres of ground during the season, and have an odd day 
now and then to go fishing. 
HARVESTING. 
This takes place during the latter part of August, and 
first of September. The time to pull onions, (which should 
be done by hand,) is when the tops have fallen down and 
turned a brown or yellowish color. Sometimes on ac¬ 
count of the season, or seed, or both, there w ill be more 
or less that will not drop down and dry up. Some have 
proposed in such cases to roll a barrel over them, or break 
them down in some way, but it is of doubtful expediency. 
A scallion will be such whether standing up or bent 
down. When the main crop has ripened down, it is best 
to pull them all, and sort out those which are not fit for 
market, to feed out to the cattle ; for which purpose Ihev 
are esteemed of considerable value. The cattle gener¬ 
ally devour them greedily ; they should not however be 
fed to milch cows. 
The most approved way of curing onions after they are 
pulled, is, to let them lie scattered about the ground for 
about three days, and then pile them up in small stacks, 
containing about a barrel each: after remaining so about 
two weeks, open them, and give them frequent stirrings 
for about three bright drying days, then house them in a 
perfectly dry condition. The stacking gives them an op¬ 
portunity to sweat, and keeps them in a measure from the 
w eather, so that when opened, the outside skin shells off 
and gives them a brighter and clearer appearance, than 
they would have ifieft to cure, scattered about the field. 
Onions cured in this way may be put up in bins, or bays 
to the depth of four or five feet, without, any danger of 
injury; there to be kept, if desired, until the following 
Spring, provided the tops are left on them. If put in barn 
bays, a rough floor should be laid down on timber a few 
inches from Ihe ground, in order that a circulation of air 
underneath may be obtained. Onions should not be kept 
in cellars unless remarkably dry and cool. A slight freez¬ 
ing does not hurt them, provided they are not disturbed 
in their frozen state. 
MARKETING. 
This may commence as soon as onions are ripe, and 
continue until the middle of May following, provided 
communication is open. The most common way of send¬ 
ing onions to market, is by putting them in barrels with 
one head, and sending them in vessels ; as freight by 
water is cheaper than by land. This holds good howev¬ 
er only for those who are fortunate enough to live in prox¬ 
imity to water. 
All the preparation onions require for market, is to cut 
or strip off their tops and put them in barrels. A man or 
boy will prepare fifty bushels in a day. Onions alwuiyt 
keep best in their tops ; therefore they should not be re¬ 
moved until ready for market. 
The price of onion6 varies from $1.00* to $5.00 per bar¬ 
rel, but the average nettprice, taking one year with anoth¬ 
er for several years back, has been about $1.50 per bar¬ 
rel. 
The onions sent to New-York Market are usually 
wholesaled from vessels to the dealers, and resold by 
them in smaller lots, they selling from 25 cents to 50 cents 
per barrel, in advance of cost, so that by the time the 
consumer gets them the first price is nearly doubled. 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
There is no crop perhaps, more sure than that of onions 
They are liable, it is true, to blight, but this seldom oc¬ 
curs unless they are neglected. Rich soil, with a good 
application of manure every year, and proper attention 
will almost invariably insure a good crop. Five hun¬ 
dred bushels to an acre is an average crop, though eight 
hundred are frequently raised. 
There are three varieties of onions commonly raised, 
viz., red, white and yellow. The red onions take the 
lead, as they are more hardy, grow better, and bear hand¬ 
ling better than either of the other kinds. The foregoing 
directions apply equally to each variety, though white 
ones require more attention in curing and gentler hand¬ 
ling. Wbite onions in limited quantities and in good con¬ 
dition sometimes sell for fifty per cent in advance of red 
ones. 
Onions, unlike most other crops, may be raised on the 
same ground for an indefinite length of time, without any 
deterioration in quality or quantity, provided the ground 
is in good heart. The writer knows ground that 
has been used for upwmrds of thirty consecutive years for 
this crop, and the last was as good, or belter than the 
first. 
It may not be amiss to remark here that skill in the 
onion business—and it is an important item—is only ac¬ 
quired, as in every other department of labor, by prac¬ 
tice. Therefore it is better fora new beginner in the 
business to commence on a small scale. And let no one 
delude himself with the idea of becoming suddenly rich 
from raising onions. Patient, honest industry w ill hero 
♦Present price, $3.00, Jan. 25th, 1859. 
