1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
1 73 
All  Sorts. 
The  Best  Soil  for  Onions. 
1.  Is  a  humus  soil,  clay  loam  or  sandy  loam  best  suited  to  the  growth 
of  onions,  productiveness  and  firmness  of  the  bulb  considered  ? 
2.  Is  the  keeping  quality  or  the  flavor  of  onions  affected  by  the  soli 
In  which  they  are  grown  ? 
3.  Does  the  quality  of  the  soil  affect  the  tendency  to  form  scallions  ? 
4.  Do  the  more  successful  onion  growers  prefer  fall  to  spriDg  plow¬ 
ing  of  their  onion  ground  ? 
1.  The  best  soil  is  a  sandy  loam  thoroughly  fertilized 
with  stable  manure.  2.  The  keeping  quality  is.  3. 
The  use  of  coarse,  fresh  stable  manure  does;  and 
probably  the  same  is  the  case  with  damp  soil.  4. 
Fall.  T.  H.  HOSKINS. 
1.  Gravelly  loam  makes  bright-colored,  hard-fleslied 
onions.  2.  Yes  ;  muck  and  too  much  clay  grow  coarser 
onions.  Those  on  mucky  soil  are  dark-colored,  soft 
and  poor  keepers.  3.  Yes  ;  other  things  being  equal, 
the  gravelly  loam  grows  the  fewest  and  mupky  soils  the 
most  scallions.  4.  Plow  loam  rich  in  clay  in  the  fall  ; 
the  lighter  land  in  the  spring.  '  j.  j.  h.  Gregory. 
1.  A  humus  soil  is  the  most  productive ;  a  sandy 
loam  the  best  for  firmness  of  bulb,  but  firm  bulbs  may 
be  grown  on  humus  under  proper  conditions.  2.  Some¬ 
what,  but  more  by  conditions  of  drainage  and  weather 
in  growing,  curing  and  housing.  3.  Perhaps  a  humus 
soil  favors  this  tendency,  but  I  think  other  conditions 
have  more  to  do  with  it.  4.  Fall.  chas.  l.  osborn. 
My  experience,  as  far  as  it  goes,  and  the  information 
I  have  gathered  from  other  sources  lead  me  to  believe 
that  a  humus  soil  is  preferable  to  any  other  for  the 
growing  of  onions.  Their  keeping  quality  and  flavor 
are  to  a  certain  degree  affected  by  the  soil  on  which 
they  are  grown.  I  think  the  soil  does  not  affect  the 
tendency  to  form  scallions.  The  more  successful  onion 
growers  prefer  fall  to  spring  plowing,  e.  a.  sherman. 
A  humus  soil  is  the  best  for  the  raising  of  onions. 
The  stronger  and  richer  the  soil,  the  better  they  will 
keep.  Poor  soil  is  apt  to  produce  scallions.  I  prefer 
fall  plowing  and  plow  deep,  and  usually  plow  again 
lightly  in  the  spring.  I  think  that  spring  plowing  kills 
the  first  crop  of  weeds.  d.  c.  durland. 
To  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  experience,  for 
white  onions  one  should  plow  in  the  fall  clay  loam, 
limestone  land.  Plant  early.  Sandy  loam  is  no  good 
in  our  section — Orange  County,  N.  Y.  Black  dirt  soil 
for  red  onions  will  beat  any  other  in  America  for 
quantity.  Onions  grown  on  high  ground  are  not  so 
strong.  Fall  plowing  for  a  good  crop,  wsi.u.  willcox. 
Northern  Ohio  Onion  Ground. 
1.  About  10  to  12  years  ago  I  raised  large  yields  of 
onions  of  the  best  quality  on  a  sandy  loam  ;  but  of  late 
years  I  have  been  unable  to  grow  anything  of  a  crop 
in  such  a  soil.  This  is  owing,  I  think,  to  the  ravages 
of  the  onion  louse,  a  very  small  insect  that  works  in 
the  top  or  leaves  of  the  plant,  and  cripples  it  so  that 
when  dry  weather  comes  on  it  will  not  grow  to  any 
size.  But  on  muck  soil  (on  some  of  which  I  planted 
onions  last  season)  which  is  well  watered — water 
standing  within  18  inches  of  the  surface  the  year 
round — 1  raised  a  good  crop,  500  bushels  on  100  square 
rods  of  ground.  I  sold  the  crop  early  in  the  fall,  and 
therefore  cannot  say  anything  from  experience  about 
the  keeping  qualities  of  muck-land  onions.  I  consider 
the  mucky  soil  far  better  than  the  sandy  for  onions, 
at  least  so  far  as  their  productiveness  and  appearance 
go,  but  not  as  regards  the  firmness  of  the  bulb. 
