6 
COLORADO EXPERIMENT STATION 
soon tip over and be well shriveled in time for harvesting. It is possible 
in some cases that breaking down the tops by hauling a pole or light roller 
over the field may aid this process of ripening off, but our experiments 
so far have not demonstrated the efficacy of the practice. 
THINNING 
It is quite possible that thinning of onions might be practiced with 
profit, but so far our growers in Colorado have not made a practice of 
thinning. Where good, reliable home grown seed is used and conditions 
permit the control of germination, it is not essential to sow much more 
seed than can be brought to maturity; consequently, thinning has never 
become a general practice. 
A NEW SYSTEM OF ONION CULTURE 
Up to the present time the so-called new system of onion culture has 
never been practiced to any extent in Colorado. Our experiments for 
two years here at the experiment gardens have led us to believe that this 
system could be practiced in Colorado with considerable profit. The sys¬ 
tem consists of growing planted seed in flats or hot beds in February 
so as to have plants four or five inches high to set in the field as soon as 
the weather will permit in spring. These plants are thinned in drills 
an inch and a half or two inches apart in the hot bed and the plants grow 
rapidly, but with plenty of ventilation, till time of setting in the field. 
About 150,000 plants are required to set an acre, setting the plants 3 in. apart 
in the row with rows 1 ft. apart. T|he so-called Spanish onions, as the Prize- 
taker or Giant Gibralter, are most commonly used for this purpose. The other 
varieties, as Yellow Globe Danvers and Red Globe, may be used but will not 
produce the immense size that is desired. In our trials we found that it 
was not difficult to grow onions that would average from eight to twelve 
ounces and many specimens were produced that weighed from sixteen to 
twenty-one ounces. Even larger bulbs than these have been produced. This 
system insures a heavy yield of large onions and gets them ready for 
market early in the season. For special markets these onions will bring 
an average of from one-half or more to double the price of the ordinary 
omion crop. The cost of transplanting will probably not be less than $10’ per 
acre and may amount to $20 and the work of producing the plants in the 
hot beds must be a considerable item. iMuch labor will be saved, however, 
in the weeding and hoeing, as the plants will have the advantage of good size 
before the weeds can possibly start. The yield in this case, also, will be much 
greater than onions sown in the field; consequently, for the man who has 
a small area of land we believe that this system has great possibilities. 
In setting the plants the ground must be marked out in somewhat different 
manner from that for sowing the seed. Either one or two methods may ibe 
adopted. A small shallow furrow may be made for each row with the 
plants set in the edge of the furrow, or a broader furrow may be made and 
a row of onions set each side of this furrow. In this case, it is well to 
make the ditch so that the two rows of onions may be about eight inches 
apart with a wider space between the double rows. This space may be 
used later for the ditches for irrigation. 
HARVESTING 
In harvesting, the onions are first lifted by an implement known as 
an onion lifter. This is simply an implement shoe or bar of iron about 
two feet wide, drawn by a horse, that will run under the onions, cutting 
the roots and loosening them from the soil. This tool is sufficiently wide 
to raise two rows of onions at a time. After they are lifted, the onions 
are topped. This work must be done by hand. The toppers follow the 
rows, cutting off the tops with a knife and discarding those bulbs which 
are not marketable. The good onions are drawn in crates, and in cases 
where the onions are thoroughly ripe are emptied into sacks which are left 
