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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
THE NEW 
 
 Onion Culture 
 
 A STOKY FOR YOUNG AND OLD 
 
 WHICH TELLS HOW TO OROW 
 
 2,000 Bushels of Fine Bulbs 
 
 ON ONE ACRE. 
 
 THE NEW SYSTEM EULLY EXPLAINED. 
 
 By T. OHEINER 
 
 Author of "How to Make the Gauden Pay," " Pijac 
 TicAL Faum Chemistry," Etc. 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
 
 .JANUARY, 1891. 
 
A NEW BOOK BEADY BY APRIL 1st, 1891. 
 
 Practical Farm 
 Chemistry^ 
 
 A Handbook of Profitable Crop Feeding. 
 
 Part I —THE RAW MATEKIALS OF PLANT FOOD. 
 Part II.— THE AVAILABLE SOURCES OF SUPPLY. 
 Part III.— PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMIC APPLICATION OR 
 MANURING FOR MONET. 
 
 BY T. GREINER. 
 
 A handsome volume of ISO pages substantially 
 bound in cloth. Price. $1.00. 
 
 This work, written in plainest language, is in- 
 tended to assist the farmer in the selection, 
 purchase and application of plant foods. If 
 you wish to learn ways how to save money in 
 jDrocuring manurial substances, and how to 
 ma/ce money by their proper use, read this book. 
 If you want your boy to learn the principles 
 of crop feeding, and become a successful far- 
 mer, give him a copy of this book. The cost 
 of the book will be returned a hundred fold to 
 every reader who peruses its pages with care, 
 and ajDplies its teachings to practice. 
 
 For copy, free by mail, forward the price ($1.00) by Express 
 Money Order or Postal Note to the Author and Publisher 
 
 T. GREINER, La Salle, Niagara Co., N. Y. 
 
THE NEW 
 
 Onion Culture 
 
 A STORY FOR YOUNG AND OLD 
 
 WaiCH TELLS HOW TO GROW 
 
 2,000 Bushels of Fine Bulbs 
 
 ON ONE ACRE. 
 
 THE NEW SYSTEM FULLY EXPLAINED. 
 
 By T. QREINER 
 
 Author of "How to Make the Garden Pay," "Prac- 
 tical Farm Chemistry," Etc. 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
 
 J A NU A RY, 189<^^ ^^ ^" ' ' 
 
COPYHIGHTED, 1890. 
 BY T. GREINER, LA SALLE, N. Y. 
 
 
 G.^' 
 
 HAAS & KLEIN, PRINTERS, 
 TERRACE COR. SENECA ST., BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 The Whys unci Wherefores, A Sort of Introduction.— 
 A Fable. The Cat's Trick. Formidable Competition. 
 A Disclaimer. A Secret Worth its Price. Horticul- 
 tural School for the Young, - - - - T 
 First Chapter. Well Be<iun, "HaJf Done. Hoiv the 
 Plnnts arc Groivn.— Trying for the Prize Crop. The 
 Cold Frame. The Seed Bed. Planting an Acre. 
 Quantity of Seed Required. Time of Sowing. What 
 Varieties to Plant, .----- 15 
 Second Chapter. As You Make Your Bed, So You'll 
 Lie. What Soil to Select. How to Manure and 
 Prepare It.— The Best Soil. Manuring the Land. 
 Poultry Manure. Concentrated Manure. Peparing 
 the Soil. Nitrate of Soda, - - - - 23 
 Third Chapter. A Diffi-culty Easily Overcome. How 
 the Plants a re Set in Open O round. —The Real Work. 
 One Advantage of Transplanting. Width of Plant- 
 ing. Marking the Land. Setting the Plants, - 30 
 Fourth Chapter. Pcrseverence That Pays. Tilla<je as 
 Moisture Preserver and Weed Killer.— Objects of 
 Cultivation. Tools of Tillage. Hand Weeding. 
 Home-made Onion Hoe. Nitrate of Soda, - - 37 
 Fifth Chapter. A Timely Pull and Haul. When and 
 How to Harvest the Crop.— Banger in Delay. Signs 
 of Maturity. Curing the Crop. A Curing Shed, - 43 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 Sixth Chapter. The Fragrant Bulb in Market. The 
 Prizctaker A Pricetaker. Weight of Crop. A Cali- 
 fornia Crop. Price Received. Prizetaker and Spanish 
 Onion. Wintering Onions, - - - - 47 
 
 Seventh Chapter. All's Well That Ends Well. Advan- 
 tages and Profits of the New Way. Some Offsets. 
 Advantages of the Method. Estimate of Cost and 
 Returns, - - - - - - - 58 
 
 A Sort of Postscript. The Old Onion Cnltn re. Sowing 
 Seed in Open Ground by Hand and with the Garden 
 Drill. After-Culture. Pickling Onions. Growing 
 Sets. Conclusion, ------ 58 
 
THE \ 
 
 Whys and Wherefores. 
 
 A SORT OF INTRODUCTION. 
 
 " If I were a tailor, I'd make it my pride 
 
 The best of all tailors to be ; 
 If I were a tinker, no tinker beside 
 
 Should mend a tinkettle like me." 
 
 ^ITHO has never met the " Jnck-of-all-trades" 
 ^ * — knowing a little of all, and being pro- 
 ficient in none — a clever sort of person, and 
 liandy to have around as a " general utility ' ' 
 man, but never rising above the level of med- 
 iocrity in anything, or able to -aspire to great 
 things, or command large pay I The man Avho 
 excels, even in a seemingly unimportant spec- 
 ialty, is the one w^ho will achieve a brilliant 
 success and command big i3ay for his work. 
 
 Some of my readers undoubtedly have heard, 
 
 or read, the old fable of the fox and the cat. 
 
 The story, like other fables, has a 
 
 A Fable. , •'' . ^, ,. ' ^, 
 
 moral, and is worth repeating, ihe 
 two animals met in the woods, when the voices 
 of hounds were heard in the distance. 
 
 '' Poor pussy," said the fox, "what will you 
 do when the dogs get after you ? ' ' 
 
8 , NEW ONION cultukp: ; 
 
 " I know a trick," replied the cat, " and am 
 not alarmed,' ' 
 
 " One poor, contemptible little trick!" the fox 
 exclaimed in derision. " Why! you are to be 
 pitied. I have a whole bagful of tricks." 
 
 The hounds, in the meantime, had come 
 j)retty close, and conversation was brought to 
 a stop. The fox sped through woods and fields 
 and meadows, playing one trick after another, 
 in the vain attempt to throw the hounds off the 
 scent. The pursuers remained on his track, 
 and finally overtook and grabbed him. 
 
 In his dying moments he looked uj), and saw 
 the cat in the top of a tall tree, safe from mo- 
 lestation. "Your one trick is worth more than 
 my whole bagful," sighed he, and expired. 
 
 Many farmers are situated pretty much like 
 the fox in the fable. They have a whole bag- 
 ful of tricks by which they hope to escape 
 the usurer, and perhaps the sheriff. They 
 raise a little wheat, and a little oats, a 
 few potatoes, a litte hops, some berries, a few 
 hogs, or a cow, a horse, etc., things which j)rob- 
 ably cost them $1.25 for every dollar they 
 get for them. They try one trick after another, 
 or two or three at a time, changing from one 
 thing to another; and the harder they try, the 
 harder they find themselves pressed, and at 
 last — pity 'tis, 'tis true — in only too many cases 
 they meet a fate somewhat like the fox's. 
 
 The whole bagful of ordinary tricks does not 
 
WHYS AXD WIIEllEFORES. 9 
 
 save them; but the one special cat's trick of 
 
 climbing np to the top of tree or ladder will 
 
 never fail to give a way of es- 
 
 The cat's Trick. ^^^^^ ^^ ^,.^^ .^^^^^ ^^^^ j^^^^^ 
 
 of the crowd— that is the trick worth knowing, 
 and it makes very little difference whether you 
 climb up a tree, or a pole, or a ladder, though 
 you get to the top. Learn the one trick well, 
 and you '11 be safe. 
 
 What I wish to do in this little work, is to 
 tell you of a genuine cat's trick which I have 
 recently discovered— the trick of climbing up 
 to the top in onion culture. 
 
