1902 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
69 
EVERYBODY'S GARDEN. 
Onion Questions.— When onions are 
grown in the North for market, do they 
plant the seed, or sets grown from seed? 
What time do they plant? Will chemical 
fertilizer answer for the crop? If so, how 
much? What kind of good size and eating 
quality is best to grow for early market? 
Can we raise two crops a year, as we do 
of potatoes? In using chemical fertilizer*' 
for potatoes should I put it all on the seed 
pieces, or broadcast it? a. w. w. 
Fairplay, Ark. 
The bulb onion crop at the North for 
market purposes is mostly grown from 
the seed, and by two different methods. 
The most common practice is to drill 
the seed in the open ground in rows 
about 12 inches apart, and thin out 
when plants are well established. The 
second plan is to sow the seed in the 
hotbed or greenhouse in February or 
March, and transplant to the open 
ground as soon as weather and soil will 
permit. In transplanting, the tops and 
rootlets at base of bulb are cut back 
from one-third to one-half, and the 
small onions or bulbs are set in per¬ 
manent rows 12 inches apart, and at 
about the same depth as when standing 
in the hotbed. While not nearly so 
generally practiced as the old method 
of sowing the seed in the open ground, 
this latter plan, no doubt, gives a far 
larger yield, and the labor and expense 
of the two methods is about the same. 
Personally, I prefer the transplanting, 
but would advise trying both plans. To 
insure good results, the seeding or 
transplanting must be done as early as 
the ground will permit. The seed should 
be covered fully one inch deep when 
sown in the open ground, and cultiva¬ 
tion should begin very soon after the 
sowing, not waiting until the onions are 
up, or there will be trouble with the 
weeds. Unless your soil, by previous 
preparation through plowing under cow 
peas or some kindred crop, is exception¬ 
ally rich in humus (decayed vegetable 
matter), it will not be safe to depend 
upon chemical fertilizers. The crop to 
succeed must have humus, and plenty 
of it, and that will be easiest and best 
supplied -with well-preserved stable 
manure. Onions are excessively gross 
feeders, and should you fail in growing 
a crop, your chief cause of failure would 
doubtless lie in insufficient feeding. 
Many practical growers estimate the 
cost of growing onions from seed time 
to harvest to be $100 per acre. How¬ 
ever, with the labor-saving appliances 
now at hand, I believe that estimate of 
cost to be excessive. Be that as it may, 
the cost of fitting the ground, seed and 
labor to grow 300 bushels per acre is 
just as great as to grow 600 bushels, or 
even more, per acre. Thus it is easily 
seen that it is far cheaper bountifully 
to fertilize one acre than to starve two 
acres, so depend chiefly on the manure, 
using the fertilizer, 800 to 1,000 pounds 
or more per acre if you choose, broad¬ 
casting on the furrows and working into 
the soil before seeding. Wood ashes, 
either leached or unleached, if pos¬ 
sible to obtain them, will also be found 
very valuable if used as top dressing, 
and worked in before sowing. The 
heavier the application the better; 100 
pounds nitrate of soda broadcast just 
as the onions are coming up, with a like 
application later on, would be excellent, 
only avoid applying when the tops are 
wet with dew or rain. The ashes and 
nitrate would, I believe, give just as 
good results, and doubtless be cheaper 
than the fertilizer. The Prize-taker is 
doubtless the best main crop onion 
grown for most localities; but doubt¬ 
less, for most or all southern locali¬ 
ties, it should be marketed as soon as 
matured. It is especially well adapted 
for transplanting. The Yellow Danvers 
would be considerably earlier, but prob¬ 
ably a lighter cropper. The old iSilver- 
skin is highly spoken of in some parts 
of the South, especially for its keeping 
qualities. As to varieties, a safe guide 
would be to study your markets, and 
see what is most in demand, as there 
are many others that would probably 
succeed in your locality. You could 
hardly grow two crops of the bulb 
onions in one season, but could very 
likely grow a crop of bunching onions 
and also a crop of the bulbs. Some 
growers in the South do this, and if 
you can find demand for the bunching 
onions, I think there would be no diffi¬ 
culty in growing the two crops advan¬ 
tageously. To do this the sets would 
be planted out in the Fall, probably in 
October, for your location, and as soon 
as the ground was cleared off in the 
Spring, put in the main crop. It would 
be best in this case to follow the trans¬ 
planting method, as you would hardly 
be able to get the bunching onions out 
in good time for sowing the seed. The 
White Pearl, for sets, is highly spoken 
of by some very good authorities for 
southern growing. Onion growing 
seems to be a business of itself, and 
while generally very profitable to the 
practical grower, it is wise to go care¬ 
fully at first. If the commercial fer¬ 
tilizer is used to any considerable ex¬ 
tent, I should advise broadcasting, and 
using sparingly, if at all, directly in 
contact with the seed. 
Plant Boxes.—I would like your opinion 
about the plant boxes used for starting 
little plants, which are offered by some of 
the dealers. The box and all is to be set 
in the ground, so as to give the plant a 
fair start without disturbing the roots. 