2.  I  think  that  an  onion  that  has  been  grown  quickly 
is  far  superior  in  flavor  to  one  that  has  made  a  slow  and 
inferior  growth  ;  therefore  I  do  not  think  that  the 
kind  of  soil  on  which  it  is  grown  makes  any  difference 
in  the  flavor  ;  but  a  perfect  growth  insures  an  onion 
excellent  in  this  respect. 
3.  I  think  not. 
4.  I  prefer  fall  to  spring,  especially  in  case  of  mucky 
ground.  A  heavy  dressing  of  manure  plowed  in,  will 
settle  down  and  become  thoroughly  wet  by  spring  ; 
then  a  good  working  with  a  Cutaway  harrow,  drag 
and  leveler  will  put  the  soil  in  fine  condition  for  seed 
or  transplanted  onions.  squire  Johnson. 
A  Sandy  Loam  Wanted. 
I  have  grown  onion#,  more  or  less  extensively,  or  all 
kinds  of  soil — on  rich  bottom  land,  on  muck,  on  clay 
loam,  on  gravelly  loam  and  on  sandy  loam,  and  find 
that  I  can  grow  a  good  crop  on  any  of  them,  provided 
they  are  thoroughly  drained.  The  most  satisfactory 
soil,  however,  on  which  to  plant  onions,  is  a  clean 
sandy  loam,  or  sandy  muck.  In  a  dry  season  I  would 
prefer  a  soil  just  about  half  way  between  a  sandy  and 
a  clay  loam,  and  having  good  natural  drainage.  The 
yield,  I  believe,  depends  more  on  the  supply  of  avail¬ 
able  plant  food  and  of  moisture,  than  on  the  character 
of  the  soil  in  other  respects.  Clay  loam  gives  me  the 
firmest  bulbs.  Sandy  loam  comes  next  and  muck  last ; 
but  even  in  this  respect,  as  also  in  point  of  flavor,  the 
kind  and  amount  of  manure  applied  are  perhaps  more 
important  factors  than  the  soil  is. 
Tendency  to  produce  scallions  is  the  result  of  several 
causes  ;  but  we  cannot  always  tell  to  what  extent  each 
one  of  these  is  responsible  for  the  trouble.  Seed,  soil 
and  management — all  may  have  some  bearing  upon  the 
formation  of  scallions.  If  the  planting  is  done  early, 
and  the  soil  well  drained,  scallions  should  be  rare. 
Clear,  deep,  moist  muck  seems  to  predispose  most  onion 
varieties  to  grow  thick-necked. 
The  character  of  the  soil  should  also  decide  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  fall  or  spring  plowing.  For  very  mellow  soils, 
such  as  muck,  or  deep  sandy  loam,  I  would  consider 
plowing  superfluous  at  any  time,  and  just  as  soon 
depend  entirely  on  deep-cutting  harrows  for  the  proper 
preparation  of  the  soil,  were  it  not  for  the  necessity  of 
getting  rid  of  rubbish  by  turning  it  under  in  a  nice  and 
thorough  manner.  But  this  plowing  had  better  be 
done  in  the  fall,  and  be  followed  in  spring  by  the 
diligent  use  of  good  harrows.  Soil  that  is  in  the  least 
adhesive,  however,  such  as  clay  loam  and  the  heavier 
soil  of  river  bottoms,  can  hardly  be  got  in  proper 
shape  for  sowing  or  planting  without  the  use  of  the 
plow  in  spring.  The  prevailing  practice  with  onion 
growers,  I  believe,  is  to  plow  in  spring,  t.  greiner. 
Fertilizing  with  Clover  ;  Spreading 
Manure. 