 To grow larger and better bulbs, and more 
 
 bushels on a given area,. than anybody else, has 
 
 always been my aim as an onion grower. My 
 
 chief and almost only competitor has been the 
 
 grower in California, favored by 
 
 Formidable ^j-i^t wonderful climate. It would 
 
 competition. ^^ .^^^^ .^^ ^^^^ ^^^ eastern grower, 
 
 who has to operate with old, well-worn soil, 
 and a short and unreliable season, to enter a 
 race for biggest yield with the grower in a 
 state, where bulbs, weighing live pounds and 
 upwards apiece, can be produced in open ground 
 by ordinary good culture. 
 
 How we were beaten quite badly by a Cali- 
 fornia party, in 1890, in consequence of clima- 
 tic and atmospheric conditions which were 
 favorable to our competitor, and exceedingly 
 unfavorable to us, will be told later on. I am. 
 
10 NEW OjS^ion culture ; 
 
 liowever, still in the field, for further tests of 
 strength, notwithstanding all the drawbacks of 
 climate and worn soil, for 
 
 " . . . . I've made it my pride 
 The best of all growers to be." 
 
 The greatest obstacle is in myself — my love 
 of gossip. If I lind out a trick or secret that I 
 am sure is of value to the world at large, I can 
 not bear to keep silent but must tell it at once 
 to everybody. 
 
 Now I have discovered such a " secret " in 
 
 onion growing, one which eliminates every 
 
 element of uncertainty from the whole business, 
 
 and gives me such advantages that 
 
 A Valuable even California people would not 
 stand the ghost of a chance in 
 competition against me for best crop, so long 
 as they practice only the ordinary old method. 
 It's mere child's play for me, or anybody that 
 follows my new plan, to grow two or three 
 times as many onions on an acre as professional 
 growers do under the old method, and to send 
 bulbs to market over which the commission 
 merchants, and the storekeepers, and consu- 
 mers themselves, can grow enthusiastic; bulbs, 
 too, which are readily selling for $1.00 a 
 bushel, when ordinary onions bring 80 cents. 
 
 Now here is a secret worth money; and if I 
 had been shrewd enough to keep the matter to 
 myself, and work it for all its worth, I might 
 make a nice round sum of money by a discretion 
 which, as usual, is the better part of valor. 
 
WHYS AND WHEREFORES. H 
 
 But it is IV t my nature. 1 liave to give the 
 whole thing away, and teach my would-be-com- 
 petitors the ways in which they may possibly 
 beat me. So I shall at least not be open to the 
 charge of taking an unfair advantage of them. 
 On the other hand, I claim considerable credit 
 for the discovery of the new method. I admit 
 I am not the first person to transplant onions. 
 On a small scale, specimens have been grown 
 in England for exhibit in a similar way; various 
 growers have for generations employed the 
 transplanting process for lilUng out gaps in 
 their onion rows; and others have practiced a 
 plan almost identical with mine in growing 
 early onions for bunching. But to apply the 
 principle to field culture, to reduce the crude 
 plan to a system, and to practice, advocate, and 
 teach it in advance of all others— that, 1 claim, 
 is my merit. 
 
 Credit is also due, however, to Prof. W. J. 
 Green, of the Ohio Experiment Station, who 
 has worked out this same problem, simulta- 
 neously with me, but entirely independently. 
 Neither of us knew that the other was following 
 the same track. I got somewhat the start of 
 Mr. Green, by getting the results of my inves- 
 tigations before the public first. The first, 
 though brief, description of the novel method 
 appeared in " How to Make the Garden Pay," 
 written by me in autumn 1889, and published by 
 Mr. Wm Henry Maule, of Philadelphia, at the 
 
12 NEW ONION culture; 
 
 beginning of 1890. Prof. Green is almost more 
 enthusiastic in regard to the new onion culture 
 than I am myself. In a general way he has 
 come to exactly the same conclusions that I 
 have. This endorsement of the new idea has 
 been a matter of much satisfaction to me, for 
 it can only serve to strengthen an already 
 strong position. 
 
 In the following pages I tell the story of the 
 X)rize crop that failed to get the i)rize; the story 
 of the crop which was a big success for the 
 novice, and a dismal failure for the expert. I 
 have tried to make every detail of the new 
 onion culture perfectly plain, so that even the 
 beginner can go to work at once with a prospect 
 of growing not less than 1,000 bushels on an 
 acre in a poor- season, and twice that amount in 
 a good one. 
 
 I wish it distinctly understood, however, that 
 
 I teach how success can be attained, but that I 
 
 do not guarantee it. My method has to be 
 
 learned like any other business 
 
 A. Tim P.I Ri TTi fii* 
 
 operation. My emphatic advice 
 is to begin on a moderate scale. Plant an ounce 
 or two of seed, learn what can be done, and 
 then if you wish, plant a larger jDatch. It is 
 always safer to grow into a specialty, than to 
 go into it. 
 
 The information given in this little work I 
 know to be valuable. The professional onion 
 grower who tal^es advantage of my advice and 
 
WHYS AND WHEREFORES. 13 
 
 teaching will see his annual profits increased 
 by hundreds of dollars. Consequently I do 
 not fear anybody will question that the infor- 
 mation is worth its price. As 
 The Secret aoricultural literature ^oes, 
 
 Worth Its Price. '^ -tip 
 
 now-a-days, the price 1 ask lor 
 a little work like this may seem high, but 1 
 should be conceded the privilege of setting my 
 own figure on my own professional advice; it is 
 for this alone — for the information — that I 
 charge; not for the paper and the print. 
 
 Suppose, after a careful perusal of the fol- 
 lowing i)ages, you order a single paper, or a 
 single ounce of onion seed, of one of the vari- 
 eties hereafter named, and treat it as did our 
 young friend in the story, and according to my 
 advice, you will be pretty sure to raise a crop 
 w^orth from ten to hundred and more times the 
 purchase price of this little volume. 
 
 I had still another object in view in writing 
 
 the "story of the prize onion crop;" a story of 
 
 success achieved by a young 
 
 Horticultural greeuliaiid under mv advice and 
 
 Training for 
 
 Your Boy. direction. What was done by 
 Gerold, in this case, can be done 
 by any wide-awake youngster of ordinary in- 
 telligence. This story will show him an easy 
 way of earning a little pocket money of his 
 own, and of growing a crop of which he may 
 be proud, and which will take the X3rize at hor- 
 ticultural fairs notwithstanding the competition 
 
14 NEW ONION CULTURE. 
 
 of the "old experienced"' onion grower who 
 works still on the old plan. 
 
 And what a horticultnral schooling and train- 
 ing this affords besides I Can there be a better 
 opportunity for awakening your boy's interest 
 in horticultural matters and making him study 
 up horticultural problems for himself, than by 
 putting a copy of this book, and a package or 
 ounce of Prizetaker onion seed into his hands, 
 and a few square rods of good land at his dis- 
 posal for a start, with these words: 
 
 " Here you have the story of Gerold, and all 
 needed requisites. Now go and see what you 
 can do r ' 
 
 It will be worth more to your boy than if 
 you were to present him with a clean $100 in 
 cash. 
 
 What say you, dear reader;' 
 
 T. GREINER, 
 
 Jan. 1, 1891. la salle, n. y. 
 
FIRST CHAPTER. 
 
 WELL BEGUN— HALF DONE. 
 
 now TIIK PLANTS AUK (HJOWX. 
 
 f^ EROLD usually knows a good thing when 
 ^-^ he sees it. He saw the splendid Prize - 
 taker onions grown in my garden, in 1889, by 
 the new method, and he knew this was his 
 chance. 
 
 " Had n't I better raise a big patch myself, 
 next yearT' he suggested one day, after he 
 had done considerable mental figuring on cost 
 and prolit. 
 
 I knew my young friend to be a very impul- 
 sive youth, but I was not convinced of his 
 perseverance . So I tried to show to him — the 
 greenhand in onion culture — the magnitude of 
 the task, and what an elephant he was going to 
 tackle; but Gerold was bound to make the trial. 
 
 The boy appeared so eager, that at last I 
 became enthusiastic in his behalf myself. 
 
16 NEW ONION CULTUEE ; 
 
 " Why not try for the $50 prize offered by 
 one of our prominent seedsmen, for the largest 
 
 crop of Prizetakers grown from 
 ^rizfcrVp^* one ounce of seed?" Gerold's 
 
 face beamed with pleasure when 
 I offered this suggestion. The unfortunate habit 
 of ' ' putting off until to-morrow what might be 
 done to-day," interfered, however, with the 
 prompt ordering of the seed, and before this 
 came to hand, April had arrived. This delay 
 was a blunder which cost Gerold many bushels 
 of onions. It became plain, in the course of 
 the season, that the crop was reduced not less 
 than one-third, or more, from this cause — but it 
 was a lesson which will not easily be forgotten. 
 The seed, of course, was planted the same day 
 as received, but at that time I had plants in 
 my frames already large enough for setting in 
 open ground. An early start is the chief con- 
 dition of full success. Without it, the under- 
 taking is not 2DeU begun; with it, it is really 
 more than half done. 
 