The question does not state as to 
whether the boxes are of wood or paper, 
but presumably of the former. Both 
kinds are offered, but the wooden boxes 
much more extensively than the paper 
boxes, which are made in the knock¬ 
down, and are essentially the same as 
those used by the grocer for berry or 
oyster pails. These are objectionable, 
as after becoming water-soaked, which 
they will in time, they get badly out 
of shape, and having no drainage, the 
soil compacts and the plants do not 
thrive well. The wooden berry boxes 
are much used, and, if I mistake not, 
differ but little from the regular plant 
boxes, made especially for the purpose. 
I have used the wooden berry boxes 
quite extensively, and like them for 
vine plants, but not for tomato or other 
hardy plants. However, I never use 
them for any plants without cutting out 
and removing the bottoms before set¬ 
ting in the ground. I am aware that 
many claim that there is no necessity 
for this, as the roots will find their way 
through and thrive uninterruptedly. 
Personally, I do not want the roots 
expending their energies in hunting 
up cracks to creep through before they 
can find their way out into the open 
soil. Whether the regular plant or 
common berry boxes are used, I should 
invariably remove the bottoms at least, 
and sides, too, if possible to do so with¬ 
out disturbing the roots. Whether 
using pots or boxes, I have met with the 
best success by mixing some fibrous 
substance with the potting soil, as it as¬ 
sists greatly in holding the mass of 
roots and soil intact, when removing 
them out of the potting soil into the 
open ground. J. e. morse. 
SPRAYING FRUIT TItEEM. 
The question of spraying fruit trees to prevent 
the depredations of insect pests and fungous dis¬ 
eases is no longer an experiment but a necessity. 
Our readers will do well to write Wm. Stahl, 
Quincy, Ill , and get his catalogue describing 
21 styles of Spraying Outfits and full treatise 
on spraying the different fruit and vegetable 
crops, which contains much valuable informa¬ 
tion, and may be had for the asking. 
Potatoes— Bovee,Carman,Cobbler,Harvest,6Weeks 
* Ohio,Rose,Queen. 85 kinds. C.W.Ford,Fishers,N.Y 
0 AT*v“ Pnre seed. Sample free. 30 kinds. POTA- 
UniiJ TOES. Description. Savefl or$2abarrel; 
direct from grower Field Com. Beans. Ohio Rasp¬ 
berries. Best Clover, Timothy. Choice Barred 
Rocks. Smith Potato Farm, Box B, Manchester,N.Y. 
nt flUCD QCCn -Medium Red and Mam- 
uLUVCIl wCCU moth. New crop,recleaned. 
You get it for less than it costs your home dealer. 
I am anxious to show you sample and quote yon 
price. J. M. FLUKE, Nankin, Ohio. 
Supply your ground with 
rUoi!> nitrogen from the air an 
add humus to the soil. This can be done by the use 
of Southern Cow Peas, which are recommended by 
leading agricultural papers and Kxperlment Stations 
for the building up and making profitable of all run¬ 
down soils. For sale in large or small quantities at 
wholesale prices. Full particulars as to time and 
method of planting. WM. B. ELLIS, Fort Valley, Ga. 
Reference: Central Nat’l Bank, Freehold, N. J. 
I WORLDS 
if/" FAIR *U] 
* V. • 
TOMATO . 
World’s Fair, 
Tomato. 
A solid, fine flavored fruit 
of good si'/.o and ship¬ 
ping qualities. Handsome 
| bright l ed. and syminetri 
cal in shape. 
It is a Money Maker 
for the canner or market 
gardener. Write and get 
our largo illustrated cata¬ 
logue No. lit, telling all 
about our varieties of | 
seeds, slso our full line of 
Tools.Carden Implements, 
etc. Write to-uay. 
Griffith Turner 
Company, 
205 X. 1‘ucuSl., Baltimore,M<1. 
Don't let another season pass without planting 
VICK’S 8EE1)S. The highest quality seeds at the 
most reasonable price. Vick’s Seeds are the most proflta* 
blc because the most productive. 
VICK’S 
Farmer's Handbook 
A complete, reliable and valuable reference hook, 
which tells all about the culture and care of crops, prep¬ 
aration of land, fertilizing and spraying for fungus and 
^ insects, etc.—a 25e book, will be sent to you for 10cif I 
you mention this paper, and we will send with it, free, 
VICK’S Garden and Floral Guide, splendidly 
Illustrated and full of information that will help you, 
whether you plant for pleasure or for profit. 
JAMES VICK’S SONS, 
Box 1508.. K< cheater, N, Y. 
A Big Sheaf 
—a great harvest—always 
results from the use of 
ARLINGTON 
TESTED 
SEEDS 
Send for Free Seed 
Book for 1902, telling all 
_ about Rawson’s Seeds, with' 
' special prices and inducements. 1 
W. W. RAWSON & CO. 
Seedsmen, 
’ 12-18Fnncull Hull Square, lioxton, Mium. 1 
Oeed Potatoes—Carman No. 3 and Sir Walter Ra- 
^ lelgh. Pure, choice seed. L.N. Nelson. Laney, Wls 
OfMP ATIIC©— Elected Seed. Price-List F 
rUIAIUCO E. M. MARVIN, Sun, Mich. 
