1909. 
320 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
ONION CROPS BY HAND. 
Onions from seed are a profitable 
crop. They can easily be a woman’s 
crop. After the land is plowed the 
work is not heavy. An Iron Age seeder 
was used for sowing the onion seed 
in rows one foot apart in 1907. The 
rains came and made the onions grow, 
but the weeds grew still faster. It was 
a problem to know how we were to 
keep those onions in sight. Weeds— 
weeds of all kinds—spring up like 
magic. I spent all the time I could 
spare from the house, pulling weeds. 
away for family use during all the Win¬ 
ter, and the many small ones which were 
saved to use as sets in 1908. As soon 
as the ground could be plowed and 
put in condition, these sets were put 
out and by the end of March they were 
making a fine showing of green tops. 
Sheep shears are used to clip off the 
tops and roots—when preparing the 
matured onion for market. 
Shaking a basketful in a sack will 
knock off the rough, outer skin and 
make the onions look pretty. For sound 
sleep and to keep away the doctor there 
"■» -* 
SvJ- 
■**s s **A'X<* 
PREPARING ONIONS FOR THE MARKET. Fig. 134. 
Hay in and day out I pulled, and as 
I pulled I pondered. Happy day when 
the last row was finished, but by that 
time the weeds were growing again 
in the first row. (And would you be¬ 
lieve it, before that onion crop matured 
the little field was full of weeds again.) 
I soon learned that petticoats and dews 
and dampness did not agree, and I 
donned my husband’s “overalls.” Pie 
did not have time to pull the weeds, 
and I was determined they should be 
pulled. 
1 he three rows we harvested in 
August averaged a hamper to the row, 
is nothing like onions. 
CORA JUNE SHEPPARD. 
Cumberland Co., N. J. 
R. N.-Y.—For an equal amount of 
labor in such a garden there is more 
money in starting Prizetaker onion seed 
in flats or the hotbed and transplanting 
the seedlings early. With a wheel-hoe 
they can be kept clean with less work 
than is needed for drilled onions. 
Pansies in Florida. 
J. 8., Jacksonville, Fla .—Have you any 
way of keeping pansy plants alive and 
blooming? I had a lovely bed of pansies, 
a mass of bloom last May but the plants 
:_y. 
T *v4; -’N-; 
THE HARD STRUGGLE WITII THE WEEDS. Fig. 135. 
and sold for $i per hamper. However, 
we decided to let the onions get their 
growth, and in so doing the price fell. 
One secret o; success is to have your 
produce ready for an early market. 
Catch the top prices. We had to take 
45 cents a basket or 90 cents a hamper 
for a portion the onions. However, 
the very small "ties were sold for pick¬ 
ling and brough; GO cents a basket. We 
made between $25 and $30 from our 
30 150-foot row And the onions can 
be harvested i” hue to use the land for 
a still more n; ‘table cron of celery. 
We did not o > nt the onions stored 
began to die and in this climate pansies 
flower one season and die out. Is there any 
way to treat some plants to prolong life? 
Would transplanting into a shady place and 
cutting back help? 
Ans. —Pansy plants are natives of the 
cooler portions of Europe, and are not 
likely to live long in hot and dry situations. 
We should imagine Florida climate rather 
trying on pansies, but you can undoubtedly 
prolong the life of the plants by keeping 
them in partial shade and in as cool and 
moist soil as possible. In northern cli¬ 
mates pansy plants are practically bien¬ 
nials, seldom living more than two years, 
although occasionally an extra hardy plant 
will bloom several years. In Florida we 
should hardly expect to have them live 
more than one season, and should consider 
them as annuals to be started in the Fall 
in order to secure blooms for late Winter 
and early Spring. 
OUR CATALOGUE 
—the acme of perfection in cata¬ 
logue-making—is the most instruc¬ 
tive, the most useful, the most 
concise, and contains the least 
extravagant descriptions of any 
seed annual published. 