 At once, after ordering the seed, Grerold had 
 
 prepared a little cold frame three feet by six, 
 
 or iust large enough for an or- 
 
 The Cold Frame. -,. '' , . , -, n t 
 
 dinary hot bed sash, such as 
 happened to be at hand. The picture of frame, 
 on opposite page, will give the beginner an 
 idea how it looks. It is a simple box, slanting 
 from rear where it is about twelve inches high; 
 to front, where about eight inches high. This 
 
GROWING THE PLANTS. 
 
 17 
 
 box is set directly upon the ground in some 
 well-drained and well-protected sunny spot, 
 facing south or south-east. It is then filled 
 
 ONE-SASH COLD FKAME, 
 
 with a mixture of good turfy loam, sand, and 
 fine old compost to about four inches from the 
 top. Ordinary rich garden soil, freed from 
 stones and rubbish by sifting, and further en- 
 riched with fine compost, well mixed and sifted 
 together, will also answer every purpose. The 
 surface is made fine and smooth 
 with a steel rake, and marked off 
 with straight furrows from front to rear. They 
 are easily drawn across with the handle of the 
 rake, or with a little stick, or even the finger, 
 and should be about an inch deep, and four 
 inches apart. 
 
 The Seed Bed. 
 
18 
 
 NEW OIN^ION CULTURE ; 
 
 Such was the frame and seed bed as Gerold 
 had preijared. The ounce of seed was evenly 
 scattered over the whole surface of the bed, 
 and each furrow carefully filled in again with 
 the hand. The latter operation buries all the 
 seed in the furrows Afterwards the soil was 
 well firmed by patting it with the face of the 
 rake, or by means of a piece of board. Now 
 the sash was put on, and the bed left pretty 
 much to itself, excepc giving air on fine days, 
 and an occasional thorough watering when the 
 soil seemed to become very dry. -As the season 
 
 PLx\]SrTS READY FOR TRANSPLAiNTING. 
 
 advanced, the sash was removed, at hrst par- 
 tially, and then entirely, in order to harden off 
 the plants, which is an important matter. In 
 from four to six weeks after sowing the seed, 
 
GK()WIN(; THE I'LANTS. 19 
 
 the plants were ready for transfer to open 
 ground, and there were just 5,000 of them, ap- 
 pearing then as shown in illustration, page 18. 
 I have told and illustrated this for the benefit 
 of the youngster who very likely knows nothing 
 about the construction and use of cold frames. 
 For the benefit of the market gardener, and all 
 those that wish to grow onions on a larger 
 scale, I will say, that I am making the rows 
 only three inches apart, and use about one and 
 one-half ounces of seed to the sash. The 
 eleven rows thus give me 
 
 PlantiQg an Acre. 
 
 about 8,000 good plants, and 
 as we have to calculate on about 130,000 plants 
 for an acre, we should use a frame of about 
 fifteen sashes to get plants enough for a one- 
 acre patch. Perhaps it might do to crowd the 
 plants still more, and grow the needed plants 
 in a twelve-sash frame. At any rate we will 
 require about one and one-half pounds of good 
 
 seed to grow an acre of onions 
 seSquLl in this way, if we plant for 
 
 largest yield on that area. The 
 old method requires six or eight pounds of seed 
 per acre. The saving of the difference is an 
 advantaga of the new method, and although 
 one of the less important ones, is yet worth 
 mentioning when seed costs $5 or $6 a pound. 
 The plants can be transplanted at almost any 
 stage of growth, from the tiny thing not bigger 
 than a darning needle, as found three weeks 
 
20 NEW ONION CULTURE ; 
 
 after sowing the seed, to the vigorous and well- 
 rooted plant of pencil size, and larger. When 
 of about fV iiicti in diameter, however, they are 
 of the best size for the operation. They are 
 then more easily handled, and there will be 
 a smaller percentage of loss than when the 
 plants are smaller. When planting on a large 
 scale, we may need several weeks time for the 
 Job of transplanting. So if we want the plants 
 all just at the right size, it would be better to 
 sow only a few frames at a time, at intervals of 
 several days, to have the plants come in proper 
 succession. The first lot may 
 
 Time of Sowing. . i i i? ^i 
 
 be sown six weeks before the 
 time that the soil is usually in good working 
 order. For this vicinity (Western New York), 
 for instance, I begin to sow about March 1st, or 
 even a week before, and at intervals until March 
 15th, when the last seed should go in. In an 
 emergency frames, covered with waterproof 
 cloth (muslin painted with a mixture of linseed 
 oil and raw egg) may answer, but glass is by 
 all odds the best and safest to use. 
 
 For the first sowings, and in localities with 
 rather severe winters, it may be necessary to 
 use a hot-bed with moderate bottom heat in 
 place of the cold frame. In that case, get for 
 each single sash a one-horse load of fresh horse 
 manure (from well-fed horses), preferably mixed 
 with quarter its bulk of dry forest leaves, and 
 place an even layer, eighteen to twenty-four 
 
VARIETIES. 
 
 21 
 
 inches deep, either in an excavation of about 
 the same depth, or directly upon the ground, 
 and upon this manure place the frame and the 
 soil for the seed bed. 
 What varieties to select for our purpose, is 
 
 m 
 
 PUIZETAKEE ONION. 
 
 What Varieties 
 to Plant. 
 
 a leading question. I prefer the Prizetdker to 
 all others. It . seems especially- 
 calculated for the new method. 
 I consider it the finest, hand- 
 somest and largest onion now in cultivation in 
 America, and its flavor most . excellent. Any 
 gardener can fall in love with this variety. If 
 well grown, it closely resembles the imported 
 
22 NEW ONION CULTURE. 
 
 "Spanish" onion kept on sale at groceries and 
 fruit stores. Next to Prizetaker, and some- 
 what similar, is Spanish King, also a grand 
 onion, but not equal to the other. 
 
 Prof. W. J. Green thinks that the old 
 standard varieties — the Wethersheld Red and 
 Dan vers Yellow — are also suitable sorts for 
 growing under the new system. I do not yet 
 put forth any such claim. I believe, however, 
 that the White Globe {Southport White Olobe) 
 will do beautifully when thus grown, and I 
 shall plant it quite extensively next season. 
 The white onions, for the last few years, have 
 brought exceedingly good prices. 
 
 There are also a number of others, newer and 
 older, among the foreign (Italian) varieties, 
 such as the Silver King, the Giant Roccas, 
 Tripoli, etc., etc., which might -be grown with 
 advantage by the same method ; but as most of 
 these sorts are poor keepers I prefer those 
 first-named. Prof. Green writes me, however, 
 that the White Yictoria has done very nicely 
 with him, and that he considers it superior to 
 any white sort tested at the station grounds. 
 
SECOND CHAPTER. 
 
 AS YOU MAKE YOUR BED, SO 
 YOU 'LL LIE. 
 
 WHAT SOIL TO SELECT, HOW TO MANURE AND 
 PREPARE IT. 
 
 <<\117"HAT spot would you advise me to select, 
 for my onion patch?" asked. Gerold, 
 after we had sown the seed. • 
 
 We had a piece of good loam, not very fertile, 
 
 'tis true, but having been cropped with carrots 
 
 and beets the year before, conse- 
 
 The Best Soil. ^- ■. -, ;j - -p • 
 
 quently quite clean, and m lair 
 tilth. It is underlaid with a kind of quick- 
 sand which supplies moisture by capillary' 
 action even during a dry spell, while the excess 
 of water is carried off by tile drains. 
 
 "Here is the exact spot that you want,'' 
 said I. 
 
 " Why not plant it on that deep, rich muck? " 
 came the next query. 
 
24 NEW ONION CULTURE ; 
 
 " It is too loose, too deep, too rich way down, 
 and decidedly too moist. The tine Prizetakers 
 might all take a notion to grow up thick-necked 
 — romps, scallions — and worthless for sale or 
 keep. By all means take loam, sandy pre- 
 ferred, and if possible with good natural drain- 
 age, but certainly not without drainage of some 
 kind. Water should never stand on the sur- 
 face of an onion patch even for a single day. 
 
