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 ONION BOOK. 
 
 A PRACTICAL GUIDE 
 
 TO THE 
 
 Profitable Culture of the Crop, 
 
 BY SOME TWENTY EXPEEIENOED GEOWEES. 
 
 ILLXJSTK^TEr* 
 
 /, 
 
 ^\ 
 
 NEW AND GREATLY ENLARGED EDITION. 
 
 ©. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 b CO., DAVID W. JUDD, Pres't., 
 
 751 Broadway. 
 
 1887. 
 
 I 
 
 ^ Entered, according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1887 by the O Judd Co., in the Office of the Librarian ^ I 
 ^ of Congress, at Washington, ^-I^J^K 
 
 1^ 
 
 .??3*- 
 
NEW AMERICAJN FARM BOOK. 
 
 ORIGINALLY BY R. L. ALLEK, 
 
 AvUwr of ■• I'iseases of Donie-^tic AtiimalK,''' and formerly Editor rf the '■'■ Ainericna Agriculturist.'' 
 
 REVISED AND ENLARGED BY LEWIS V. ALLEN, 
 
 Author of '•American Cattle." Editxyr of the ''^Ani^ncun Shoriliorn Ihrd-Booli^' etc 
 
 CONTENTS : 
 
 IN'I HOBUCTION. — Tilhise niisbamiry — Grazin- — 
 Pce(lin<f— Breeding:— Planting, etc. 
 
 (MIAPTEK 1.— Soils — Classification — Description — 
 Manai^ement — Properties. 
 
 CHAPTER II.— Inorganic Manures— Mineral— Stone- 
 Earth — Plio=pliatic. 
 
 CHAPTER III. — Organic Manures — TheirComposition 
 —Animal— Vegetable. 
 
 CHAPTER IV.— Irrigation and Draining. 
 
 CHAPTER v.— Mechanical Divisions of Soils— Spad- 
 ing— Plowing— Implements. 
 
 CHAPTER ^^. — The Grasses — Clovers — Meadows— 
 Pastures— Comparative Values of Grasses— Imple- 
 ments for their Cultivation. 
 
 CHAPTER VII.— Grain, and its Cultivation — Varieties 
 —Growth— Harvesting. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. — Leguminous Plants — The Pea — 
 Bean— English Field Bean— Tare or Vetch— Culti- 
 vation — Harvesting. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. — Roots and Esculents — Varieties — 
 Growth— Cultivation— Securing the Crops— Uses- 
 Nutritive Equivalents of Diflferent Kinds of Forage. 
 
 CHAPTER X.--Fruit3 — Apples — Cider — Vinegar- 
 Pears— Quinces— Peaches— Plums— Apricots— Nec- 
 tarines— Smaller Fruits— Planting— Culli vati on- 
 Gathering— Preserving. 
 
 CHAPTER XL— Miscellaneous Objects of Cultivation, 
 aside from the Ordinary Farm Crops— Broom-corn 
 — Flax— Cotton — Hemp- Sugar-cane— Sorghum— 
 Maple-Sugar— Tobacco— Indigo— Madder— Wood- 
 Sumach— Teascl—Mustard—lIops— Castor Bean. 
 
 CHAPTER XII.— Aids and Objects of Agriculture- 
 Rotation of Crops, and their Effects— Weeds— Res- 
 toration of Worn-out Soils— Fertilizing Barren 
 Lands— Utility of Birds— Fences— Hedges— Farm 
 
 NOTICES BY 
 It is a volumT of over five hundred pages, and in its 
 
 present shape comi)rises all that can well be condensed 
 
 into an available volume of its kind. 
 
 Hartfffrd Daily Times. 
 
 It has a very wide range of subjects, taking up neai-ly 
 all matters that are most imiiortant to farmers. Com- 
 prising the combined wisdom and experience of two 
 eminent agriculturists, it must prove of great value to 
 the class for whom it is prepared.— iVe^y York Observer. 
 
 It is crammed full of just the Information that is 
 wanted, which it is a pleasure to recommend. We 
 know of no better encyclopedia of farming. 
 
 New York Independent. 
 
 It is something in favor of this work (hat it has been 
 before the public for many years. The orisinal work 
 was prepared with extraordinary care, and contained 
 a vast amount of gonorjil truth that is as applicable 
 now as it was then ; it has therefore been made the 
 basis of the present work, which, to all intents and 
 purposes. Is new, r,ince it is adanted to the present im 
 proved state of acrrionltnral knowledge. Every depart- 
 ment is prepared with conscientious care, and with a 
 view of maklntr the work a reliab'- source of acrricul- 
 taw-l iaIoTwatlon. Ch'Cioo Republican. 
 
 Roads — Shade-Trees — Wood Lands — Time of Cut' 
 ting Timber — Tools — Agricultural Education of the 
 Farmer. 
 CHAPTER XIII.— Farm Buildings— nouse--Barn— 
 Sheds — Cisterns — Various other Out-Bulldings — 
 Steaming Apparatus. 
 CHAPTER XI v.— Domestic Animals— Breeding— Ana- 
 
 tomy— Respiration — Consumption of Food. 
 CHAPTER XV.— Neat or Horned Cattle— Devons— 
 Herefords — Ayrshires — Galloways — Shorthorns — 
 Alderneys, or Jerseys — Dutch or Ilolstein— Manage- 
 ment from Birth to Milking, Labor, or Slaughter. 
 CHAPTER X^^:.— The Dairy— Milk— Butter— Cheese 
 
 — Different Kinds — Manner of Working. 
 CHAPTER XVII.— Sheep — Merino — Saxon— South- 
 Down — The Long-wooled Breeds — Cotswold — Lin- 
 coln — Breeding — Management — Shepherd Dogs. 
 CHAPTER X\ail.— The Horse— Description of Differ- 
 ent Breeds — Their Various Uses — Breeding — Man- 
 agement. 
 CHAPTER XIX.— The Ass— IMule- Comparative Labor 
 
 of Working Animals. 
 CHAPTER XX.— Swine— Different Breeds— Breeding 
 
 — Rearing — Fattening — Curing Pork and Hams. 
 CHAPTER XXL— Poultry- Hens, or Barn-door Fowls 
 — Turkey —Peacock — Guinea Hen — Goose — Duck 
 — Honey-Bces. 
 CHAPTER XXII.— Diseases of Animals— What Au- 
 thority shall we Adopt?— Sheep— Swine — Treat- 
 ment and Breeding of Horses. 
 CHAPTER XXIII.— Conclusion— General Remarks— 
 The Farmer who Lives by his Occupation — The 
 Amateur Farmer — Sundry Useful Tables. 
 ISino, 52G pp. 
 THE PRESS. 
 
 Comprehensive and careful, telling, and telling spe- 
 cifically, just what the tillers of the soil need to know, 
 it will prove of great advantage to ail who faithfully 
 follow its counsels in the spirit in which they are given. 
 Congregationalist and Recordtr. 
 It intelligently and quite fully discusses the various 
 operations of farm life, and is Invaluable to all engaged 
 in agriculture. Farmer'^s Cabinet. 
 
 For the young man of rural tastes, but without a 
 training at the plow-handles, who asks for a general 
 guide and instructor that shall be to agriculture what 
 themapof the world is to geography, it is the best man- 
 ual to print. For the working farriier, who in summer 
 noonings and by the winter fireside would refresh his 
 convictions and reassure his knowledge by old defini- 
 tions and well-considen-1 summaries, it is the most 
 convenient hand-book. From its double authorship one 
 might exnect some show of natch -work, the oriirinal 
 statement of the author ofl^tO annotated and fljualifled 
 by the writ<'r of this vear. But this bas been wiselv 
 avoided. The book is n unit, and shows no disparity 
 of style nor contradiction in statement. Pnctic.Tlly. 
 it is altoirether a recent and timelv volume. Onh 
 so much of the ori'jrinal Book of tha Farm, bv R. L 
 Allen, as time could not change, has been adopted bj 
 the reviser. Nevi li/ik Tri^unt. 
 