H.  F.  A.,  Cumberland  Hill,  II.  I. — 1.  What  is  the  best 
use  to  make  of  coal  ashes?  2.  What  is  meant  by 
fertilizing  with  clover?  Is  it  plowed  under  while 
green  or  sown  with  Red  Top  and  Herd’s  Grass  and  left 
to  run  out,  and  is  this  latter  course  advisable  when  hay 
is  grown  for  market,  as  we  have  to  wait  about  two 
years  before  the  hay  is  fit  to  sell.  3.  Would  it  be 
advisable  to  draw  manure  in  March  and  spread  it  out 
or  put  it  in  a  large  pile  ?  Would  there  not  be  a  large 
per  cent  of  waste  by  spreading  it  so  soon  ? 
Ans. — 1.  They  make  good  walks  and  paths  when 
well  pounded  down.  Their  fertilizing  value  is  next  to 
nothing  ;  still  they  have  a  beneficial  mechanical  effect 
on  loose  and  sandy  soils.  When  fine  sifted  coal  ashes 
are  applied  to  such  soils  they  become  more  compact 
and  better  able  to  hold  moisture.  The  fine  ashes  fill 
up  the  spaces  between  the  particles  of  the  sand  and 
thus  retard  the  escape  of  water.  2.  The  clover  may 
be  plowed  under  when  at  its  full  growth— this  is  called 
green  manuring— or  it  may  be  cut  for  hay  and  fed  to 
stock  and  put  back  on  the  soil  as  manure.  One  popular 
method  is  to  sow  Timothy  with  the  clover,  cut  the  hay 
for  two  years  and  then  plow  up  the  sod  and  plant 
corn.  If  the  hay  is  sold,  large  quantities  of  chemical 
fertilizers  will  supply  all  that  is  taken  away  from  the 
farm  in  the  hay.  As  explained  two  weeks  ago,  a  great 
deal  of  the  value  of  the  clover  crop  lies  below  ground  in 
the  roots.  It  will  seldom  pay  at  the  East  to  plow 
under  a  f xill  crop.  It  usually  pays  better  to  cut  the 
crop  for  hay  and  use  fertilizers  on  the  stubble.  3.  We 
cannot  advise  because  it  all  depends  upon  your  situa¬ 
tion.  The  majority  of  farmers  whom  we  know  prefer 
to  haul  and  spread  manure  directly  from  the  stable. 
We  shall  soon  print  some  articles  by  Joseph  Harris 
that  will  answer  the  latter  question. 
Business  Bits. 
Salting  Oats  in  tiik  Mow. — A  neighboring  farmer  Informed  me  a 
day  or  two  ago,  that  In  putting  away  his  oats  last  summer  he  had 
salted  It  In  layers,  and  when  he  used  the  oats,  not  a  sign  of  mice  work 
was  to  be  seen,  and  ills  horses  ate  the  oats,  straw  and  all,  much  more 
greedily  than  ever  before.  This  bit  of  Information  may  be  of  use  to 
many  farmers,  who  well  know  how  destructive  mice  and  rats  are  to 
oats,  either  In  stack  or  mow.  8.  miller. 
“Nature’s  Own  Fertilizer  ”  is  another  name  for  Canada  un¬ 
leached  hardwood  ashes.  Nobody  doubts  the  fertilizing  value  of  good 
ashes.  Even  the  man  who  says  that  chemical  fertilizers  will  “  poison 
his  soil "  knows  that  good  ashes  will  help  his  crops.  But  the  ashes 
must  be  good.  The  Forest  City  Wood  Ash  Co.,  of  South  Sudbury,  Mass., 
has  been  advertising  with  The  R.  N.-Y.  for  a  long  time.  Many  of  our 
readers  have  bought  ashes  of  It.  We  have  yet  to  hear  of  a  complaint. 
Saves  Fingers  and  Knees. — Anything  that  does  that  is  well  worth 
considering,  because  these  members  contain  some  of  the  most  useful 
Joints  In  the  body,  and  a  limber  Joint  Is  the  only  one  worth  having. 
Many  hands  and  knees  are  stiffened  In  trying  to  stretch  a  carpet  Into 
shape.  No  man— particularly  no  woman— has  any  business  to  try  to 
do  this  by  hand.  Whon  you  kneel  on  the  carpet  and  try  to  pull  It  up 
close  to  the  wall  you  act  like  the  man  who  tries  to  lift  himself  by 
pulling  at  his  boot  straps.  A  carpet  stretcher  made  by  C.  M.  Mallorv, 
Albion,  N.  Y.,  Is  a  good  deal  stouter  and  cheaper  than  lingers  and  knees. 