 Of course, the soil must be free from stones, 
 and coarse gravel, and rubbish of any kind, and 
 as near as possible, also from weed seeds. A 
 new clover sod that will pulverize nicely will 
 do first rate; but if the sod is old and tough, 
 it would hardly be suitable for our purpose 
 shortly after being broken. A crop of potatoes, 
 corn, beans, beets, carrots, cabbages, etc., will 
 get such sod land in admirable shape for a suc- 
 ceeding crop of onions. 
 
 Of course, my advice decided the matter con- 
 cerning the spot to be used for the prize crop, 
 and the sequence proved the choice to have been 
 a wise one. The seven weeks' drought in July 
 and August, which came very near killing a big 
 patch of the finest onions for me, which had 
 been planted on rich loam underlaid with stiff 
 clay, but thoroughly tile-drained, had but little 
 effect on the plants of the prize crop, as the 
 porous subsoil allowed the passage of sufiicient 
 moisture from the underground reservoirs, to 
 keep the crop in growing condition during all 
 
MANURING THE LAND. 25 
 
 that long dry spell. This advantage of porous 
 subsoil should be well remembered in the selec- 
 tion of soil. 
 
 Gerold's piece of land had been well plowed 
 the fall before, in narrow beds with deep fur- 
 rows between, that provided thorough surface 
 drainage during the seasons of super-abundant 
 rainfall. 
 
 " Shall I plow the land again? " Gerold asked 
 when the plants were nearly large enough for 
 transplanting. 
 
 " No, sir; no need of plowing it again when 
 we have such excellent harrows to stir the sur- 
 face sufficiently deep." 
 
 " What about manure? " Gerold asked again. 
 
 I pointed to the big heap of fine cattle-yard 
 
 manure, consisting at cattle drop- 
 
 the°Lanf pi^gs and urine-soaked sand and 
 soil, several car loads of which were 
 bought and stored during the fall before. 
 
 "Put it on thick! " I said, and Gerold was 
 ready enough to follow the injunction. 
 
 The fact is, that any kind of good compost 
 may be used, and it can hardly be put on too 
 generously. For next season we have plowed 
 an acre of land of the same general character as 
 that used by Gerold, and we are now putting 
 on three car loads of such cattle-yard manure 
 broadcast. I like to have the fine compost 
 several inches deep over the whole surface. 
 
 We also had a lot of old poultry manure, and 
 
26 NEW ONIOlSr CULTUEE ; 
 
 this was applied broadcast on top of the first 
 
 dressing. Poultry manure is most 
 
 Manure, excellent for onions, and there is 
 
 no need of being afraid of it. My 
 
 way of managing it, is to scatter some dry soil, 
 
 muck, or sifted coal ashes under the perches from 
 
 time to time. Thus I obtain a fine, dry, rich 
 
 compost, and I would not hesitate to jiut this 
 
 one-half inch deep all over the ground if I could 
 
 only get enough of it for such a dressing. It 
 
 brings the onions every time. 
 
 Besides these manures I would use everything 
 else I could get hold of in the shape of fertilizing 
 materials, such as wood ashes, leached and un- 
 leached, etc. , but I should not use raw manure, 
 especially if not entirely free from weed seeds. 
 
 " Shall I put on any fertilizer? " was Gerold's 
 next question. 
 
 ' ' If under this term you mean one of the 
 
 concentrated manufactured manures, such as 
 
 Mapes' potato fertilizer, or any 
 
 ^M^iTures*^ Other high-grade complete ma- 
 nure, as made and sold under 
 the name of "special vegetable manures," why, 
 yes, but not until the surface of the soil has 
 been well stirred up, and the comjDost mixed 
 in by means of the Pulverizer." 
 
 One style of "Disk" Harrow or Pulverizer, 
 and the "Acme" Harrow are shown opposite. 
 The former cuts deep, and works the ground 
 over very thoroughly, and I prefer to use it 
 
PREPAEING THE GROUND. 
 
 27 
 
 first, then follow with the Acme which 
 smoothes the surface, that the Disk has left 
 
 DISK PULVERIZER. 
 
 somewhat ridged. In the absence of an Acme, 
 an ordinary smoothing harrow will do very 
 
 ACME HARROW. 
 
 well. Should neither Disk nor Acme be at 
 command, I would use a narrow-bladed eulti- 
 
28 NEW ONION CULTURE ; 
 
 vator, perferably the Planet Jr. horse cultiva- 
 tor, manufactured by S. L. Allen & Co., of 
 Philadelphia, Pa., stirring up the whole sur- 
 face, and thus mixing the compost with the soil. 
 
 With a heavy dressing of fine rich compost, 
 and additional applications of hen manure, 
 ashes, etc , the use of concentrated manufac- 
 tured manures (the "fertilizers" of common 
 farm parlance) might be very well dispensed 
 with, but I dislike to omit it even then, as it 
 may serve to make an assured success still 
 doubly sure. 
 
 Under some soil conditions — in rich old 
 gardens, or peaty soils, for instance — we might 
 operate with concentrated manures without 
 compost, etc., but if you wish to see very clear 
 in this matter, I would advise you to study 
 my "Practical Farm Chemistry." 
 
 The Mapes' potato manure was at hand. The 
 only query was, how much to ajDply. I advised 
 the use of about 1,000 pounds to the acre; for, 
 with liberal manuring, such as here described, 
 the application of larger quantities would 
 probably be little else but waste. The "fertil- 
 izer " is sown broadcast on the surface, now 
 reasonably smooth, and also • 
 
 Preparing the Soil. . -, . ,^ .-, ■, -, . 
 
 stirred into the soil, but this 
 time with the small Disk or Meeker harrow. 
 This makes the surface about as even as could 
 be done by hand raking, and in one- tenth or 
 one-twentieth the work or time required for the 
 
PREPAKING THE GROUND. 29 
 
 latter operation. The Meeker harrow is adver- 
 tised by some of our leading seedsmen, among 
 them James Gregory and P. Hend^'son & Co. 
 It costs about $25, but it is a great labor saver, 
 and almost indispensable in the market or farm 
 garden. The ordinary steel rake, however, is 
 good enough for smaller patches. Whatever 
 tools you use, the surface should be smooth as 
 a board, and the land is then ready for planting. 
 My friends may call my way of manuring 
 "high," if not excessive, or extravagant. But 
 I am not yet satisfied. While 
 
 Nitrate of Soda. ,, ,^ ^ ^/^ i 11 
 
 the 2,000 bushel crop m many 
 cases can be secured eve)i with less generous 
 manuring than I recommend, I would consider 
 the work but imperfectly done when nitrate of 
 soda is left out. But this I apply later on, and 
 I will tell how, in due time. 
 
THIRD CHAPTER. 
 
 A DIFFICULTY EASILY OVERCOME. 
 
 HO\y THE PLANTS ARE SET IN OPEN GROUND. 
 
 T 
 
 O transplant a few hundred onion plants is 
 
 not a formidable task, but when you 
 
 set 130,000, covering an acre, you 
 
 Keai Work. have a big job on hand, and no 
 
 mistake. Indeed, it is the work 
 
 connected with my new onion culture; all the 
 
 rest of it is easy— mere child's play, I might say. 
 
 Gerold, who had imagined that setting his 
 
 5,000 plants would be only a few hours' job, and 
 
 an easy one at that, soon discovered his mistake. 
 
 Unused to out-door labor, he soon wearied of 
 
 the task, es^Decially while working alone, and 
 
 could not be induced to keep at it more than a 
 
 little while at a time. So the work dragged 
 
 along slowly, until hired help was called to his 
 
 assistance, and the work speedily finished. By 
 
 the way, this is not a new lesson. Nobody 
 
TKANSPLANTING. 31 
 
 should expect to see much work done, when a 
 youngster is set at a tedious job all alone by 
 himself. Let him have good steady company 
 and he will do all right. 
 
 To plant one acre, we have to set 130,000 
 plants, as already stated. I can get boys, that, 
 with some practice, will set 2,000 to 3,000 plants 
 a day, and nimble-lingered persons, used to 
 garden work, will easily set 4,000. The job of 
 j)lanting an acre is therefore equivalent to 
 probably not less than 30 to 40 days' work, and 
 in some cases this estimate may be considerably 
 exceeded, but the amount of |50 should be 
 more than enough to pay for the whole job. 
 