 FRTCE. rOST-PAID, fS.BO. 
 
 0. JUDD COMPAFY, 751 Broadway, New York. 
 
 DAVID W. JUDD, Pres't. 
 
 
 SAM L BURNHAM, Sec, 
 
ONION CULTURE. 
 
 Prize Essays and other Papers. 
 
 PUBLISHERS' PREFACE. 
 
 Seventeen of the foUowog articles, as numbered in order, were written in response to a premicm of- 
 fered by,,tlie American Agriculturist, (New York,) " for the best plain practical directions on raising onions ; 
 to be written by an experienced Onion Grower ; not to exceed twelve pages of manuscript ; to embrace the 
 various items, from the selection of the seed to marketing the crop — all written out so plainly as to be use- 
 ful to those who have had little or no experience in the cultivation of the crop." Many articles were received 
 from various parts of the country, all of which were of more or less value. As but one or two only could 
 be given ia the American Agriculturist, a selection was made of the Essays giving the greatest variety of ex- 
 perience, and published in the present form. The work at once became the standard authority on Onion 
 Culture, and edition after edition was called for. In revising the work and bringing it fully down to date, it 
 has been essentially enlarged by the addition of valuable matter. Wherever the prices of onions are 
 mentioned in the following pages, they are those which prevailed at the time when the Essay was written. 
 The current market rates are given in the daily papers of large cities. 
 
 No. I. 
 
 [Tke writer of the following has, we believe, had an experience of some thirty years in growing onioat 
 for market. — Ed.] 
 
 BY WM. J. JENNINGS, OF WESTPORT, CT. 
 
 Selection of Ground. — A. deep loamy soil is con- 
 sidered the best for onions, though they will grow on 
 soil a large proportion of which is clay. A light 
 porous soil with a gravelly subsoil should be avoided. 
 The surface of the grouad should be nearly level, as 
 hilly ground is liable to wash from heavy rains. In 
 selecting a piece of ground for onions, there are sev- 
 eral things that should be considered. 
 
 1st. Ground that is stony should be avoided, unless 
 the cost of removing the stones is first considered. 
 
 2d. Ground that is overrun by weeds and trouble- 
 some grasses, should not be chosen until they are first 
 subdued. 
 
 3d. Ground that is shaded will not do ; neither that 
 which is too wet to be worked early in the spring. 
 
 Having attended to the foregoing hints, it is also 
 important to select with reference to cultivating the 
 same ground for onions for an indefinite length of time, 
 for in so doing, the labor of first preparation is avoided ; 
 oesides, each succeeding crop is more easily cultivated, 
 provided the previous work has been thoro'ig-hly done. 
 
 Preparation of Ground for Sowing. — Having 
 made a suitable selection of ground, the next thing to 
 be considered is its preparation. First gather out the 
 stones pretty thoroughly — putting the largest ones into 
 fences, the middling-sized ones into blind ditches, and 
 the smallest ones into the mud-holes of the roads. In 
 this way some good is done. Above all, avoid the 
 heathenish practice of emptying them by the road- 
 side, not only disfiguring the roads, but giving a har- 
 bor for briers, elders, and the ten thousand noxious 
 weeds that now infest such places. In the next plac& 
 give the ground a heavy coat of the best manure 
 Hog-pen is the best home-made manure ; next, stable, 
 if not too coarse; next, common barnyard, v/ell roUed. 
 As to the quantity of manure on an acre, that musi 
 be determined in part by the condition of the soil' 
 From twenty to thirty loads of forty bushels per load, 
 make a very good coat to begin with. After this is 
 deeply ploughed in, a top dressing of wood ashes — say 
 150 or 200 bushels to the acre, may be given, or fron. 
 800 to 500 lbs. of guano, or bones ground or sawep 
 
i 
 
 now TO RAISE ONIONS. 
 
 are good, or any well-pulverized manure that will 
 not be in the way of the harrow and rake may be 
 oe used. But take care not to use seedy manure if 
 you wish to save much labor and patience. Manure 
 may be carted on and ploughed under in the fall, or 
 in the spring just before sowing. If the ground is 
 ploughed in the fall, it will not be necessary to re- 
 plough in the spring. Fall ploughing should be put 
 oflF as long as possible — say to the middle of November. 
 
 Having manured and ploughed your ground, it is 
 now to be harrowed and raked, until it is as even and 
 smooth as a beet-bed. Harrows of either iron or 
 wooden teeth are first used to bring the ground to a 
 general level, and the stones to the surface ; the brush 
 or bush-harrows are then used until the lumps are 
 pulverized, and the surface of the ground made 
 smooth, then wooden hand-rakes, of twelve teeth 
 each, are applied to take off the small stones and fin- 
 ish for sowing. 
 
 Manure for top-dressing may be harrowed or raked 
 in, and if guano is used, it is well to make a second 
 application during the growth of the crop, which may 
 be scufQed in by the hoe. All manure used should be 
 ploughed under or mixed with the soil immediately 
 after it is spread. 
 
 Sowing. — Now then the seed is to be committed to 
 the ground. And here a word or two of caution is 
 necessary. Be careful what seed is sown. If you are 
 under the necessity of buying seed, procure it, of some 
 reliable man, a regular, honest onion-grower. It 
 should not be over one year old, and should sink when 
 placed in water. Better not trust to seed-merchants, 
 unless actually obliged to. Rather pay $5 per pound 
 for reliable seed, than get doubtful seed for nothiog. 
 Having obtained your seed, say from three to four lbs. 
 per acre, you now proceed to deposit it in the ground, 
 which is done, where onions are raised to much ex- 
 tent, by a simple machine, (costing $5,) drawn by 
 hand, making two drills twelve inches apart, and 
 dropping the seed in them at the same time. Next 
 comes the covering process, which consists in drawing 
 « hand-roller over tlie ground lengthwise the rows; 
 >r, which is the most common way, pushing a clean 
 aright hoe over the drills. This may be done by ooys, 
 as they make smaller and lighter tracks than men. 
 Commence the work straight, and then be careful to 
 keep it so ; not but that crooked rows make straight 
 onions, but for the beauty and neatness of the thing. 
 A man accustomed to it will sow three acres a day. 
 The time for sowing is the month of April, earlier or 
 later, according to the state of the ground. It is gen- 
 erally found that the earliest-sowed onions, other 
 things being equal, do the best. 
 
