79 
1848. THE CULTIVATOR. 
ip its preparation. The cultivator of the onion must 
work early and late, and in good earnest. Nothing 
short of forcible and persevering labor will answer. 
No man who is afraid of soiling his hands or the knees 
of his trowsert will do to engage in this business. 
Close work at the proper time, is the only sure guar* 
•antee of a good crop. 
3. The raising and planting of the seed. 
In relation to the onion, as well as all other vegeta¬ 
bles, much care is necessary in the selection of the 
plants for seed, and the cultivation of the seed. By the 
application of this care, the character of the article 
raised may be modified almost at pleasure. Until 
within a few years the flat onion, hollow about the 
stem, has been preferred. The thinner the handsomer. 
But it is now understood, that the round, thick, plump 
n onion, is preferable in many respects. It is thought to 
yield better, and weigh heavier. It is found to have a 
decided preference in the market, commanding ten per 
tent, more in price. By selecting those of most desi¬ 
rable form, which ripen the earliest, and carefully set¬ 
ting them for seed, where they will not be exposed to 
sthe impregnation of the baser sorts, the quality has 
been materially changed and improved. These peculiar¬ 
ities in the onion were first noticed in this vicinity by 
Mr. Daniel Buxton. He was careful to select in the field 
before the crop was gathered, such onions as he pre¬ 
ferred, and to preserve them for seed. 
By so doing, the seed which he raised soon acquired 
•a character superior to any other. Many of those who 
had been accustomed to raise their own seed in the or¬ 
dinary way, laid it aside, and purchased seed raised by 
Mr. Buxton, and found their account in so doing. 
There are three varieties -of the onion raised in this 
vicinity—-the Silver'■skin', the .Red, and the White onion. 
The Silver-skin is the predominant species, and more 
cultivated than all others. The Red is preferred by 
some«—sells better in some foreign markets, but does 
not yield so abundantly. The White onion yields as 
well as either of the others, is milder and preferable 
for immediate use^ it will not keep as well, and is not 
fit for exportation; which is the principal use made of 
our onions. 
The common drill machine is used for the distribu¬ 
tion of the seed. This admits of regulation, so as to 
scatter it more or less thick; and in this there is room 
for the application of sound judgment. The usual 
quantity sown is about three pounds to an acre. As 
a general rule, we should say, one pound of good seed 
was the proper quantity for a quarter of an acre of land 
•of good quality well prepared. It is desirable to have 
the seed planted as thick as they will grow fairly, both 
to secure a full crop, and prevent the onion growing 
too large. Onions from one to two inches in diameter 
being preferred to those of a larger size. The skilful 
cultivator carefully looks after all these incidents re¬ 
lating to his crop. 
4. The care necessary to be applied while growing. 
Much of the success of the crop depends on this 
care. At first the plant is extremely tender, and re¬ 
quires to be handled with much caution. Any derange¬ 
ment of the fibres or roots of the young plant, is at¬ 
tended with prejudicial consequences. Much attention 
is necessary to prevent weeds gaining the ascendancy; 
and in eradicating the weeds. Want of due care in 
this is often the cause of failure of a crop. We have 
known the present season, a highly promising crop to 
be injured twenty per cent, at least, by permitting the 
weeds to remain unnoticed one week too long. This is 
especially true when there has been a want of due care 
in preventing the scattering of the seeds of the weeds 
on the land in the years preceding. ,Care should be 
taken, both that no weeds shall ripen their seed upon 
the land, and that no weed seed shall be found in the 
manure. In this respect, warm stable manure, muscle- 
bed, and ashes, have a decided superiority over all 
other manures. Perhaps there is no plant more liable 
to be injured by weeds than the onion. The fibres it 
sends out are very numerous, minute and tender ; any 
fracture of any of these necessarily impairs the perfec¬ 
tion of the plant. When the land is in the proper con¬ 
dition, two careful weedings are all that may be neces¬ 
sary. The rest of the stirring of the ground that may 
be required to promote the growth, can be done with 
the Onion Hoe, (fig. 22,) an instrument specially con¬ 
structed for the purpose, moving on wheels, and adapt¬ 
ed to the width of the rows. It is calculated to pass 
between the rows of onions—being either drawn or 
pushed. The wheels cover a space of about one foot 
in width, and the length of the cutting blade is also 
about a foot. The length of the handle is about five 
and a half feet. The usual distance between the rows 
is fourteen inches, and as the hoe takes a breadth of 
twelve inches, it cuts over all the ground, excepting 
a strip of two inches along each row. The cost of 
the hoe varies from $1.25 to $1.50. It was invented 
by Mr. Joseph Bushby, of Danvers, an intelligent and 
successful cultivator of garden vegetables, about 25 
years since; and was used by himself and neighbors 
only for about ten years. It has now come into gene¬ 
ral use, and saves much of hack-aching labor. The 
distance between the rows can be varied according to 
the quality and condition of the soil. Keeping the 
ground well stirred, loose, and free of weeds, greatly 
facilitates the bottoming of the onion. There is no 
plant that will better reward diligent care in the culti¬ 
vation. The entire difference between a bountiful crop 
and no crop at all, often depends on this. The old 
maxim, “ a stitch in time saves nine,” applies with 
great force in raising onions. 
5. The blights and injuries to which the crop may 
be subject. 
So far as we have observed, this crop is as certain 
as any other that is cultivated. We know that onions 
will not grow without a reasonable proportion of heat 
and moisture; but we have rarely, if ever known, an 
entire failure of the crop, where due diligence has 
been used. There are occasionally blights, the causes 
of which we have not learned. The more prominent 
will be noticed. 
Sometimes we have seen the plant covered with a 
small insect or louse , that gives the top a white or 
light colored aspect, and stops and stints the growth. 
These make their appearance about the time the bot¬ 
toming commerces. We have heard their appearance 
charged to the use of muscle-bed; but whether they 
are limited to land on which muscle-bed has been used, 
we cannot say. We think not. We think they are 
natural associates of the plant. The effect of them is 
to diminish the quantity, but not materially injure the 
quality of the vegetable. 
The crop is sometimes injured by a blue mould that 
gathers on the tops, occasioned by fogs, or an excess 
of moisture from frequent and long continued rains. 
There is a worm or maggot , occasionally found upon 
the onion plant, in the early stages of its growth, caus- 