 Transplanting so many onions may be a costly 
 
 operation, but it relieves us of much, if not all 
 
 hand-weeding, and entirely of 
 
 of^TransViantfng. ^he job of thinning. Old onion 
 growers know something about 
 the tediousness and costliness of these oper- 
 ations. The saving, in these respects, more than 
 pays for the labor of transplanting. 
 
 " How far apart shall I set my plants? " comes 
 the next inquiry. 
 
 As I wish to raise the largest crop on an acre, 
 I plant close. No use wasting space and op- 
 portunity. Twelve inches is space 
 
 of Wanting euough between the rows, and four 
 
 inches enough between the plants 
 
 in each row, even for the Prizetaker and other 
 
 large varieties. Three inches space between 
 
32 NEW ON^iON culture; 
 
 the plants would be sufficient for the White 
 Globe, Danvers Yellow, and other American 
 sorts . 
 
 The marker we use is a simple home-made 
 
 affair, still simpler than the one illustrated 
 
 below. The teeth, made of 1 by f inch stuff, 
 
 and 8 inches long, may be just 
 
 the?and nailed to a 3 by 3 inch piece of 
 
 proper length, so that the points 
 
 will be 12 inches apart. I like to have two poles 
 
 SIMPLE MARKEK. 
 
 fastened to the scantling in thill fashion, and a 
 convenient handle back of the scantling for 
 better guidance. I should always prefer to 
 have two persons operate it, one to draw it and 
 the other walking behind and keeping the lines 
 or marks straight. They need not be deep or 
 broad. All we want of them is to guide us in 
 planting. 
 
 Straight and uniform rows, and uniform dis- 
 tance between the plants, add largelj^ to the 
 
SETTING THE PLANTS. 33 
 
 attractiveness of the patch, even if they were 
 not of practical usefulness in facilitating the 
 work of cultivating, and perhaps otherwise. 
 Consequently we mark off the land both ways. 
 Only the long rows need be straight, and they 
 should not be marked off much in advance of 
 planting. The cross marks merely' serve as an 
 aid in planting the onions at uniform distances 
 in the rows; consequently we just draw the 
 marker across the long marks in any way we 
 please, and without troubling ourselves whether 
 this is done in straight or crooked lines. One 
 plant is to be set into each cross mark, and two 
 plants between each two, which makes three 
 plants to the foot of row. Of the ordinary 
 varieties (Yellow and White Globe, Danvers, 
 etc.) we set three plants between each two cross 
 marks, which gives us four plants to the foot. 
 " How is the planting done? " you ask. 
 
 The first thing needed is a small dibber, which 
 
 may be made of a piece of seasoned hard wood, 
 
 six inches long, one inch in diame- 
 
 th?pfants ^®^ ^^ larger end, and tapering to a 
 point at the other. The operation 
 of setting the plants is made so plain by 
 the illustration on the next page, that little 
 explanation by words will be needed. Open 
 the hole with the dibber and insert the 
 plant, not over an inch deep. Then strike the 
 dibber into the ground an inch or so back of 
 the plant, and, using its lower end as a pivotal 
 
34 NEW ONION CULTURE ; 
 
 point, draw the upper end towards you, thus 
 pressing the soil firmly against the underground 
 part of the little plant. This, of course, leaves 
 another little opening a little back of the plant. 
 This may be closed, and the surface somewhat 
 smoothed by another light stab or so with the 
 
 SETTING THE PLANTS. 
 
 dibber, or a simple manipulation of the fingers. 
 A broken kitchen knife ground to a point, 
 or a little Hat steel dibber with handle, such as 
 illustrated on the opposite page, and as may 
 be made by any blacksmith at small cost, 
 will also do good service. In opening the hole, 
 have' the flat side of knife or dibber facing you, 
 and pull the toj) just a little towards you. Then 
 insert the plant back of the dibber, withdraw 
 the latter and strike in again back of the plant, 
 pressing the soil against the roots in the same 
 manner as was done with the wooden dibber. 
 
SETTING THE PLANTS. 
 
 35 
 
 The most expedient way of managing this 
 whole business is as follows : Take up a lot of 
 plants from the seed bed, which may be done 
 by running the point of a small trowel under 
 them, and lifting them out. Carefully separate 
 
 K 
 
 BROKEN KNIFE. 
 
 SMALL DIBBER. 
 
 and straighten them out. Then let a boy take 
 a basketful and drop them just ahead of the 
 planters. Of course the work shoukl be begun 
 just as soon as the ground can be got in proper 
 shape. It must be moist and crumbly, but not 
 wet and sticky. Begin with the plants that 
 were started first, or are largest, and carry the 
 job to completion as speedily as possible. 
 
36 NEW ONION CULTURE. 
 
 The great trouble Gerold had with his " prize 
 crop" was the delay in transplanting, which 
 was to a small part due to the rainy season and 
 the spring floods, and to a much larger part 
 Gerold's own fault. The result showed very 
 plainly that the difference of a week or two in 
 time of planting with this crop may make con- 
 siderable difference in the yield — of course in 
 favor of early planting. 
 
FOURTH CHAPTER. 
 
 A PERSEVERANCE THAT PAYS. 
 
 TILLAGE AS MOISTURE PRESERVER AND WEED 
 KILLER. 
 
 T ITTLE needs to be said to the expert 
 gardener about cultivation and its objects. 
 He knows the importance of keeping the soil 
 well stirred among all garden crops in general, 
 and among onions in particular. ' ' Tillage is 
 
 manure" is an old saying. In the 
 cuulv'^ation. pi^esent case, however, we care 
 
 little about the manurial effect, 
 for we have provided plant-food in great abun- 
 dance. The great benefit we expect from cul- 
 tivation, is the preservation of moisture, and 
 incidentally the destruction of weeds. An 
 inch or so of loose soil acts as a mulch, and a 
 most excellent one at that, which prevents the 
 rapid evaporation of the soil water. The 
 moisture rises through the compact soil, by 
 means of capillary action, until it reaches the 
 stirred portion. Here its progress is arrested, 
 
38 
 
 NEW OXION^ CULTUEE ; 
 
 and the only way to reach the surface, and 
 escape in the air, is by evaporation, which is 
 so greatly retarded by the loose layer of soil. 
 
 The chief tool required for the process of 
 soil stirring, is a good hand wheel-hoe, arranged 
 for straddling the row. I use both 
 TUilg" ^^^ Planet Jr. double wheel-hoe, 
 and Gregory's linger weeder. Some- 
 times I think the one and sometimes the other 
 
 FINGER WEEDEE. 
 
 does better work. Perhaps it depends some- 
 what on the condition in which the soil hap- 
 pens to be. Either one, however, is a perfectly 
 reliable tool for the purpose. There may be 
 others nearly as good. This weeder was intro- 
 duced bv J. J. H. Gregory, Marblehead, Mass. 
 
CULTIVATION. 
 
 39 
 
 Whatever wheel-hoe you have at your com- 
 mand, use it thoroughly and frequently. As 
 soon as there is the least sign of a crust over 
 the surface, start the wheel- hoe without delay. 
 The mulch of loose soil should be kept on the 
 ground all the time. 
 
 Running a wheel-hoe is not heavy work. 
 The average boy will rather enjoy it. Gerold 
 
 PLAXET .IR. DOUBLE HOE. 
 
 needed no particular coaxing to do the job at 
 proper season, and to do it well. In reality it 
 is probably the least tiresome work in the 
 whole business. An acre can be gone over by 
 one person, even a boy, inside of one day. 
 
 As the season advances, I also occasionally 
 like to use a wheel-hoe or cultivator between 
 the rows. For this operation the Planet Jr. 
 
40 
 
 NEW ONION culture; 
 
 single -wheel hoe (with cultivator teeth) is my 
 first choice. 
 
 " Is no hand weeding to be done at all ? " you 
 may ask me. 
 
 That depends. If the soil is of a weedy 
 character, or the patch is neglected for any 
 length of time, we may find considerable work 
 — and disa,<2:reeable work — to do on 
 w^edine hands and knees. With timely at- 
 tention little is needed, and that 
 little can be done very efl'ectively by means of 
 
 PLANET .TR. SINGLE WHEEL HOE. 
 
 the Langs' s hand weeder, or of a kitchen knife 
 the blade of which is bent in the shape of a 
 curve, and sharj)ened on both sides. The way 
 the hand weeder is used is shown opposite. 
 
WEED KILLING. 
 