Proper  Packing  pays.— The  Florida  Dispatch  tells  this  story:  “  A 
and  B  shipped  lettuce  grown  on  the  same  kind  of  land,  from  the  same 
station,  on  the  same  day,  to  the  same  commission  houso,  and  the  two 
lots  were  sold  the  same  day.  Both  lots  were  good  lettuce,  though  A’s 
was  a  trifle  the  better  of  the  two.  But  A’s  was  packed  with  the  greatest 
care,  the  heads  laid  In  regular  order  like  oranges  and  pressed  down 
tight,  while  B’s  was  thrown  In  with  some  sand  on  It  and  not  pressed 
down  tight.  A’s  lettuce  brought  $5  a  barrel  and  B'b$2.50,  barely  paying 
expenses.  B's  farm  Is  owned  by  the  senior  member  of  the  house  that 
sold  the  lettuce  and  B  Is  Ills  tonantl  Tills  shows  what  packing  did.” 
Bricks  for  Drying  Grains.— The  answer  to  B.  B.T.’s  Inquiry  as  to 
how  to  dry  the  grain,  In  a  late  Rural,  Is  good  whore  there  are  plenty 
of  bins.  1  would  place  In  the  grain  bins  freshly  burned  soft  brick  that 
had  not  yet  absorbed  any  moisture.  If  the  grain  Is  very  dump  use  one 
to  the  bushel,  and  the  bricks  will  absorb  the  moisture  In  the  grain  so 
that  the  latter  will  become  qulto  dry.  If  no  freshly  burned  bricks  are 
at  hand,  any  soft  burned  ones  will  do  If  placed  on  a  fire  until  they  have 
become  cherry-red.  Let  them  cool  so  that  one  can  distribute  them 
well  down  among  the  grain.  Select  clean  bricks  and  brush  off  any  sand 
or  dirt  that  may  be  on  them.  This  will  do  for  a  few  hundred  bushels; 
but  large  elevator  binfuls  can  be  best  dried  by  aerating,  by  elevating 
and  handling  the  grain.  John  cra  ycrabt. 
Complete  Chemical  Manures.— H.  J.  Baker  &  Bros.,  of  New  York, 
send  a  very  neat  little  pocket  note-book  giving  the  facts  regarding  their 
fertilizers,  and  containing  convenient  space  for  a  short  diary  or  notes 
on  farm  events  The  following  statement  from  this  pamphlet  is  com¬ 
mended  to  the  attention  of  those  farmers  who  think  a  cheap  fertilizer 
Is  just  as  good  as  a  “  high-grade”:  “  It  costs  as  much  to  manufacture 
(I.  e.,  mix  and  grind,  bag,  cart  and  freight)  a  $25  phosphate  as  one  that 
Is  worth  $42.50.  This  shows  that  the  percentage  of  cost  of  manufactur¬ 
ing  the  cheaper  phosphate  Is  about  double  that  of  the  better  one,  and, 
taking  Into  consideration  the  percentages  of  ammonia,  phosphoric 
acid  and  potash  they  contain,  the  cost  to  the  farmer  of  the  cheap  one 
Is  about  double,  as  will  be  seen  by  an  examination  of  the  agricultural 
station  reports.” 