 CuLTiVATiOK. — About four weeks from the lime of 
 sowing, cultivation commences in earnest. The first 
 ihing to be done in this department is to go through 
 them with an onion boe, as soon as the rows C5an be 
 
 distinctly seen, when the dew is on in tho morning. 
 The hoeing this time must be light — just skimming the 
 top of the ground — the hoe being put forward and 
 drawn toward the hoer. In the course of a few days 
 weeding must be commenced ; removing all the weeds 
 from among the onions. This part of the work is usu- 
 ally performed by boys, for various reasons ' Ist. Be- 
 cause they can be hired for about half thfe price of 
 men. 2d. A good active boy, fifteen or sixteen years 
 old, can do as much, or more work than a man ; and 
 also because it is less tiresome for boys than full-grown 
 men : for it must be remembered that the stooping or 
 crawling posture must be assumed in weeding onions. 
 In other words, whoever does this work must get 
 down to them, eyes, fingers, and all, and not be 
 ashamed of his occupation, or of soiling hif^ clothes. 
 The tools needed for hoeing and weeding onions are 
 few and simple. The most approved hoe in use, is 
 usually made from a buck-saw plate, either new or 
 worn, cut about eight Inches in length, and from die 
 to two inches in width, with a goose-neck riveted on 
 the inside of it; or to make the hoe stififer, two goose- 
 necks are used, riveted as before, but about one and a 
 half inches from the ends of the plate, and uniting in 
 one shank in the handle, which may be about five feet 
 long. This hoe should be kept clean and bright, so 
 that the dirt will slide over it without being much dis- 
 placed. A push or scufQe-hoe is sometimes used in 
 the advanced growth of the crop. The tools used for 
 weeding, aside from what nature has presided, are a 
 crooked knife, (common case or shoe-knife with the 
 lower end bent up,) and a weeder made of thin steel 
 plate, about two inches long and one wide, riveted 
 with a goose-neck, like the hoes, and fixed in a handle 
 about eight inches long. Later in the season, a largei 
 weeder is used, about four inches in length, and set in 
 a handle about two feet long. This is used, when the 
 onion-tops have become large, for the purpose of tak- 
 ing out single weeds, and when hoeing the ground 
 would injtjre the onions. 
 
 After this description of tools, we will return to 
 hoeing and weeding. As no definite rule can be giv- 
 en for the number of hoeings or weedings, this must 
 be left to the discretion of the owner, or the person in 
 charge. SuflBce it to say, the oftener the ground is 
 stirred, the better for the crop. Ground should usu- 
 ally be hoed about once in two weeks during the 
 earlier part of the season, and the weeding must be 
 governed by numbers and growth of the weeds. It is 
 all-important that the weeds be not suffered to get the 
 advantage. Keep them down — keep them out — ^be 
 vigilant. Think of the old adage about the stitch in 
 time, and apply it here. 
 
 This same vigilance must be exercised during the 
 growth of the crop. Some persons, owing to extra 
 work during harvest, are apt to neglect their onion* 
 This should never be. July is an important month to 
 
BXPHRIKNCE OF PRACTICAX GROWERS. 
 
 s 
 
 the onion-grower. If neglected then, the crop is as 
 good as half-lost. Neither is it true that onions are 
 injured by working among them when bottoming, 
 although care is necessary not to knock down the tops, 
 nor disturb the bulbs when growing ; but bad usage 
 is better than entire neglect. Neither should weeds 
 be permitted to go to seed on the ground intended for 
 ouio-js the next year, after the crop is removed. It is 
 sometimes necessary to hoe the ground over entirely, 
 and carry off the weeds that may have grown after 
 the onions have been pulled. The great pest of onion- 
 ground usually is purslain ; and this must be watched 
 and dealt with in a summary way. It may be hardly 
 necessary to suggest here that the fences and "^orders 
 of onion-grounds should be kept entirely clean and tidy. 
 
 A man will hoe from half an acre to an acre of 
 onioLS in a day. A smart boy will take care of from 
 one to two acres of ground during the season, and 
 have an odd day now and then to go fishing. 
 
 Harvesting. — This takes place during the latter 
 part of August, and first of September. The time to 
 pull onions, (which should be done by hand,) is when 
 the tops have fallen down and turned a brown or yel- 
 lowish color. Sometimes on account of the season, or 
 seed, or both, there will be more or less that will not 
 drop down and dry up. Some have proposed in such 
 cases to roll a barrel over them, or break them down 
 in some v/ay, but it is of doubtful expediency. A 
 Bcallion will be such, whether standing up or bent 
 down. "When the main crop has ripened down, it is 
 best to pull them all, and sort out those which are not 
 fit for market, to feed out to the cattle ; for which 
 purpose they are esteemed of considerable value. 
 The cattle generally devour them greedily ; they 
 should not however be fed to milch cows. 
 
 The most approved way of curing onions after they 
 are pulled, is, to let them lie scattered about the 
 ground for about three days, and then pile them up in 
 small stacks, containing about a barrel each: after re- 
 maming so about two weeks, open them, and give 
 them frequent stirrings for about three bright drying 
 days, then house them in a perfectly dry condition. 
 Tne stacking gives them an opportunity to sweat, and 
 keeps them in a measure from the weather, so that 
 when opened, the outside skin shells off, and gives 
 them a brighter and clearer appearance, than they 
 would have if left to cure, scattered about the field. 
 
 Onions cured in this way may be put up in bins, or 
 bays to the depth of four or five feet, without any 
 danger of injury; there to be kept, if desired, until 
 the following spring, provided the tops are left on 
 thom. If put in barn bays, a rough floor should be 
 laid down on timber a few inches from the ground, in 
 order that a c'rculation of air underneath may be ob- 
 tained. Onions should not be kept in cellars unless 
 remarkably dry and cooL A slight freezing does not 
 hurt them, provided they are not disturbed in their 
 Vozen state 
 
 Marketing. — Th a may commence as soon as onions 
 are ripe, and continue until the middle of May follow- 
 ing, provided communication is open. The most com- 
 mon way of sending onions to market, is by pnttjog 
 them in barrels with one head, and sending them in 
 vessels ; as freight by water is cheaper than by land. 
 This holds good, however, only for those who are for- 
 tunate enough to live in proximity to the water. 
 
 All the preparation onions require for market, is to 
 cut or strip off their tops and put them in barrels. A 
 man or boy will prepare fifty bushels in a day. Onions 
 always keep best in their tops ; therefore they should 
 not be removed until ready for market. 
 
 The price of onions varies from $1.00 to $5.00 per 
 barrel, but the average net price, taking one year 
 wiih another for several years back, has been about 
 $1.50 per barrel. 
 
 The onions sent to New-York market are usually 
 wholsaled from vessels to the dealers, and resold by 
 them in smaller lots, they selling from 25 to 50 cente 
 per barrel, in advance of cost, so that bv the time the 
 consumer gets them the first price is nearly doubled. 
 
 General Remarks — There is no crop, perhapa, 
 more sure than that of onions. They are liable, it iH 
 true, to blight, but this seldom occurs unless they are 
 neglected. Rich soil, with a good application of ma- 
 nure every year, and proper attention, will almost in- 
 variably insure a good crop. Five hundred bushels to 
 an acre is an average crop, though eight hundred arc 
 frequently raised. 
 
 There are three varieties of onions commonly raised, 
 namely, red, white, and yellow, The red onions take 
 the lead, as they are more hardy, grow better, and bear 
 handling better than either of the other kinds. The 
 foregoing directions apply equally to each variety, 
 though white ones require more attention in curing, 
 and gentler tiandling. White onions in limited quan- 
 tities and in good condition sometimes sell for fifty p<r 
 cent in advance of red ones. 
 
 Onions, unlike most other crops, may be raised oc 
 the same ground for an indefinite length of time, 
 without any deterioration in quality or quflntity, pro- 
 vided the ground is in good heart. The writer knows 
 ground that has been used for upwards of thirty con- 
 secutive years for this crop, and the last was as good, 
 or better than the first. 
 