 41 
 
 A most excellent tool for taking out the 
 weeds in the rows from between the plants, can 
 be easily made from an pld worn- 
 out hoe. Cut the blade down 
 as shown on next page, leav- 
 ing the lower part (between the corners) only 
 about 2 or 2^ inches wide. With this sharp- 
 
 Home-made 
 
 Onion Hoe. 
 
 LANG S HAND WEEDER IN USE. 
 
 cornered tool you can strike between the 
 plants, cutting out the weeds, and loosening 
 the soil. This manipulation, and the free use 
 of the wheel-hoe, will usually be all the culti- 
 vation needed. But the hand which wields 
 the sharpened hoe should be a careful one, and 
 be guided by a head possessing a fair degree 
 of intelligence. 
 
 " Is nitrate of soda a factor in this after-cul- 
 tivation ? " 
 
42 
 
 NEW ONION CULTURE. 
 
 Nitrate 
 of Sodai 
 
 Of course I use it, and I would hardly wish 
 to be onion an grower if I had to do without it. 
 The plants are hardly in the ground, 
 when I begin with a dressing of 
 about 75 pounds per acre of nitrate 
 of soda, sown broadcast in the same way as 
 wheat is sown. 
 
 These dressings are repeated about every ten 
 days until along in July. Mr. Joseph Harris 
 
 A GOOD ONION HOE. 
 
 thinks the whole application might be made 
 early in the season all at once, say at the rate 
 of 500 to 750 pounds per acre, but I am too 
 choice with the costly nitrogen, and prefer to 
 apply as stated — in five or six applications, 
 requiring in the aggregate from 375 to 450 
 pounds per acre. The apjplication can be made 
 at almost any time, rain or shine. 
 
FIFTH CHAPTER. 
 
 A TIMELY PULL AND HAUL. 
 
 WHEN AND HOW TO HAEYEST THE CROP. 
 
 "NT O W we come to an important point in our 
 
 undertaking. A little neglect in pulling 
 
 and hauling may result in great damage, if not 
 
 ruin to the crop, I know whereof I speak. 
 
 When grown by the new method, 
 
 Danger ^^-^^ onions mature several weeks 
 m Delay- 
 earlier than they would if grown in 
 
 the old way. If the mature bulbs are left in 
 
 the ground, especially if ripened somewhat 
 
 prematurely by a dry spell in July and August, 
 
 and a long period of rain should follow as- 
 
 sometimes happens — and it happened the past 
 
 season — growth will be renewed; and we might 
 
 just as well try to make water run up hill as 
 
 attemj)t to stop an onion from growing when 
 
 once started. Of course this second growth 
 
 ruins the bulb for market. 
 
44 NEW ONION culture; 
 
 A lesson which I have learned by costly ex- 
 perience is, that the crop should be pulled just 
 as soon as the bulbs have reached maturity. 
 
 " How am I to know," asked Gerold, * ' when 
 the onions are fit for pulling? " 
 
 " The tops fall over at maturity, and begin 
 
 to waste away, the substance being gradually 
 
 absorbed by the bulbs. So, when 
 
 M^urity ^'^^^ majority of the tops are dying 
 
 down, your time has come. Don't 
 
 wait any longer, especially if it is getting pretty 
 
 well along in the season. 
 
 Some of the tops- may yet be green and stand- 
 ing up like soldiers, but it matters not. Pull 
 the crops and leave on the ground. The bulbs 
 will absorb the substance of the tops, and the 
 latter dry away." 
 
 Dry weather is very desirable as long as 
 onions lie on the ground to cure. If rain comes, 
 It is well to rake them over carefully with a 
 lawn rake or wooden rake with dull teeth. 
 
 " How long should the onions be left on the 
 ground to cure? ' ' 
 
 It may take a week or more of dri/ weather. 
 
 At any rate the best thing that can be done is 
 
 to gather the crop, even if only 
 
 thef cnu) partially cured, and put it under 
 
 shelter — in open sheds, lofts, on the 
 
 barn floor — anywhere where dry and airy, and 
 
 where the onions can be spread thinly on 
 
 a dry floor. If necessary, work them over, 
 
CUEING SHED. 
 
 45 
 
 whicli may be most conveniently done by means 
 of a wooden scoop or shovel. Of course the 
 afternoon of a dry day is the best time for 
 gathering and hauling the onions, vfor they 
 should be perfectly dry on the outside— no dew 
 or rain on them when j)ut under shelter. In 
 such places they may be left until perfectly 
 
 i^lj^^^fil^? 
 
 
 ONION CUIUNG SHED. 
 
 cured, i. e., until the tops have entirely dried 
 away. 
 
 Barring accidents, my crop next season will 
 be too large to be accommodated by our floors 
 and sheds. I have in mind to build a curing 
 shed as shown above. The 
 dimensions for such a shed may 
 of course be varied to suit the needs of the 
 grower. All the bins are made of slats, with 
 
 Curing Shed. 
 
46 NEW ONION CULTURE. 
 
 spaces between for free circulation of air. In 
 rainy weather the sides may be covered with a 
 canvas or adjustable boards. Perhaps some of 
 the readers may be able to suggest improve- 
 ments on my plan, or to give me descriptions 
 of sheds now in successful operation and ap- 
 parently superior to mine. If so, I shall be 
 pleased to hear from them. 
 
 Of course, the spaces between the bins should 
 be large enough for convenience in manipula- 
 tion. 
 
SIXTH CHAPTER. 
 
 THE FRAGRANT BULB ON SALE. 
 
 THE PRIZETAKER A PRICE-TAKER. 
 
 /^~^EROLD'S "prize croii" was somewhat late, 
 ^■^ owing to late sowing, late setting, and the 
 terribly poor season, j)erhaps also to a little 
 negligence on Gerold's part in destroying some 
 of the weeds that had appeared in the rows be- 
 tween the plants. Hand weeding did not seem 
 to be to Gerold's taste — and it was fortunate 
 that there was but little of it required. Had 
 the crop been grown by the old, ordinary 
 method, probably the onions would have been 
 lost in weeds, and finally given up for lost. 
 
 During the latter half of the seven weeks' 
 drought, the plants had made much less pro- 
 gress than they do in a fair average season. The 
 rains came late in August, the plants kept on 
 growing vigorously, and they were hardly ripe 
 enough for harvesting late in September. But 
 as fall was drawing nigh, it was decided to pull, 
 cure and put under shelter as sj^eedily as possi- 
 ble. So the bulbs were pulled a week or ten 
 days before October, and the weather happened 
 
48 NEW OliriON CULTUEE ; 
 
 to be dry and pleasant until the first of that 
 month. 
 
 " Was the prize crop a success r' 
 Not exactly, and yet it was a pretty good 
 success /or a failure. At least all who saw the 
 fine bulbs lying thickly upon the ground while 
 curing, called it a success, j)ure and simple. 
 
 We weighed the crop on the last day of Sep- 
 tember, and it came to within a few pounds of 
 a ton. The loss; of plants, owing to the small 
 size of plants when transplanted, had been far 
 above what I have usually found it, and had 
 
 reduced the original 5,000 plants 
 ^ cfop! °^ to 4, 000— a loss of 20 per cent. As 
 
 these 4,000 plants weighed almost 
 exactly 2,000 pounds, the average was one-half 
 pound per bulb. We had aimed for at least 
 one pound a piece, and such average I would 
 have called a whole and- full and unqualified 
 success. The 2,000 pound crop, therefore, I 
 am justified in calling a lialf success. 
 
 But it was no success as a prize crop. It 
 would have been, had competition been re- 
 stricted to the east. As it was, Gerold 
 found a formidable competitor in a grower 
 
 somewhere in California who, at the 
 ■*• ^crop^°^* hist moment, and when we almost 
 
 thought we had won, reported a 
 yield from the one ounce of seed, of over 8,000 
 pounds, or near two pounds apiece. Undoubt- 
 edly our California friend had also hit ujDon the 
 
THE YIELD. 49 
 
 new system of onion culture. With this advan- 
 tage, however, I do not consider the crop extra- 
 ordinary for California. The possibilities of an 
 ounce of Prizetaker seed in California, are far 
 beyond the reported 8,000 pounds. I believe 
 that this result might even be reached here. 
 
 Still it is a big achievement, no matter where 
 obtained — 8,000 pounds, or over 140 bushels, of 
 fine bulbs from one ounce of seed! Just let my 
 friends think of this! The majority of growers 
 grow only twice or three times that amount on 
 a whole acre, and by sowing from five to eight 
 pounds of seed. 
 
