OF ONE ACRE. 
105 
and a half at the cutting part of the blade ; it must 
be sharp and lightly handled, just loosening the 
ground and cutting off any stray weeds. If there 
are no weeds the soil can be quickly loosened with a 
sharp steel rake. They should be worked every eight 
or ten days from this point until they begin to ripen; 
if it is neglected for longer periods than these, the 
gardener will rue it in days of back-breaking labor 
on hands and knees. When the young onions have 
made leaves two or three inches in height, they 
should be thinned out to from four to six inches 
apart in the rows, according to the size of the bulb 
made by the particular variety planted. The seed 
for onions grown in this way should be sown as early 
in the spring as the soil can be gotten into the pro¬ 
per fine condition, so that they may make as strong 
a growth as possible before the hot summer weather 
ripens them off. As they begin to ripen, all those 
with thick necks should be pulled and used upon the 
table, as they will not ripen properly, and if put away 
with the good bulbs will start all to rotting. There 
is a theory common with old gardeners that, by 
bending the tops over when they begin to ripen, the 
bulbs will be increased in size and will ripen more 
quickly; personally, I have tried it frequently, and 
have never been able to observe any difference in 
those bent and the ones left to ripen in the natural 
way. As soon as the bulbs are well matured, take 
them up at once, as a few rainy days might start 
them to growing again if left in the ground; pull off 
all the tops and roots which adhere to the dry bulbs 
and spread them thinly on the barn floor or on the 