 It may not be amiss to remark here that skill in thft 
 onion business — and it is an important item — is only 
 acquired, as in every other department of labor, by 
 practice. Therefore it is better for a new beginner ic 
 the business to commence on a small scale. And let no 
 one delude himself with the idea of becoming suddenly 
 rich from raising onions. Patient, honest industry 
 will here, as every where else, be rewarded; and when 
 a good market is within a convenient distance, and 
 the soil suits, perhaps no crop pays better than onions 
 
HOW TO RAISE ONIONS 
 
 Raising Onion Seed. — As it is a law of nature that 
 like produces like, it is of the utmost importance that 
 great care should be taken to obtain seed that will pro- 
 duce the most perfect specimens of its kind. This holds 
 true in regard to onion seed, for it is a notorious fact, 
 that this esculent has been improved in shape and col- 
 or within a few years, from a flat turnip-shape and 
 pale red color, to nearly a round or spherical form, and 
 a bright clear red. 
 
 In saving onions for seed then, care should be taken 
 to select those of the desired shape and color, and of 
 medium size, or a little above it. The best time to do 
 this is when they are pulled, as [hen the perfectly ripe 
 ones are more easily distinguished, than when they are 
 cured. Another advantage to be gained is, that the 
 earliest may be reserved, in order to get an earlier 
 crop, if desired, the next year. Onions intended for 
 seed should be set out about the middle of April, or at 
 the usual time of sowing. The ground should be pre- 
 pared in the same manner as for the regular crops, and 
 then laid out in drills about three feet apart, and four 
 inches deep. In these drills the onions are to be 
 placed, four or five inches apart, covered with fine 
 dirt and gently pressed down with the feet, or hand 
 roller. As soon as they are well out of ground, they 
 should be gone through with a hoe or cultivator, and 
 the weeds kept down by occasionally hoeing the 
 ground, and weeding, until the seed is ripe. The 
 
 writer has found that digging a trench betv^een thf 
 rows, either with a spado or hoe, about the time tne 
 seed is in blossom, and working the dirt thus dug oul 
 around the onion stalks, is beneficial. Care should ne 
 taken after the onions have blossomed, noi to iiandle 
 them, or disturb their roots. 
 
 The seed matures about the same rimo that, onions 
 raised from the seed get ripe. The time for gathering 
 is when the heads assume a brown color, and the balls 
 begin to crack and siiow the seed. The heads should 
 then be cut off and exposed to the sun on a blanket 
 or floor, until the seed will readily shell ; then by rub- 
 bing with the hands, or threshing with a flail if a 
 quantity is raised, the seed is made ready to bo passed 
 through a fanning-mill, or exposed to a winnowing 
 process. After this is done, the seed should be put in 
 a vessel of water, and only that which readily sinks is 
 to be preserved. It is then dried in the sun for two 
 or three days, and put away in a bag, in a dry, airy 
 place, until wanted. Onion Seed should never be 
 trusted after it is two years old. 
 
 The price of seed varies as much as the price of the 
 onions themselves, ranging from $1.00 to $5.00 pei 
 pound. The different varieties when planted for seed, 
 should be put at considerable distance apart, as the 
 seed readily mixes. From three to five pounds of seed 
 are usually raised from a bushel of onions. 
 
 ISTo. II. 
 
 BY JOHN H. SHERWOOD, FAIRFIELD CO., CT. 
 
 The Onion has become an important vegetable in 
 our markets, and the demand is yearly increasing at 
 prices which make their cultivation profitable. Large 
 quantities of onions are produced in this vicinity, and 
 I will offer a few remarks on their cultivation which 
 I have derived from much experience and observation, 
 trusting they may be of advantage to those who wish 
 to cultivate them. Experience will be found the best 
 teacher, but a few facts and general ideas put in print, 
 will be a great help to new beginners. 
 
 The Soil most congenial to them is a strong damp 
 loam, and I think the crop is generally larger where 
 a small quantity of clay exists in the soil. I have 
 known large crops on quite stiff clay soil when the 
 land is well under-drained. 
 
 To have onions succeed well, the ground on which 
 they are planted should have been cultivated at least 
 two years with some hoed crops, and highly manured 
 for those crops. Commencing with grass land, the first 
 crop might be corn, next year potatoes, or what is 
 better, carrots, as potatoes are apt to rot with 
 high mandring. My reason for cultivating two 
 
 years before the onion crop, is, because the grass- 
 roots in the soil require that time to decay — besides, the 
 soil is so loose, that worms are apt to injure the onions, 
 if not destroy most of the crop. 
 
 The kind of onion usually grown here, is the red, 
 and those are preferred which approach the nearest 
 to a globe in shape, as the yield per acre is greater. 
 The white, though better for the table, and command- 
 ing near one third more in price, is but little cultivated, 
 as the crop is seldom as large, and the care required 
 in curing them, prevents their general cultivation. 
 They are very liable to mildew and decay, which, be- 
 ing conspicuous on their white skins, makes them less 
 salable than the stronger red skins 
 
 Seed. — Nothing is of more importance in securing s 
 good crop of onions, than having fresh new seed of the 
 right kind, as many fail when they depend on imported 
 seed, or that which is raised we know not where or 
 how — raised "to sell, probably. Many men in this vi- 
 cinity lost their crop last year from this cause, the 
 fault being entirely in the seed, as that raised by them- 
 selves or neighbors, planted side by side, did well 
 
BXPBauafCE OF PRACTICAL GEOWBK8. 
 
 b 
 
 whUe setfd obtained from a distance, in numerous in- 
 stances, went to tops, or made " straight onions," as we 
 call them. 
 
 To grow good seed, select the globe-shaped bulbs 
 of good size, in the fall put them in a dry cool place, 
 but not where they will freeze much. Set them out 
 as early as possible in spring, or as early in April as 
 the ground cun be worked. Set in good garden-soil, 
 in rows three feet apart, and eight inches distant in 
 the row — or to particularize, slightly ridge the land, 
 and set tLe onions in the furrows, about four inches 
 below thtt level, and as as tbey grow, keep entirely 
 free from weeds, and fill in the farrows from the ridge. 
 The di« helps to support them upright. Otherwise, 
 as tba seed-balls gr.>w heavy, the wind rocks them 
 about, and much of the seed is lost or injured by 
 blasting. The seed-balls should be carefully cut when 
 beginning to brown, and spread thin to prevent heating. 
 When perfectly dry, thresh and winnow clean, then 
 put into water. Tiie good seed sinks, while the im- 
 perfect will float, and should be skimmed off and 
 thrown away. Care must bo taken to dry thoroughly 
 after removing it from the water. One bushel of good 
 onions usually yields from three to five pounds of seed. 
 Land intended for onions should be nearly level, 
 to prevent the heavy rains from washing it afier the 
 seed is sown. The onion is a gross feeder, and re- 
 quires a liberal supply of manure, say from sixteen to 
 twenty loads, of fifty bushels each, well-rotted manure 
 per acre. I prefer manure from the hog-pen, but 
 where large quantities are grown, all kinds are used, 
 first fermenting it to destroy foul seeds as much as 
 possible, and fit it to mix with the soil more easily and 
 evenly. A dressing of ashes is very advantageous 
 to the crop. 
 