 Even the one-half success, i. e. growing- 2,000 
 pounds or about 35 bushels of fine bulbs from 
 one ounce of seed, has made some enthusiasts 
 in onion growing. And if the $5() prize was 
 not obtained, the crop at least brought a good 
 price in market. 
 
 On the last day in Sej^tember the onions 
 were hauled to the barn, spread thinly on the 
 barn Hoor, left there until more fully cured. 
 Then they were picked over, graded in two lots, 
 barreled in the ordinary way (in canvas- 
 covered barrels), and shipped to a commission 
 dealer in Buffalo, who sold them 
 
 Ee^cSved. ^* ^"^ average of $1.00 per bushel, 
 while other, onions were selling 
 for 80 cents. The commission man also became 
 enthusiastic over the Prizetaker, and the pos- 
 sibilities of onion culture. ■ 
 
50 NEW ONION cultuee; 
 
 "If you have land that will raise such 
 onions," said he, "go into onion growing by all 
 means. I shall be glad to take a thousand 
 bushels of such onions next year." 
 
 It is hardly necessary to talk about selling 
 onions of this kind. They will sell themselves 
 at sight, and when ordinary onions are a drug on 
 the market. And yet it must be stated, that 
 these onions are something new on the market, 
 and some people are prejudiced against all new 
 things. But the commission man told that his 
 customers were cured of such prejudice by a 
 single trial of the new onion, and all seemed 
 to like them, although some would prefer 
 smaller-sized bulbs. 
 
 While we might be satisfied with the price 
 obtained for the crop, it may be well to try to 
 get all there is in it. I have not yet tried the 
 other plan which I have in mind, although I 
 really intended to work off my crop of Prize - 
 takers in just this way. Our dealer also sug- 
 gested this very same scheme. 
 
 What is it? Let me tell you that the Prize- 
 taker when well-grown, looks for all the world 
 like the imported Spanish onion of our grocer- 
 ies. Neither can I detect much difference be- 
 tween the two in point of 
 
 spShOni". fl'-^™'-- So I have thought of 
 
 crating up the choicest bulbs, 
 
 in same way as the imported article, and com- 
 
 p)ete with the foreign product in our city and 
 
SELLING THE CEOP. 51 
 
 town markets. I think it can be done, and 
 quite profitably too. 
 
 I have only one more suggestion to make. 
 This is to sell the croj) just as soon after it is 
 properly cured as possible. Don't hold any 
 considerable part of crop for a rise, unless after 
 you have experimented on a small scale and 
 are sure of your ground. The Prizetaker is 
 not the best keeper, and I would not undertake 
 to winter it over in quantity without consider- 
 able more experience than I have now. 
 
 If you can sell part of the crop directly from 
 the field, do so. Sell, and send to market, and 
 get the money. You may be sure it is not a 
 small job to take care of a crop such as I have 
 told you can be grown on even a single acre. 
 It's a big thing. Never loose sight of that fact. 
 
 In spite of my warning, I imagine some people 
 will wish to know how onions can be most suc- 
 cessfully wintered over. Under some circum- 
 stances it may pay well to store and hold for 
 spring sales such varieties as Danvers Yellow, 
 and i)erhaps Wethersfield Red and 
 
 ^LTons!"^ White Globe, etc. There is a party 
 over in Canada who grows quite a 
 number of acres of onions every year, and he 
 invariably holds them until spring, and makes 
 money by so doing. Of course, I was anxious 
 to learn how he winters such big crops, and 
 made inquiry. He writes me as follows: 
 
 " For the purpose of keeping onions during 
 
52 NEW ONION CULTURE. 
 
 winter, we have erected two large rooms in the 
 
 end of our barn, above ground. These rooms 
 
 are almost frost-proof in the coldest weather; 
 
 are provided with double windows at each end, 
 
 and double doors at entrance from driveway on 
 
 barn floor. All the walls have a dead air space. 
 
 Building paper is tacked on in the inside of each "* i 
 
 boarding that forms the hollow space. 
 
 Onions are not put into these rooms in bul^, 
 but in thonsands of slatted bushel boxes. The 
 windows are kept constantly open, except in 
 very cold weather. The idea is to put in 
 dry, well- cured stock, and place it in such a 
 way that it may always be airing at suitable 
 times, and yet be secure against low degrees of 
 temperature." 
 
SEVENTH CHAPTER. 
 
 ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL. 
 
 ADVANTAGES AND PROFITS OF THE NEW WAY. 
 
 THAT the new method of onion arrowing 
 gives us a great increase of crop, besides 
 many other advantages over the old way, is no 
 k)nger a matter of doubt. We have demon- 
 strated this truth here, and PrOf. W. J. Green 
 has demonstrated it in Ohio. The great ques- 
 tion now is, whether the new way is also the 
 more profitable one, and if so, how profitable? 
 
 We have already seen that the transplanting 
 method calls for only about one and a half 
 pounds of seed per acre, while ordinarily 
 not less than six pounds are sown. As the 
 Prizetaker seed now costs $6.00 
 some Offsets. ^ p^^nd, the saving amounts to 
 not less than $27.00 in a one-acre planting. 
 On the other hand, we have the additional labor 
 
54 NEW ONION CULTURE ; 
 
 of growing plants in frames, which is about a 
 fair offset for the saving of seed. So there is 
 little or no advantage in this repect on either 
 side. 
 
 The new way requires the considerable and 
 tedious labor of transplanting, an operation 
 which will cost about $50.00 per acre. On the 
 other hand, we save so much hand labor in 
 thinning and weeding, that one might well be 
 considered an offset for the other. 
 
 On the whole, we have come to the conclusion 
 that the expenses of the crop, up to the time 
 of harvesting, are very near the same, whether 
 we follow the new or the old method. 
 
 The chief advantages, of the new onion culture, 
 therefore, are clear gain. Among them we have: 
 
 1. Earlier ripening of the crop. With six 
 weeks to start in sowing, the crop will come to 
 
 maturity two or three weeks 
 thf J'ewTethod. eai'^ier than it would other- 
 
 wise. This gives a chance for 
 marketing the earlier sorts much in advance of 
 competitors who adhere to the old onion culture, 
 as also of clearing the ground in time for a suc- 
 ceeding crop, such as celery, turnips, fall 
 spinach, etc., while the season is made consider- 
 ably longer for the late Prizetaker, which other- 
 wise has hardly time at the extreme north to 
 come to full development. 
 
 2. A decided improvement of the bulbs in 
 respect to shape, size and uniformity. A row 
 
COST AND PROFIT. 
 
 55 
 
 of bulbs thus grown appears as shown below. 
 
 3. Quicker sale and better price, in conse- 
 quence of the finer appearance of the bulbs. 
 
 4. A great increased yield, to the extent of 
 even doubling or trebling that obtained by the 
 ordinary method. 
 
 5. The elimination of all uncertainties from 
 the business. Even failure would mean what 
 
 ONIONS IN ROW. 
 
 people now call a " big crop." Nothing short 
 of hail and flood could prevent a good profit in 
 this new onion culture, if managed with ordin- 
 ary intelligence. 
 
 Are these not advantages enough? I should 
 think they are worth taking in consideration. 
 
 In conclusion let me give a somewhat rough 
 
56 NEW ONION CULTURE; 
 
 estimate of expenses and receipts on the basis 
 of my own experience, and 
 cosfaidEeturns. si^rrounding conditions. Sup- 
 posing that only 1,000 bushels 
 
 are grown per acre, we then have the following: 
 
 Expenses of Crop Per Acre. 
 
 Rent of land, one acre, - - | 6.00 
 
 Manure, 3 car loads @ $16, - 48.00 
 
 Special potato fertilizer, ^ ton, - 22.00 
 
 Nitrate of soda, - - - 8.00 
 
 Hauling manure, and application, - 15.00 
 
 Plowing and harrowing, - - 3.00 
 
 Marking, ■ - - - 2.00 
 
 Seed, ... - 9.00 
 
 Transplanting, - - - 50.00 
 
 Cultivating and weeding, - 24.00 
 
 Pulling crop, - - - - 3.00 
 
 Gathering, hauling, barreling, - 20.00 
 
 Barrels or packages, - - 50.00 
 
 Commission, - - - 100.00 
 
 Total, - - - - $350.00 
 Receipts. 
 
