238 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Szer., 1899. 
Personally, all things being considered, I prefer transplanting, if labour is 
available to do the work, more skill being, of course, required for planting than 
for weeding. 
When the weeds are well under command, and the onions have got ahead 
of them, not much is necessary, except to give an occasional stir to the soil by 
the cultivator. 
When the onions are ripe, choose a dry day and pull them out, laying them 
in rows in such a way that the bulbs will be partially shaded from the sun by 
the tops. This is done by laying one row down, and covering the bulbs 
with the tops of the next row. Next day you can cart them in when dry, and 
spread them out on a barn or shed floor or any place you can use, provided it is 
dry and has a free circulation of air. In afew weeks the tops will wither, when 
they can be twisted off, and the onions graded and sent to market. 
In growing pickling onions, of course the seed is sown direct into the 
ground and very thick—at the rate of from 25 Ib. to 30 Ib. per acre. The 
subsequent cultivation is just the same as in the case of the large varieties. One 
acre of good onions will realise more than a good many acres of ordinary farm 
crops. ‘Ten tons is not an uncommon yield per acre, and the price is seldom 
below £6 per ton. Good varieties to grow here are Brown Spanish, Yellow 
Globe, and James’ Keeping. Brown Spanish (which is advertised in America 
as Brown Australian) is a general favourite among onion-growers because of 
its hardiness and good keeping qualities, 
THE VALUE OF STRAW. 
Farmers who live in grain-growing districts and have plenty of straw do 
not value it as they should, or give it the care it deserves. Instead of keeping 
it under cover or even stacking it carefully, it is simply threshed on a heap in 
the field and allowed to rot there. If one is not provided with a barn or shed 
in which to store it, it can be so stacked that the loss will be small. The main 
point to be observed in stacking is to keep the middle high and well tramped; 
then when it settles the outside will all slope downward, and the stack will not 
take water. If well topped, with hangers-on to prevent the wind blowing the 
top off, it will keep in good shape an entire year. By cutting down the stack 
in sections and using an entire section before beginning another, very little 
need be wasted. It is not nearly so convenient, however, as when stored in the 
same building where used. Much of the most valuable portion of the chaff is 
wasted when stacked outside. 
Good straw ranks higher in feeding value than most farmers are inclined to 
admit. They seldom feed much of it, because they usually have plenty of hay, 
and only feed straw sometimes out of necessity. 
An occasional feed of straw furnishes a variety, will be eaten with relish, 
and do farm animals as much good as if the feed had been hay. Animals that 
are fed carbonaceous feed, especially if concentrated, will eat straw readily and 
be much benefited by it. I have seen fattening sheep that had been fed large 
quantities of corn eat the straw placed under them for bedding twice a week in 
reference to good clover hay in their mangers. Comparatively idle horses can 
He kept on straw largely aan ae any increase in their grain rations, and be in 
good condition the following spring. Good, bright straw is better feed for a 
horse than damaged, musty hay of any kind. 
Where straw is made a regular part of the ration, I prefer putting it under 
the mangers, and allowing them to select such as they prefer, using the 
remainder for bedding. They prefer the chaff to anything else. Some farmers 
have the chaff separated from the straw when threshing, and store it in the 
barn, using it for feed during the winter, while the straw is stacked outside. T¢ 
is well to remember that straw fed in a good, warm stable will produce nearl 
or quite as good results as hay fed in the yard, where a good part is wasted. 
Considerably more feed is required to support an animal out of doors in winter 
than in a warm stable. 