 To prepare the ground for onions, first clear the sur- 
 face of ail small stones above the size of a hen's egg, 
 put on the manure, spread and plough to the depth of 
 seven inches the first year. After that, plough somewhat 
 deeper. The ploughing may be done in November, if 
 you have many to plant, and wish to get them in 
 early. Let the ground lie in the furrow until spring, 
 and then spread on at least one hundred bushels of 
 ashes to the acre. If no ashes are used, apply from 
 two to three hundred pounds of guano, and harrow 
 with iron teeth, if the ground was ploughed in the fall; 
 otherwise use a plank frame, or a plank with brush 
 set in, which will leave the land smoother for the hand- 
 rake. As the bush-harrow will need some weight, 
 about that of a man, I usually ride on it, and by 
 change of position can throw my weight so as to fill 
 up holes and leave the ground more even, which saves 
 haod-labor. If you wish straight rows — which look 
 and work better — stretch a line across your field to 
 draw the seed-drill by, and by moving it up to the 
 work, there will be no difficulty in keeping straight 
 The seed-drills used about here are very simple in con- 
 struction coating about four dollars They ai . .•• 
 
 rows at a time, twelve inches apart, and one Lalf-lnch 
 deep. These are covered by passing a hoe backward 
 over the drill, or by the hand-rake drawn carefully 
 parallel with the rows, which is the quickest way, as 
 it covers two rows at once. Four pounds of good 
 seed are plenty for one acre. It should be planted 
 as early in April as the ground will admit. Do not 
 work it when wet, for it will be lumpy, and hard to 
 cover the seed properly. When up enough to see the 
 rows, hoe between them, with a hoe made expressly 
 for that use. The blade of the hoe should be eight 
 inches in length and one and a half broad, with a 
 long crooked shank. Next comes the weeding. 
 
 Have a small hoe made like the above, but one and 
 a half inches in length, set in a handle six inches long. 
 With this in one hand, get on your knees, and crawl 
 over them, destroying all the weeds : for if not well 
 done at this time, the work will be hard the next. 
 Second hoeing and weeding the same as first, but can 
 be done faster. About this time, say the first of 
 June, sow broad- cast one bushel of salt to the acre, 
 such as is used for hay. This will prevent the cut- 
 worm which is sometimes troublesome, and tlie salt., I 
 think, is a help to the crop. I can not say too much 
 about keeping the weeds out, for no crop suffers more 
 from weeds than onions. Keep the weeds out as long 
 as you can creep over them. They usually require 
 four hoeings and weedmgs, which will carry them into 
 July. If there are weeds, get them out, even if the 
 bulbs have begun to swell ; you can walk through 
 them and pull them by hand. This is the time they 
 are apt to be neglected, as tbe haying season claims 
 all the help. 
 
 As they attain their growth, the tops loose their 
 lively green color, grow weak above the bulb, and drop 
 over. When they grow exactly right, they all fall 
 down ; and when about two thirds dry, they are fit tc 
 pull. This is done by hand, cleaning of all weeds, tc 
 prevent the seed ripening. Spread the onions to wilt 
 from two to four days, then pile about three bushels in 
 a heap to sweat. Let them stand in this way for 
 some days, or until the tops are dried away. They 
 are now fit for marketing in small quantities. 
 
 If you wish to house them to keep, spread them 
 again, and dry ; for if housed damp or green, they will 
 grow and injure quickly. Great care is necessary to 
 cure them properly. They should be dried until no 
 juice will ooze from the tops when twisted by the 
 hand. They will require turning two or more times tc 
 bring them to this state, then cart them before the der 
 falls at night. When in the house, they should hav 
 free circulation of air about them, until freezin 
 weather, and then be protected from extreme cold, 
 though they bear some freezing, and do not generally 
 injure if let alone until the frost is all out. If they 
 are intended for market before December, almost any 
 out-building with a good roof will make a store-bouso, 
 •'is more air about them the better. If the floor i< 
 
HOW TO RAISE ONIONS. 
 
 tig-it, put down scantling, and lay on a temporary 
 lotde floor for the onions, and if room is plenty, do 
 not put them over two feet thick. That I may be 
 better nnderstood, I will give a description of a fit 
 place to store onions for fall and winter keeping. 
 Make a building with the top of ihe sills one foot from 
 the ground, to afford room for air to blow freely under 
 a looHo floor, laid upon the sills. On the inside of the 
 building, crib around with boards to the height you wish 
 to make the pile, leaving a space of fifteen inches be- 
 tween them and the outside. 
 
 As the onions are put in, set a small bundle of straw 
 on the end, about once in five feet, to act as a venti- 
 lator. "When cold weather approaches, fill the space 
 around the outside, with the onion-tops which are cut, 
 or an equivalent, and bank around outside the building 
 with litter of some kind. In this region near the 
 shore, sea-weed is used to a good purpose, but coarse 
 manure will do, having some place where the air can 
 be let in in mild weather. Cover the top of the onions 
 with dry Utter, such as hay, cornstalks or the like 
 If put up in good order, they will keep in this way, 
 and perhaps bring price enough to pay the extra work. 
 
 In cutting off the tops, a pocket-knife is general!? 
 used. This work can be done at any time afcer thej 
 are housed, but those intended for keeping late in 
 Spring will do better to remain in the tops until wantc-d 
 for market. It is difficult to tell at what time they 
 should be marketed, as the price varies with the 
 seasons. The large quantities raised along the shore 
 here, are sold in New- York, mostly by the barrel, sent 
 in sloops sailing between the city and the different 
 ports. They are sent as soon as they are large enough 
 in the fall, and continued until late in spring. As a 
 general rule, probably, it would be well to dispose ol 
 one half of the crop before the holidays, and look out 
 for the remaiuder. 
 
 Five hundred bushels per acre are a fair yield, but 
 seven or eight hundred bushel are often raised. Usually 
 the yield is less the first year or two; after that, if well 
 manured, the crop is more certain and the land may 
 be continued in onions year after year. I know o 
 ground that has produced onions for forty years in 
 succession, with only a rest of one or two years, and 
 yielded well. 
 
 No. III. 
 
 BY JONATHAN DENNIS, NEWPORT CO., R. I. 
 
 The Island of Rhode Island and the shores of Nara- 
 gansett Bay, have long been celebrated for the raising 
 of onions, particularly the town of Bristol, situated on 
 the main land, twelve miles from the city of Prov- 
 idence, and enjoying a fine harbor, from which large 
 quantities of onions are annually shipped to New- 
 Fork and all the southern ports of the Union ; but 
 the largest trade perhaps, is carried on with the Island 
 of Cuba, to which great quantities of potatoes, and 
 onions, and other vegetables, are annually shipped, 
 bringing sugar and molasses as return cargo. 
 
 Newport also carries on a considerable trade in 
 onions and other vegetables, with the South. 
 
 Soil. — The onion requires a rich soil, and if it is not 
 naturally so, it must be made so, by the addition of a 
 liberal dressing of manure, otherwise it is of but little 
 use to try to raise a crop of onions ; black heavy soil 
 and rather moist, or such as will not suffer from drouth, 
 perhaps is the best ; but almost any soil that will pro- 
 duce a good crop of Indian corn will answer if made 
 rich enough. Old gardens that have been long culti- 
 vated will generally raise a crop without much diffi- 
 culty, but new land, or land that has not been highly 
 cultivated for a number of years, will not generally 
 produce a full crop for the first year or two, owing, as 
 I suppose, to the manure not becoming sufficiently in- 
 
 corporated with the soil. Those not experienced in the 
 raising of this crop should not be discouraged if they 
 do not succeed the first year, for the onion, unlike 
 most other crops, succeeds better the longer it is plant- 
 ed on the same ground, except in some instances af- 
 ter long planting in the same place, they seem to be- 
 come diseased from some cause not well understood, 
 when alternating with another crop for a year or two 
 is said to remedy the evil. This disease shows itseli 
 by the curling of the leaves and turning of a yellow 
 sickly hue, and upon breaking the leaves they appear 
 to be filled with a kind of smut ; hence the disorder is 
 called the smut. 
 
 Manure. — That from the hog-pen I consider the 
 Dest, but barn or stable-manure will answer nearly as 
 well on most soils ; sea manure is considered excel- 
 lent on our soils. The waters of Naragansett Bay 
 produce large quantities of marine plants, which are 
 washed on the shores and collected by the farmers, 
 and composted in barn-yard and hog-pen, and produce 
 a most valuable manure for this crop. 
 