 By 1,000 bushels of onions @ $1.00, $1,000.00 
 
 Deducting the expenses with, - 350.00 
 
 Net profit, . - - $ 650.00 
 
 This, with the exception of price to be realized 
 from the crop, is a perfectly safe estimate. 
 There may be years where the grower will have 
 
COST AND -PROFIT. 57 
 
 to accept a smaller price than the one received 
 for the last (1890) crop. But even if these fine 
 bulbs should not bring more than 50 cents a 
 bushel, or $500 for the whole crop, the profits, 
 with commission reduced to $50, will still be 
 $200, after all expenses, every bit of labor in- 
 cluded, are paid. 
 
 In a good onion season the crop will hardly 
 be less than 1,500 bushels per acre, if properly 
 managed. Of course this would add to the ex- 
 pense in harvesting and marketing, and swell 
 the total expenses of crop to $400, if not over, 
 but it would, most likely, also increase the net 
 profits to $1,000 upwards per acre. 
 
 What other crop could be expected to give 
 you similar results, and with greater certainty? 
 I am unable to name a single one among ordin- 
 ary farm or market garden crops. Don' t forget, 
 however, that I only pretend to teach my new 
 method, hut do not guarantee results Wee those 
 named. Go slowly. Success depends on your 
 own efforts. 
 
 My young friend Gerold has failed to get the 
 prize, 'tis true. Perhaps it was not so much of 
 a disappointment either, as in consideration of 
 the drawbacks of the season and his own 
 blunder, he hardly expected to get it. " Never- 
 theless, he made a good profit in his onion ven- 
 ture, and he is satisfied, if not elated, ^^ All 
 is well that ends welV^ 
 
A SORT OF POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 THE OLD ONION CULTURE. 
 
 " Our fathers' way 
 
 Was the good old way. 
 
 Brought home and land, 
 
 And cash to hand 
 
 We '11 not despise the good old way." 
 
 Many of the details of onion growing told 
 in the preceding pages apply both to the old 
 system and the new. Some additional infor- 
 mation concerning what some young growers 
 may consider "the good old way," will un- 
 doubtedly be acceptable to many readers, and 
 render this little book a complete guide to 
 onion culture in all its branches. 
 
 No matter under what system the crop is to 
 be grown, I would select, manure, and prepare 
 the land as advised in second chapter. Low 
 lands of mucky character are used in many 
 
SOWING SEED IN OPEN GROUND. 59 
 
 localities with excellent results. Yellow 
 Globe Danvers and Early Red are well suited 
 for such soils. The crops are often very large, 
 but the individual bulbs hardly as firm as 
 when grown on uplands . 
 
 Make the seed bed perfectly smooth with 
 Meeker harrow or steel rake. It is not neces- 
 sary to mark out the ground, 
 
 in oTenlr'out. ^^^^^^^ ^^ed is to be sown by 
 hand. In that case use an 
 ordinary garden marker making furrows nearly 
 an inch deep, and twelve inches apart — none 
 crossways. Then scatter the seed in these 
 furrows evenly at the rate of six or eight 
 pounds per acre. Cover in the usual way, 
 either with the feet, firming the soil at the 
 same time, or better by drawing the steel rake 
 lengthwise over each I'ow, and afterwards by 
 walking upon it heel-to-toe fashion, or by 
 using a garden roller. 
 
 For more extensive operations a garden seed 
 
 drill should be used. I like the Planet Jr. 
 
 as well as any I have ever worked. 
 
 in^the 's7ed. ^ ^^^^^ "^^ stretching a garden line 
 along one side of the path a few 
 inches from where I want [the first row. This 
 serves as guide, and I take great pains to have 
 this row and all the following ones perfectly 
 straight. 
 
 The opening marked for onion seed in these 
 garden drills, let the seed run out pretty freely 
 
60 NEW ONION culture; 
 
 — perliaps at the rate of eight pounds to the 
 acre — aild when the soil is in first-rate order, 
 and the seed fresh and good, as this always 
 should be, I usually let the seed run through 
 the next smaller opening, which . sows five or 
 six pounds per acre. The small roller attached 
 to the seed drill firms the soil sufficiently to 
 insure prompt germination of the seed. 
 
 The weeds have to be watched much more 
 
 closely than in the new onion cul- 
 
 Cuiture ^'^^^® "^^^^ roller marks indicate 
 
 where the rows are and the wheel 
 
 hoe may be set agoing, carefully at first, even 
 
 before manj/^ of the plants have broken ground. 
 
 Next comes hand weeding, which should be 
 begun as soon as weeds can be seen. Scrape 
 the soil away from the rows. Never draw it 
 up toward them Repeat as often as needed, 
 at the second or third weeding also pull up the 
 plants that are in excess of a fair stand. Many 
 growers do not usually thin. I do, and I find 
 it much the better- way. It makes the crop 
 more uniform, and therefore more valuable and 
 more satisfactory. Ordinary varieties should 
 in no case average more than one plant to the 
 inch, and they should have more space on very 
 rich soil than on one not sufficiently enriched. 
 The -after-treatment of crop, harvesting, etc., is 
 exactly the same as described for the new onion 
 culture. The following are good varieties for 
 the old method: Wethersford Red, Yellow 
 
PICKLING ONIONS. 61 
 
 Danvers, Southport Red, White and Yellow 
 Globes. 
 
 Growing onions for pickling is another phase 
 
 of the business to be mentioned. The best 
 
 „. ,,. „ . varieties for this purpose are 
 
 Picklmg Onions, j^r ^ n -r^ 
 
 JNJew Queen and White Barletta. 
 They are very early and the crop is ready to 
 be harvested in July— a number of weeks before 
 even the Early Red and Yellow Danvers can 
 be gathered. The general management of the 
 pickling crop is the same as for market in the 
 old way, only that we must sow more seed, say 
 about twenty to twenty-tive pounds to the acre, 
 and leave every plant to grow. The crop is to 
 be harvested as soon as ripe enough, thoroughly 
 cured and cleaned by rubbing them between 
 the hands, and by removing tops and roots that 
 have not entirely wasted away or become de- 
 tached from the bulbs. The final cleansing 
 and sorting is easily done by running them 
 tlirough the ordinary grain fanning mill. 
 
 For growing sets the following hints will 
 suffice: Select Silverskin for white. Early Red 
 
 for red, and Yellow Dutch oi* Yel- 
 '^sets"^ low Danvers for yellow, and sow 
 
 seed at the rate of forty to sixty 
 pounds to the acre. Handle in somewhat the 
 same fashion as the pickling onions. All that 
 will not pass through a sieve with f inch 
 meshes are too large for sets, and should go 
 among the pickling onions. 
 
62 NEW ONION CULTURE. 
 
 I do not despise "the good old way." There 
 
 is (and will continue to be) money "in onions," 
 
 even when grown as heretofore, provided the 
 
 grower understands his business, 
 
 Conclusion. i ., n , i . ■, 
 
 and it does not happen to be a year 
 of excessive production. With fairly good 
 soil, heavy manuring and skillful management 
 it is not a diiBcult task to grow 800 to 1,000 
 bushels, and even upwards, to the acre. Such 
 crop should leave the grower a good profit, even 
 at fifty cents a bushel. 
 
 I practice the good old way myself in grow- 
 ing pickling onions, and some of the ordinary 
 varieties. But we should remember that the 
 average price is much lower than formerly, 
 while our lands have decreased in fertility. If 
 there is a ' way to increase the yield, and the 
 ]3rice at the same time, we cannot afford to 
 ignore it. 
 
 The good old way 
 
 Of yesterday, 
 May not be best 
 
 For us to-day. 
 
 THE END. 
 
THE LEADING WORK ON GARDENING. 
 
 How To Make The 
 Garden Pay. 
 
 By T. GREINER. 
 
 Profusely Illustrated. Printed in clear type. 
 Handsomely bound in cloth. Price, $2.00. 
 
 This work of 272 large pages is now considered 
 standard authority on gardening. 
 
 If you want to know how to have a good 
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 and plant the ground — read this book. 
 
 If you want to know how to run a good 
 market garden — what to grow and how to grow 
 it; how to prepare the produce for market, and 
 sell it at best price — read this book. 
 
 In short, if you want to know 7ioio to make 
 the garden pay^in pleasure, comfort, health 
 and money — read this book. 
 
 If you desire to make a right royal present, 
 and one of the greatest j)ractical usefulness to 
 your boy, or to a friend, a copy of "How to 
 Make the Garden Pay," is Just the thing you 
 want. 
 
 To secure a copy free by mail, forward the price, 
 $2.00, to the publisher 
 
 WM. HENRY MAULE, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
MEEKER SMOOTHING HARROW. 
 
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