onions, planted the same day, side by side, thinned to 
the same number of plants to the rod, hoed and treated 
in every way precisely alike, the difference being en¬ 
tirely in the sowings, which were samples of seed 
offered us by two growers. Here, then, if nowhere else, 
the greatest care should be taken to secure the best pos¬ 
sible seed. Seed grown in the North will be pretty sure 
to produce better onions when sown in the Southern 
States than southern grown seed. 
We make a specialty of onion seed, and grow and dis¬ 
pose of many tons annually. The demand for our seed 
has increased so rapidly that we are yearly increasing 
our facilities for growing , so that we think we annu¬ 
ally' produce on our seed farms near Detroit the largest 
crop grown by any one firm in America. Our stock is 
all grown from choice , selected bulbs , under our own 
supervision , therefore those who order seed of us will 
be sure of getting new, choice seed of the best quality. 
mow: to rkise onions. 
This is a question we are asked many times every 
year, and which we will try to answer from our experi¬ 
ence in raising many thousands of bushels. 
Soil*— A good crop of onions can be raised on any 
soil which will produce a full crop of corn, unless it be a 
stiff clay, very light sand or gravel, or certain varieties 
of muck or swamp lands. We prefer a rich, sandy loam, 
with a light mixture of clay. This is much better if it 
has been cultivated with hoed crops, kept clean of weeds 
and well manured for two years previous, because if a 
sufficient quantity of manure to raise an ordinary soil to 
a proper degree of fertility' is applied at once, it is likely 
to make the onions soft. Large and fine crops of onions j 
are often raised on black muck lands, but they must be 
“sweet” and well drained. Ordinary swamp land will 
not do, and even on the best of muck the first crop is 
apt to be soft and “ necky.” 
Manure.— There is no crop where a liberal use of 
manure is more essential than in this. Even on the 
deep, black muck onion lands of the Western Reserve, 
manure is essential to a good crop, and not only' is the 
quantity but the quality of the manure used of the 
greatest importance. If it is too rank it is quite 
sure to make soft onions, with many scullions. It should 
be well fermented and shoveled over at least twice 
during the previous summer to kill weed seeds. Of the 
commercial manures, we prefer fine ground bone to any' 
other, but large crops are raised by the use of super¬ 
phosphates. If these manures are used, one-half should 
be applied when the crop is sown, and the rest just 
before they begin to form bottoms. 
Preparation. — In time to complete the work 
before the ground freezes up, remove all refuse of pre¬ 
vious crops, and spread the composted manure evenly, 
at the rate of about fifty cart loads to the acre. This 
should first be cultivated in, and then the ground 
ploughed a moderate depth, taking a narrow furrow, in 
order more thoroughly to mix the manure with the soil. 
Carefully avoid tramping on the ground during the 
winter, and as early in the spring as, it can be worked, 
cultivate or thoroughly' drag it with a heavy' harrow, 
and then in the opposite direction with a light one, after , 
which the entire surface should be raked with steel 
hand rakes. It is impossible to cultivate the crop econ¬ 
omically unless the rows arc perfectly' straight; to secure i 
this, stretch a line along one side, fourteen feet from j 
the edge, and make a distinct mark along it; then, hav- | 
ing made a wooden marker something like a giant rake 
with five teeth about a foot long and standing fourteen 
inches apart, make four more marks by carefully draw¬ 
ing it with the outside tooth in, and the head at right | 
angles to the perfectly straight mark made by' the line | 
Continue to work around this line until on the third 
passage of the marker you reach the side of the field 
where you began; measure fifteen feet two inches from 
the last row, stretch the line again, and mark around in 
the same way. This is much better than to stretch a 
line along one side, as it is impossible to prevent the 
rows gradually becoming crooked, and by* this plan we 
straighten them after every third passage of the marker. 
Sowing tlie Seed. —This should be done as 
soon as the ground can be got ready', and can best be 
done by a hand seed drill. This should be carefully 
adjusted (testing it by' running it over a barn floor), to 
sow the desired quantity of seed and about one-half 
inch deep. The quantity needed will vary' with the 
soil, the seed used, and the kind of onions desired. 
Thin seeding gives much larger onions than thick. Four 
or five pounds is the usual quantity needed to grow large 
onions. We use a drill with a roller attached, but if the 
drill has none, the ground should be well rolled with a 
hand 7 oller immediately after the seed is planted. 
Cultivation* — As soon as the onions arc up so 
they can be seen the length of the row, give them the 
first hoeing, just skimming the ground between the 
rows. We use a hoe made expressly for this purpose. 
The blade is eight inches long and one and a half broad, 
with a long crooked shank set in a handle five feet long. 
The shape of the hoe allows the earth to pass over th_ 
blade without moving it out of its place. A few days 
after give them the second hoeing, this time close up to 
the plants, after which weeding must be continued. 
This operation requires to be carefully and thoroughly* 
done; the wcedcr must get down to his work on his knees 
astride of the row, stirring the earth around the plants, 
in order to destroy any weeds that have just started and 
cannot be seen. In ten days or two weeks they will 
require another hoeing and weeding similar to the last; 
and two weeks later give them still another hoeing, and 
if necessary another weeding. If the work has been 
thoroughly done, and at the proper time, the crop will 
not need anything more until ready to gather. 
Gathering.—As soon as the tops die and fall, the 
crop should be gathered by pulling four rows and lay¬ 
ing them in a single one, the tops all one way, and then 
returning on the next four forming a similar row, but 
with the tops in the opposite direction; laying the tops 
in this way greatly facilitates the “topping.” If the 
weather is fine they will need no attention while curing, 
but if it is not, they will need to be stirred by simply 
moving them slightly along the row. When the tops 
are perfectly dry, cut them off about half an inch from 
the bulb, and throw each pair of rows together forming 
windrows about nine feet apart. After a few day's more 
cf bright weather, they will be fit to store. 
For I*icU:les or Sets. -Good ground should 
be used prepared as above, but the seed sown in broad 
drills and very thick, forty to sixty pounds per acre. 
How to Keep Onions 'riirous;Ii 
Winter. -The essentials for the preservation of 
onions are dryness, thorough ventilation, coolness, and 
freedom from frost, or if frozen, they’ must not be per¬ 
mitted to thaw and freeze again. 
One of the most popular methods of keeping onions, 
is to spread straw to the depth of eighteen inches upon 
the barn floor, scaffold or garret; upon this spread the 
onions six to ten inches deep, and cover with two feet of 
straw. If in good condition and sufficient depth of 
covering is used, they will keep in fine condition till 
May. 
A cooi, dry' cellar of some out-building, barn, or car¬ 
nage-house will be found excellent for keeping onions, 
if It has windows for ventilation. The cellar of a dwell- 