MARKET PRIZE Ps*S*Si 
Yields more than Carman No. 3. Fine quality. White 
Inside and out. Full description of this and other 
varieties In our free catalogue. Send for it. 
FORD SEED CO., Dept. Q, Ravenna.Ohlo. 
POTATOtS 
Garden and 
Flower Seeds. 
Early and Reliable. Send 
for Catalogue. 
The Geo.W.P.JerrardCo. 
CARIBOU. ME. 
SEED POTATOES 
$1.75 a Barrel and up. 
Michigan Northern Grown are always the best. 
30 best varieties. Blight proof, enormous 
yielders. Highest quality, lowest prices. Sold 
in any quantity, one pound to a c ar load, xoo 
page Catalogue FREE on request. 
Harry N. Hammond Seed Co.,wd. 
Box 42. BAY CITY, MICH. 
Largest growers in America of Vege¬ 
table, Field and Flower 
Seeds. 
M Y Silver Anni¬ 
versary Cata¬ 
log ue contains 
everything in Seeds, 
Plants and Bulbs 
worth growing. It 
is the Seed Book of 
the year. Eight 
colored plates. Free 
to all who apply by 
letter; no postals. 
Address 
IVm. Henry Maule, 
Philadelphia, Pa. 
The Maule 
Seed Business 
is 25 Years Old 
This Year. 
Wo want 
’YOU to try 
DREER’S SEEDS 
% 
fund make the following remarkable offer to introduce them to those 
who are not already acquainted with the mOBt reliable seed sent out 
riirflrTlDI CO Crosby’s Beet,White Spine Cucumber, Wonderful Lettuce, 
\ V tluu I ABLIlO Moss Curled Parsley, Cardinal Radish, Stone Tomato. < 
/ p| nilfC DC Branching Asters, Diadem Pinks, Nasturtium,Large Flowering 
r LU ft Lno Phlox, Sliirley Poppy, Eckford’s Sweet Peas. 
Either eolleetion of six full size packets for 15 cents, or both collections for 25 cents, 
and in addition we send FREE to every purchaser who mentions this magazine, 
WKFER’S GARDEN CALENDAR—the handsomest and most complete 
" catalogue of Seeds, Plants and Bulbs ever issued; a book of 208 pages, 
with beautiful lithographed anil embossed covers, and four colored 
plates of choice Flowers and Vegetables. If you wisli the Calendar 
only, we will send it for 10 cents in stamps or sliver, which 
amount you can deduct from your first order. 
| Truckers should send for our Special Murket Gardener’s List. ‘ 
HENRY A. DREER I Chestnut St., PHILADA., PA. 
DURPEE’S SEEDS 
m. Jr NEVER BEFORE have we introduced such SUPERB NOVELTIES of 
unusual merit. Six choicest Vegetables and five finest Flowers are shown 
painted from nature, others illustrated from photographs and all honestly described in 
BURPEE’S FARM ANNUAL for 1902. This "leading American Seed Catalogue” is 
mailed FREE to all who intend to buy. Write to-day, a postal card will do. 
W. ATLEE BURPEE &. CO., Seed Growers, PHILADELPHIA. 
SEED CORN 
Eighteen Years Experience in the Seed Corn 
Business as a SPECIALTY, convinces us 
that Farmers prefer to buy their Seed 
Direct from the Grower; then he knows 
where It is grown ; also that it is not Commission House, or Elevator Corn ; besides he saves the 
Middle Man's profits. We are the largest Seed Com growers in the world, and have sent out more 
Seed Corn in the past few years than any other Growers, Seed Bouse or Seed Firm in the world. We 
are headquarters for Seed Oats as well. Write us for our Free Catalog of Seed Corn, Farm and 
Garden Seeds. Always address J. R. KATEKIN & SON. Shenandoah, Iowa. 
St Whniocalo Prinec We raise Vegetable Seeds, Seed 
HI ISilUICoalG rilUGO. Potatoes, Farm Seeds, etc., on 
our own Farms, and soli them direct to the planter at Whole¬ 
sale Prices. Catalogue free. Please write for It to-day. Don’t 
delay. JOS. HARRIS CO., Moreton Farm, Coldwater, N. Y. 
Spark’s EARLIANATomato 
Introduced by us last year has made more hard cash for our 
customers than any other novelty ever introduced. Price: pkt.,20c.; 
oz., 85c. s >4 lb., 42.75; lb., 410.00. Our 1902 Garden and 
Farm Manual tells the story of this wonderful tomato and hundreds 
things. Free. JOHNSON & STOKES, flTS 
isneii's Seeds 
Arc as good as the best 
And better than the rest. 
That’s what the trade mark means. It is a guarantee of higKest quality 
tested seeds and is put on every package of seeds for your protection. 
Every time you find it on a package of seeds you may be sure you have the 
best. Write for free illustrated catalog of Farm, Garden and Flower 
Seeds. We mail it free. 
6. M. ISBELL *. CO., 125 WEST PEARL ST., JACKSON, MICH. 