AVeritable Mine of Inf ormation 
You will agree with us when you 
have secured a copy. 
Ready Now Mailed Free 
Postal Sufficient 
J. M. THORBURN & CO. 
Department Y 
33 Barclay St. : : New York 
] 107 YEARS IN BUSINESS IN NEW YORK CITY 
Ensilage Corn. So called be¬ 
cause of its large growth and 
monstrous yield. Carefully 
grown, carefully selected and 
each ear is tipped and butted 
(seecut) before being 
shelled which removes all 
small and imperfect grains. 
GROW BIG CROPS 
You can and ought to do it 
See pages 40-43 of our New Big 
Catalog. Write your name on 
a postal and get it. Send today 
TIIE BATCHELOR SEED STORE 
48 La Fayetfe Si., Ulica, New York. 
P 
k 
My new oats and seed potatoes 
are the same high grade. Cata¬ 
logue free. Ir you are inter- 
ested in fruit, X will send you a I 
[ nice plant—free. 
Dept. 
W. N. 8CARFF. 
O • New Carlisle, Ohio. 
Cow Peas 
-and Soja Beans-"’ 
Cocke’s Prolific Seed Coro, Burt Osfs. Millet. Etc/’ 
Write for FREE Bulletin No. 31 
HICKORY SEED CO.. . . HICKORY, ft. C. 
This year I grew 10,000 bushels of corn. 
For years I have been selecting for a more j 
’'rolillc crop—-for lull sized, perfect ears. I 
ept at it until I succeeded. That’s why I 
g rew this year’s bigerop. It is the 
nest type of corn I ever saw and 
I have selected the best of it for i 
seed. I guarantee it. I will re¬ 
fund your money if you do not And 
it satisfactory. Send us your or¬ 
ders now—before It is all sold. An i 
order means a full corn crib for 
you next fall. 
UST what 
every ama¬ 
teur wants to 
know about 
growing flow¬ 
ers and vege¬ 
tables, told in 
concise, untechnical 
by the ablest 
writers of the 
Gar 
clear, 
language 
horticultural 
day, expressly for Greer’s 
den Book for 1909. Over 
100 Special Cultural Articles 
by well-known specialists and authorities. 
Enlarged to 256 pages, and contains in ad¬ 
dition to the invaluable garden information 
referred to above, color and duotone plates 
and photographic illustrations of worthy 
novelties and the dependable standard 
varieties of vegetables and flowers. 
We mill send a Copy WITHOUT CHARGE to 
anyone mentioning this magazine. 
Henrv A TTrppr 714 chestnut st.. 
rxciii y ta.. i>neerp HILADEL p H1A 
Grass Seeds 
That Give Results 
are the kind for farmers to sow. If you 
have been using the ordinary quality of grass 
seeds, try CONKLIN’S this spring. (They are 
different—because they are the best.) And 
thereby give your land a chance to show yon 
how much bettor crop it can produce with 
the BEST SEEDS. 
CONKI.IN’S SKKDS costs no more than the “ordinary 
quality,” and are by far the cheapest for they are abso¬ 
lutely free from weeds and dirt. Insist on your dealer 
Kettlng them for you. It It IIUAND PURE TIMOTHY, 
I. X. U. ItllAM) PURE CLOVER. 
E. W. CONKLIN & SON, Inc., Wholesale Grass Seeds, 
Binghamton, N. Y. 
Thielmanns—the Seedsmen—carry a full line of 
Garden and Field Seeds. Onion Seed a specia lty. 
Write today for their catalog and Special Prices. 
The Thielmann Seed Co., Erie, Pa. 
THE FAMOUS 
FENDALL STRAWBERRY 
HIGHLAND, NORWOOD, GOLDEN GATE, 
and other Choice Varieties. 
Send for Catalogue. It’s Free. 