 Large quantities of fish are taken in this bay, and 
 when composted and mixed with barn or hog-yard 
 manure, are much used for onions. Guano does not 
 seem to suit them as well as it does some other crops, 
 and I •would not advise farmers to try to raisc< onioni 
 
EXPERIENCE OF PEACTICAI, GROWERS. 
 
 trith it, sAona. Wood ashes are an excellent manure 
 Od aay sod, and perhaps the greensand of New Jersey 
 would acswei, as they seem to require potash. 
 
 Pkeparation op the Soil. — The manure should 
 be spread twenty-five or thirty loads for two horses or 
 one pah' of oxen, or a cart-load of forty bushels to 
 the acre, and ploughed in with a good even furrow. 
 The depth will depend on the depth the soil has been 
 previously cultivated. The whole should be thorough- 
 ly turned over, covering the manure completely ; and if 
 the ground has not been highly manured previously, 
 it should have a light dressing on top, of decomposed 
 manure, or wood ashes. Tlien harrow the ground fine 
 with a light harrow, and rake smooth and level, re- 
 moving any coarse manure, stones, or lumps that may 
 interfere with planting or hoeing. If you have a large 
 bed, it saves labor to strike furrows through it, say a 
 rod or more apart, before commencing to rake, into 
 which all tlie lumps of manure and small stones may 
 be deposited and leveled over with the soil. Those 
 places will be found to produce as well or better than 
 the rest of the pieces, 
 
 Plantino. — Plant in liLls with the rows twelve 
 inches apart, and six inches between the hills. "We 
 use a machine that plants in hiUs, two rows at once, at 
 the required distance apart. Never plant them in 
 drills if you can avoid it. If you have no machine 
 that will plant in hills, I think you will save time in 
 tlie after-cultivation by planting by hand. It is te- 
 dious work to weed a drill-row, but in hills you can do 
 most of the weeding with the hoe. Put from six to 
 eight seeds in a hill if you wish to raise them of nearly 
 uniform size for marketing by the bushel. With us, 
 where most of the crop is bunched on straw, for the 
 West-India and other foreign markets, we put from 
 ten to twelve seeds in tlie hill, and we never thin them 
 out. They seldom all vegetate, and some will be cut 
 up in hoeiug, so that two thirds the number you plant 
 will be all, perhaps, that will come to maturity. They 
 require but slight covering, not exceeding one half or 
 three quarters of an inch deep, pressing the earth 
 down sightly upon the seed. Our machines are pro- 
 eided with a roller that does tliis. Onions will grow 
 well very thick if provided with a sufiBcient quantity 
 of manure. 
 
 Varieties. — The kind will depend altogether on the 
 market you wish to supply. We raise the common 
 red onion, because it suits our market. Each one 
 should consult the wants of liis customers in this as in 
 every other crop. The Yellow Danvers is a good sort 
 for our home market. It is hardy, cooks white, and 
 keeps well through the winter. The White Portugal 
 is a delicate onion, and sells the highest in our home 
 markets of any variety, but is a poor keeper for winter 
 and spring use. 
 
 The red with us is divided into three sorts, as they 
 are called, though in fact they are all one, namely, the 
 
 early, second early, and lato, and are produced by 
 merely selecting the onions for seed. The early is a 
 flat onion, sometimes even hollowed at the crown. th« 
 second early is full and round, and the late is some- 
 what pointed at both ends. Therefore all you have to 
 do to produce those varieties, is to select the flattest 
 onions you can find, to raise your seed from, if yoB 
 wish to raise early ; the full round for the second early, 
 and so on, and you can readily produce the kiad yob 
 wish by a few years' propagation in this way. We 
 raise the second sort mostly because it produces well, 
 and suits our market, though there are considerable 
 quantities of the early variety raised for the early 
 market, which do very well, although the;-^ do not pro- 
 duce as much, but bring a higher price on account ot 
 being early. Be careful in purchasing seed to buy 
 from those you can rely upon, as old seed is very un- 
 certain. 
 
 The potato-onion is largely raised by market-gar- 
 deners, to be pulled up when partly grown, and tied in 
 bunches of six or more for the market. They are a 
 valuable variety, being of mild flavor, and cook very 
 white. They are propagated by sets and not by seed. 
 A large bulb set out in spring will produce a number, 
 some of good size, which may be pulled for market or 
 the table, with several small ones, which may by set 
 the next year, and which in turn produce one or two 
 large ones. There are a great many raised from pips, 
 as they are called, which are the very small onions 
 left from the main crop of the red variety, set out in 
 spring similar to the potato-onion. They will incline 
 to run to seed, and the seed-stalk must be broken off. 
 Be careful to break them below the large place on the 
 stalk, and they will produce a good bulb for early use. 
 Both the pips and potato-onion may be set thickly in 
 drills, as early in spring as the state of the ground 
 will admit of, and with a litle hoeing they will pro- 
 duce a good early crop. There is a variety called the 
 top-onion, which produces the seed or set on the top, 
 like the garlic ; but they are not much grown, and 
 with us are not considered worthy of cultivation. 
 
 Hoeing. — Onions should be hoed as soon as the 
 rows can be scen^ and as often as the weeds show 
 themselves. J 'jonsider it better to hoe often, for you 
 can hoe them twice over when they are not very 
 weedy, in about the same time it would take to do it 
 once if you let them get overrun with weeds; and 
 then it is a long and tedious job to clear them out, be- 
 sides injuring the crop in so doing. After the second 
 or third hoeing, when they have got a good start, car- 
 rots mny be planted between the hills in two out of 
 three rows, and so on, leaving one out of three for 
 space to lay the onions to cure, and in this way a good 
 crop of carrots can be raised vdthout injuring tie 
 onions but very little, if any. Large quantities of car- 
 rots are raised in this manner with tis with very lit' ^e 
 expense. They will want one hoeing alter harvestij g 
 
8 
 
 HOW TO EAI8E ONIONS 
 
 the cmions, to cloan out any weeds that may be still 
 standing on iLe ground. The carrots will grow rapid- 
 ly till frost, and even after. 
 
 HiiKVESTiNG. — The onions should be pulled as soon 
 as the tops have mostly fallen, which shows ma- 
 turity. Lay them in rows, two or three rows together, 
 straight and evenly, and when the tops are nearly dry. 
 cut them off, leaving about two inches of the staUf. 
 Leave them to dry a few days longer if they are to be 
 stored, or they may be marketed immediately. In 
 topping, have the bottoms at the left hand, and the 
 knife or shears (some use common slieep-shears) in the 
 right, when, if they are laid evenly, you can take a 
 number at once instead of taking each one singly, and 
 boys that are used to it will top them very fast. 
 
 Bunching. — To bunch onions rapidly and handsome- 
 ly requires much practice, but some boys will make 
 from three to four hundred bunches a day. It is done 
 thus : Take about two feet in length of the buttend 
 of rye straw, and in size nearly as large as a broom- 
 stick when drawn together by the twine. Commence 
 at the bottom, and wind common wrapping twine 
 around it for three inches, drawing it up tight, then 
 put on a circle of four medium-sized onions to begin 
 with, take a turn round the neck of these, draw them 
 up snug to the straw, tying the next on the top of 
 them. As you proceed, press them down snug upon 
 each other with the thumb of the left hand, and wind 
 the twine ouce around to each onion, tapering them 
 up from a good-sized one at the bottom, to the size of 
 a largo walnut at the top, and from ten to twelve in 
 •ength. Keep the rows straight, and with a little 
 
 practice, you can make a neat bunch that will suit, in 
 many markets, better tlian loose onions, and also U8«; 
 up and make salable the small-sized onions. 
 
