DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 
j around the bulb, growing mostly on the top of the 
ground. 
Potato Onion —Produces a quantity of young bulbs 
| on the parent root, which should be planted ear|y in 
j spring, in row-s eighteen inches apart, six inches apart 
in the row. and covered one inch deep They should 
; be earthed up like potatoes as they continue to grow 
With this and the preceding variety, the large bulbs 
produce the small, and the small the large alternately 
Any of the preceding six varieties can be recommend 
ed as a small early crop for family use and early home 
market, but not as a main crop the increase of mar 
ketable onions over the seed being too small Of all 
the various modes of Propagation sowing the seed 
for a main crop deserves the first rank its cheap¬ 
ness compared with other modes the facility with 
which it is sowed, the early season when the crop 
may be gathered in. and the superior, fine bulbs 
which it produces, recommend it to general use But 
whatever the mode of propagation the cultivator can 
not expect remunerative crops unless he bestows care 
ful attention to the selection of 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 increas 
ing our facilities for growing We harvested over 
twenty thousand pounds of onion seed this season on 
our own seed farm near Detroit which is by far the 
largest crop ever grown in America by one firm. 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 Beware of Cheap Onion Seed as 
much of it is worthless, and is sure to disappoint the 
purchaser 
ONIONS HOW WE RAISE THEM. 
We receive letters every year, inquiring how to raise 
onions : and for the benefit of our patrons, we will give 
the method as practiced on our seed farm 
Any land that will raise a good crop of corn except 
stiff clay or gravelly soil is suitable for onions. We 
select a sandy loam with a light mixture of clay as it 
is easier to work and produces good crops Land that 
has been worked two years previously in hoed crops and 
j heavily manured for those oops, and kept entirely free 
! from weeds, would be in a desirable condition to com 
mence with. Gather off any refuse that may be on it. 
and in October apply about fifty cart loads of manure to 
an acre. The manure should have been twice turned 
during the previous summer and well fermented, to 
destroy any weed seeds that may be in it Spread the 
manure evenly on the land and plow it under taking 
a narrow furrow, which will mix the manure more 
thoroughly with the soil This will be all the prepara¬ 
tion needed in the fc.ll As early in the spring as the 
ground can be worked without injury, give it a thorough 
dragging, first with an iron drag then with a brush 
drag, after which rake the entire piece with steel hand 
rakes. 
Stretch your line p .-rfcctly straight along one side of 
your bed then wit' a wooden marker—containing five 
teeth fouitccn inch-s apart—mark off your ground run¬ 
ning your outside tooth along the line : returning, place 
the outside tooth in the last mark, and follow it for a 
, guide repeating this operation until the piece is all 
t marked. 
We use a seed drill with a roller attached. Most of 
i the drills have places in the bottom of the feed box 
I numbered No. 4 usually sowing feur pounds of seed to 
New Queen. 
produces the top onion, and the little top onion produces 
the large onion. 
Red Bottom Sets.—Produced by sowing the seed of 
the Large Red Wethersfield very thickly in the spring, 
and not thinning out. They mature under this method 
when about half an inch through. They are then used 
precisely as top onions are, setting them £out in the 
spring, instead of sowing seed. 
Top. or Button. 
Yellow Bottom Sets. — Identical with the preced 
ing, except in color. They are used in the same manner 
and produced from black seed of the Yellow' Dutch, or 
Yellow Danvers varieties. 
White Bottom Sets. — The seed of the White Sil- 
verskin or White Portugal varieties is used to produce 
the white set. They do not keep as well as the red or 
yellow, but produce beautiful, w’hitc onions, early in 
the season 
English Multiplier. — Esteemed by many as the best 
variety for early use It is large-sized, of a mild, sweet, 
sugary flavor • very early, and a large producer The 
large onion produces several small ones in clusters 