CHAS. E. FENDALL & SON, Towson, Maryland. 
for our special prices of Farm Seeds, 
Oats, Corn and Potatoes. Fine Stock. 
SMITH BROS., Seedsmen, Auburn, N. V. 
S trawberry Plant* —Chipman, a leading variety. Also all 
other reliable varieties. Semi for my free 1909 Catalogue. 
Prices from $1.50 up. DAVID ROD WAY, Hartly, Del. 
STRAWBERRY PLANTSYarie/ies. S 
and Prerno Dewberries and Jersey Yellow Seed 
Sweet Potatoes. Pure healthy stock. Send for 
price list JOHN CASAZZA, Vineland, N. J. 
STRAWBERRY PLANTS 
30 of the Best Varieties. 
Illustrated Descriptive Catalogue Free. 
BASIL PERRY, Box 18, Cool Spring, Del. 
SEND 
VEGETABLE PLANTS STRAWBERRY PLANTS 
ANI) FLOWFKS. Send for Price List of Trans¬ 
planted, Well-Hardened Plants. 
THE J. E. HUTTON CO., Conyngliam, Pa. 
All Northern Grown and 
guaranteed to be 99 per cent 
pure. Should produce hay 
at $40.00 per acre annually. Write for Free Sample 
and Instructions on growing. 
GRAIN AND GRASS SEEDS 
Northern Grown and of strongest vitality. We invito you to 
got Government Tests on our samples. Send for Cat. No. 23 
THE J. E. WING & BROS. SEED CO. 
Box 223. Mechanicsburg, Oliio 
Send $2.00 for 1000 plants : 40 varieties finest 
Tennessee grown. Free Catalog. John Light- 
foot. Dept. 30, E. Chattanooga, Tenn. 
Strawberries very best plants 
at reasonable prices. 27th annual catalogue free. 
SLAYMAKER. & SON, Dover, Del. 
WHOLESALE PRICES 
Strawberry. Raspberry, Blackberry, Grape and Currant Plants 
Extra Heavy Rooted High Grade Stock. 
17th Annual Wholesale and Retail Catalogue Free. 
A. R. WESTON & CO., R. 8, Bridgman, Mich. 
Strawberry Plants 
Large stock of thrifty, young plants from the 
famous •' Heritage ” strain Prolific bearer. 
Also Trees, Vines, California Privet, Aspara¬ 
gus Roots, Garden Tools, Spray Pumps, etc. 
Catalogue Free. Write to-day. 
Arthur J. Collins, Box K, Moorestown,N.y, 
PEACH TREES-BERRY PLANTS 
Our Nexv 1909 Catalog Just Out. 
An invaluable hardbook to the in¬ 
tending planter. The best varieties 
of Peaches and other fruit trees and 
how to grow them successfully. Over 
forty varieties of strawberry plants; a book brimful of good things; write for it 
BARNES BROS. NURSERY COMPANY, Box 8, Yalesville, Conn. 
SPECIAL VALUES 
FOR 30 DAYS. 
_ $6.50 B t°S'5S! s $6.50 
Beautiful well formed, well rooted 2 year trees, 3^ to 5 ft. Your choice Delivered to all New England points; also in N. Y., 
N.J., Pa., Ohio, Mich., Ind. and Ill. Many other attractive offers in our complete catalogue—it is free. Hundreds of Rural read¬ 
ers are familiar, by test, with the values we have offered through these columns for nearly a quarter of a century. Let us send 
you the history of one of the mo At productive II year old Apple orchard* In Western New York, planted on the 
1 liter Ky*tein. I stabilshed 1847. _ H. S. WIL EY & SON, Box 13, Cayuga, New York. 
$5.oo per XOO 
AND UP. FREIGHT PREPAID 
Send for Free Catalogue that describes over 400 Varieties and tells 
how two Rural New-Yorker readers found we were reliable 
W. P. RUPERT <& SON, 
Seneca, New York 