 An average crop with us may be stated at from four 
 hundred to five hundred bushels per acre, though we 
 sometimes get six hundred. The price varies from thir- 
 ty-five to fifty cents per bushel delivered at the landing 
 on tide-water direct from the field. When the shippers 
 pay from two to three dollars the hundred bunches, of 
 three pounds to the bunch, for large quantities, taking 
 the whole crop at once and directly from the field, it is 
 considered a profitable crop. There is little done in the 
 retail way, except for a few early ones in our home 
 markets. 
 
 Storing. — Store your onions in a dry cool place, to 
 keep tlirough the winter. The garret is a good place 
 for those who wish to keep a few for family use, cov- 
 ering them with some old cloth to prevent their thaw- 
 ing when once frozen. But if you wish to keep a 
 large quantity, any out-building that is tolerably tight, 
 will answer by packing the sides with hay or straw, 
 and covering the top with the same. The cellar, unless 
 very dry, is not a good place to keep them, on account 
 of their growing if kept too warm. A basement-story 
 perhaps would answer if not too warm. They should 
 not be moved while frozen, except you wish to cook 
 them immediately. 
 
 I have written especially with regard to the onion 
 as a field crop, for in this section they are raised as 
 such, by farmers who cultivate quite large tracts, and 
 in fields from one half-acre to three acres. 
 
 No. IV. 
 
 BY D. C. REYNOLDS, CLINTON CO., PA. 
 
 The onion tribe, consisting of the onion, leek, garlic, 
 and shallot, are all natives of Eastern countries, but 
 they seem to be well adapted to certain portions of the 
 United States, and acquire considerable pungency of 
 9avor in this climate. 
 
 In order to be successful in growing the onion, the 
 wil must be rich, light, and deep, and in a situation 
 well exposed to the sun. Tou must not think of sow- 
 ing the seed until you have worked the bed well to 
 the aepth of eighteen inches, enriching it, and beating 
 it flat and firm with a spade. 
 
 Some may suppose it early, but I always sow my 
 onion seed sometime in March, not being at all parti- 
 cular as to the precise time of the month, or having 
 any regard to the superstition so prevalent in regard to 
 sigm. No good gardener can dispense with the line : 
 he will therefore scratch drills by the line just deep 
 •enough to be clearly seen, and then distribute the 
 
 seeds along the drills about three or four seeds to the 
 inch. 
 
 Next, sift fine sandy earth over the seeds, and pat 
 the surface even. Finally, scatter leached ashes over 
 the bed, evenly, to the depth of about one eighth of 
 an inch. Be careful to allow no weeds to grow up and 
 choke the young plants This is a very important pre- 
 caution, as I think the shade caused by rank weeds ia 
 one of the greatest causes of small c rops in this coun- 
 try. As the onions grow, they must be thinned out ; 
 allowing alternately a space between, fully equal to 
 the breadth of the onion from bulb to bulb. There 
 are some who prefer to sow onions broadcast, but I am 
 satisfied they lose more by their indolence than they 
 gain in point of economy of time. After the onions 
 have somewhat advanced, it will be beneficial to scat- 
 ter common salt among them, the chemical propertiet 
 of the salt seem to ca*3e them to enlarga 
 
EXPBKIENCE OF PKACTICAL GROWERS. 
 
 This is about as good a way to cultivate the onion 
 from the seed to the perfect large onion, as I have 
 ever seen, or tried — and it is my custom to examine 
 every new idea, or experiment, that comes before the 
 public, with a view to a correct plan, not only with 
 the onion, but all kinds of vegetables. In September, 
 tlie necks of the onions should be twisted, and after 
 the leaves become yellow, take the crop up, and place 
 the onions under a shed, exposed to sua and air until 
 they are quite dry on ihe outside. Of the different 
 Kinds, I prefer the while, as not being so rank to the 
 taste, and we know ihey always bring a better price in 
 the market. Although I confess to having been often 
 disappointed in my experience with Patent Office 
 «eed.*, owing to their age before they are placed in the 
 g'-ound, yet I can safely recommend the " white onion" 
 obtained from England, as of superior quality both as 
 regards size and taste. 
 
 Besides the onions raised from the seed, we can 
 grow them so as to have a supply in July. The ground, 
 in this case, must be prepared early as tlie weather 
 will permit, ic February, and for seed take a number 
 of those small bulbs that are always found in the beds 
 just described, and which are not above an inch broad. 
 The bed being ready at the end of the first week, form 
 it into squares on the surface by means of cross-strings. 
 At the places where the lines meet, press in an onion, 
 one third of the onion being placed in the ground, so 
 that the bulb will rera;!in firm and erect. After this 
 is douo, you will have a bed with the onions in square.^, 
 five or six inches apart. Now, the onion naturally 
 forms its bulb the first year of its growth, and forms 
 flower and seed in the second year. Of course, there- 
 fore, these small onions, being in their second year, 
 will attempt to form flower and seed, and this must be 
 prevented by plucking off the flower-head as soon as 
 it makes its appearance. A second attempt will be 
 made, which must also be prevented in the same way. 
 Thus, the sap, which would otherwise have "run to 
 seed," will be kept in the bulb, and by degrees two, 
 three, or four medium-sized onions will be developed. 
 These are to be taken in July or August, and dried 
 under a shed, as before directed. 
 
 A great amount of nonsense, in the shape of " e.v- 
 periments," has been given to the world on the subject 
 of the onion: but as I have already remarked, give 
 ine a soil rich light, deep, and well exposed to the 
 sun, and in addition, a few bushels of leached ashes, 
 ana a reasonable quantity of common salt, and I will 
 show you a crop of onions equal to any ever produced 
 by any other mode, 
 
 The onion is a plant whose roots feed upon nourish 
 ment on or very near the surface — hence deep sowing 
 and planting, as well as hoeing the earth around tlie 
 plants, are to be avoided. la very hot weather in 
 summer, it may be necessary to water them — but do 
 not carry this to extremes. The onion is a very hardy 
 plant, and I have frequently left bulbs in the ground 
 throughout the winter for the purpose of obtaining an 
 early mess on the dinner-table in spring. 
 
 These is another mode of raising the onion which I 
 like very well, although requiring a greater length of 
 time to develop. This is by sowing the seed, thickly in 
 drills from three to five inches apart, having preparei 
 the ground in the same manner as above described, 
 and reserving the leached ashes and salt for the second 
 year. By this method, you procure a number of 
 bus-hels of small onions, which are to be kept over 
 winter in a place dry, not too warm, and yet where 
 they will not freeze. These must be planted as early 
 as the spring weather will admit, in the second year, 
 and tlie flower-shoots must be plucked off, as I have 
 said in speaking of the early summer variety. They 
 must be planted in the same way, in squares of five or 
 six inches apart. 
 
 Tne onion has been too slightly cultivated. This is 
 owing to the vulgar notion of its unpleasant smell. It 
 is true, it is apt to affect the breath, so that one whc 
 has eaten of this really wholesome vegetable, will 
 smell of it for many hours afterwards. But this should 
 be no reason for abandoning its use, as we can always 
 so arrange our meal that it can be eaten when there is 
 no risk of this sort. 
 