Spraying  a  Necessity. — “A  stitch  In  time  saves  nine,”  Is  a  wise 
old  saw — one  of  the  kind  that  has  been  used  to  advantage  for  genera¬ 
tions.  It  Is  early  In  the  season  for  spraying,  but  not  too  early  to  talk 
about  It,  and  to  urge  our  readers  to  give  the  matter  their  present  con¬ 
sideration,  In  order  that  they  may  be  prepared  for  the  work  when  the 
time  comes.  Really,  a  farmer  to-day  cannot  afford  to  bo  without  some 
spraying  apparatus  with  which  to  wage  war  on  Insect  pests,  blights, 
mildews,  rots,  and  the  various  destructive  fungi  that  so  disastrously 
affect  the  unprotected  crops.  The  work  of  the  scientists  in  the  Agri¬ 
cultural  Department  at  Washington  and  In  various  experiment  sta¬ 
tion  has  been  so  exhaustive  In  Its  character,  that  we  have  now 
effectual  remedies  for  almost  all  the  ills  alluded  to.  The  losses  to  the 
country  from  these  pests  would  annually  amount  to  a  sum  large 
enough  almost  to  annihilate  the  National  debt— losses  which  are  very 
largely  preventible.  The  cost  of  the  necessary  apparatus  is  now 
greatly  reduced,  while  the  cost  of  the  fungicides  and  poisons  necessary 
Is  so  small  as  not  to  be  worth  talking  about.  Apple  orchards  are 
especially  in  need  of  the  spraying  machine,  which  can  be  used  to  de¬ 
stroy  the  codling  moth  and  the  apple  scab.  The  weight  of  competent 
authority  decides  that  the  plum  curculio  can  be  practically  banished 
by  spraying.  Aided  by  these  machines,  we  can  easily  grow  all  the 
liner  English  gooseberries,  by  spraying  the  bushes.  We  can  keep  the 
rot  from  our  grape  vines— in  short,  we  can  make  these  simple  affairs 
pay  for  themselves  every  year.  Look  Into  these  matters,  friends 
and,  taking  time  by  the  forelock,  be  ready  when  the  enemies  come. 
FAY 
CURRANT 
HEADQUARTERS. 
BEST  &  CHEAPEST 
GRAPES i i 
I'n tnn.  Unvo#  «rwl  all  olViaM  Vnm  J  Dl A  s  v  *  ^ 
D  O  YOU  USE 
M  C  \AI  rDAD[TC  Esther,  Rockwood,  Eaton,  Moyer  and  all  others  New  and  Old.  SMALL 
IN  fc-W  tlHAr'tb  FRUITS.  Catalogue  Free.  CEO.  S.  dOSSELYN,  FREDONIA, H. Y. 
.  Baker  &  Bros.’ 
Complete  Chemical 
Manures. 
Made  to  furnish  the  EXACT  PLANT  food  REQUIRED  for 
EACH  PARTICULAR  CROP. 
M  Dairy  Sweepstakes,  The  Creamery  Sweepstakes* 
THE  GRAND  SWEEPSTAKES, 
“Jba  COLD  MEDAL, 
Was  awarded  to  Rutter  Made  by  the 
COOLEY  CREAMER  PROCESS. 
At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Vermont  Dairymen’s 
Association.Jan,  12th  to  14th.  1892.  Is  not  this  a  grand 
victory, there  being  over  seventy  competitors •  the 
three  Judges  stating  that  it  waR  the  finest  Jot  of  win¬ 
ter  butter  they  ever  saw.  This  makes  the 
23d  COLD  MEDAL 
awarded.  No  system  can  compare  with  the  f’oolcy 
Cream  er.  Send  for  Full  Illustrated  Circulars. 
FARM  MACHINE  CO.,  Bellows  Falls, 
Munulacturers  of  Creamery  and  l>uiry  .Supplies. 
VERMONT 
They  Supersede  the  Use  of  Stable  Manure. 
The  estimated  values  as  published  by  all  the  various  Agricultural  Experiment 
StatUms  prove  their  worth.  The  opinions  of  prominent  agriculturists  who  have  used 
them  for  over  20  years  sustain  our  claim  that  they  will  produce  paying  crops  of 
»mootn,  lair,  mealy 
and  pure 
POTATOES. 
wcu  niieu,  ucep  kerneied  ears  of 
L.UK1N. 
Large  and  solid  CABBAGE. 
The  heaviest  yield  of 
ONIONS. 
The  finest  colors,  heaviest  weights,  I  'T'/'A'D  APm 
and  best  burning  quality  f  J-  W  TjrALy  vJ. 
“A  A”  Ammoniated  Superphosphate  Standard  UnXlD.  Fertilizer. 
One  trial  of  these  goods  will  produce  results  easily  observed.  Secure  of  our 
agent,  or  of  us  direct  (215  Pearl  Street,  New  York)  our  pocket  memorandum 
book  “  Facts  for  Farmers,”  mailed  free. 