 The onion has been successfully used as a medicine, 
 particularly in croupy affections of children — both the 
 expressed juice mixed with sugar, and in the form of 
 a poultice to the cbest and extremities It is stimu- 
 lant, acts upon the kidneys, upon the bronchial tubes 
 ai.d air-passages, and will excite irritation on the skin. 
 If eaten in moderati'n, it increases the appetite and 
 promotes digestion, and may be used as a condiment ; 
 but in large quantities it is apt to cause flatulence, 
 gastric uneasiness, and febrile excitement. It may be 
 given with advantage in dropsy and gravel. If it be 
 boiled, it loses its essential oil, and becomes a whole- 
 some and harmless esculent. It may also be roasted 
 and split, and applied with benefit to suppurating 
 tumors. In fact, it is one of tlie most useful vegetebioe 
 we possess, and deserves better treatment at the hands 
 of man. 
 
10 
 
 HOW TO RASSK ONIONS. 
 
 No. V. 
 BY STEPHEN HOYT & SON, FAIRFIELD CO.. CT. 
 
 SoDj is the first considfeiaiiou in llie culture of 
 ouions. To raise them succe>srully, it is important 
 ibat this be right. The soil best adapted to them is a 
 neavy, moist, (not wet,) rich loam, free from stone. 
 
 Fair crops of ouions may be raised upon a light dry 
 soil iu favorable !?eas()ns, but the tops are very liable 
 to turn yellow just as they begin to bottom, and to die 
 down before they are of much size, thus very materi- 
 ally diminishing the crop. The soil should be culti- 
 vated with some hoed crop, and no weeds allowed to 
 ripen seed upon it for one or two years before plant- 
 ing with onions. After having decided upon the soil, 
 the next thing is the 
 
 Manure. — Ouions draw very heavily upon the soil, 
 and to insure a large crop, manure should be applied li- 
 berally. No definite quantity can be recommended, as 
 the condition of the land varies so much ; but, as a gen- 
 eral thing, there is more danger of not applying enough 
 than too much. Stable or barn-yard manure when tho- 
 roughly decomposed, may be considered a very proper 
 manure for onions. We have found ashes very beneficial, 
 and have raised fine crops with no other manure. They 
 should be composted with swamp-muck, using one 
 load of ashes to ten or twelve of muck. Apply 
 twenty-five or thirty loads to the acre — more would oe 
 better. Fish composted with muck, makes a very 
 superior manure for onions, not excelled if equalled by 
 any other manure. Eight to ten thousand fish, (moss 
 bunkers,) properly composted, make a good dressing 
 for an acre. We have used guano, and it makes 
 onions, like almost every thing else, grow, yet we are 
 not in favor of its use. Only when composted with 
 muck, or mixed with good soil. If nothing else can 
 be had, guauo may be used with success, but should 
 lay composted a few months before using. It is un- 
 necessary to particularize the kinds of manure further. 
 Any well-rotted manure may be used with advantage 
 if applied in sufficient quantity. 
 
 Ploughing, Harrowing, Etc. — This we would re- 
 commend to be done as early in the spring as the 
 ground will admit. First, plough deep, and harrow 
 down. Then spread on the manure and plough in 
 shallow, say four inches. If ashes are used, spread 
 them upon the surface and harrow in. After the 
 second ploughing, harrow again, and pick off the stones, 
 if there are any ; then roll, (this is very Important,) 
 harrow once more and rake ofif, so as to remove all 
 stones, grass, roots, etc. It is very important to have 
 the groJind fine and clean before sowing, as much of 
 the after-cultivation depends upon this. 
 
 Shed. — There is nothing, perhaps, in raising onions 
 jf more importance than the seed, which should be 
 Ight to scart with If the seed is poor and fails to 
 
 come, or a pare comes, it not only lessens the crop, but 
 is a source of much vexation. We have found it the 
 most reliable course to raise our own seed. The bet-t 
 onions should be selected and put out as early as 
 possible in the spring; in rows three feet apart, and 
 six inches distant iu the row. Hoe often to keep 
 clean, and when the hulls begin to open, remove the 
 heads to some place under cover, where they may re- 
 main to be cleaned out at leisure. '1 he seed may bi- 
 loosened from the heads by threshing them with a 
 fiail, or by rubbing in the hands, and then run through 
 a fanning-mill. If it is then put into a tub of water, the 
 poor seed will float and may be removed from the sur 
 face, leaving the g9od at the bottom, in a clean state, 
 after which it should be taken out and dried- 
 We have frequently bought seed, as those just com 
 mencing the business have to do. In this case it 
 should be tried before sowing. This may be done by 
 placing some cotton thoroughly wet in a tumbler, 
 sprinkling a few seeds over the surface of the cotton, 
 and placing the tumbler in a warm place. In a few 
 days the seed will germinate if it is good. It is im 
 portant to have new seed, as old is very liable to fail 
 or if it does not, the sprout is more feeble and puny. 
 
 We prefer the red globe variety for general cultiva- 
 tion, as they are hardy and yield better than any other. 
 WWte onions sell for a large price, but they are more 
 tender, and we have condemned them fo"" general cul- 
 tivation. We have had several trials with them, and 
 found them to yield well; but they are very liable to 
 decay or become spotted ; so as to injure their sale. 
 
 Sowing may be done with almost any seed-drill, but 
 we generally use one made expressly for the purpose, 
 sowing two rows at once, twelve inches apart. A 
 boy follows behind, covering the seed with the nead ol 
 a rake. With this kind of machine, a man and bny 
 will sow two acres per day. We have found four 
 pounds of seed to the acre the proper quantity. The 
 seed should be sowed aa early as the ground will 
 admit. 
 
 Hoeing and Weeding. — As soon as the onions are 
 up so as to distinguish the rows, they should be hoed 
 by a careful hand, using a hoe with a blade eight 
 inches in length and two in width. These hoes may 
 be obtained at most agricultural stores, and are prefer- 
 red because they cover the onions much less than a 
 common hoe. Repeat the hoeing again in a few days, 
 and follow by weeding, using the greatest caro to re- 
 move ail the weeds, as the after-expense will depend 
 much upon the first dressing-out. Never allow onions 
 to suffer for the want of weeding, but clean as the 
 weeds are coming up. If weeds are allowed to attain 
 much size, they are very apt to take root again, even 
 
EXPKKIENCE OF PEACTICAL GROWERS. 
 
 n 
 
 . when f.ulled out, and the patch will soon be overrun. 
 Our rule ia, to stir the ground often, and never let the 
 onions suffer for want of weeding. By so doing they 
 are dressed out quickly and at little expense. Con- 
 tinue to hoe and stir the ground until the bulbs are too 
 large to work among without injuring them. Thinning 
 IS unnecessary when only the above quantity of seed 
 is used. 
 
 Pulling and Curing. — As soon as the tops have 
 died down, or nearly so, pull them. When onions do 
 well, their tops will lop over just at the top of the 
 onion, and gradually die away. The 'grower will 
 mainly have to be his own judge when to pull. There 
 are seasons, however, when a large proportion of the 
 onions are inclined to run to scallions or large-necked 
 bulbs, and a beginner may be at a loss what to do. 
 Many remedies have been recommended to make 
 onions bottom, but we have found them of but little 
 use. Watch them closely, and after being satisfied 
 that they are making no' more bottoms, pull them not- 
 withstanding the tops may be green, keeping the seal- 
 'ions (or unbottomed onions) by themselves, as they 
 will never cure sufficiently to be housed with the other 
 onions. We would here mention that it is our opinion 
 that green or unfermented manures on ground that 
 has never raised onions, are very apt to produce the 
 above results. 
 
 Having decided that the onions are fit to gather, 
 first pull six or eight rows, throwing them upon the 
 unpuUbd ones to get a start. Then hoe over and rake 
 oflf the strip palled, to remove all weeds or grass, if 
 any are growing. If there are no weeds, this will be 
 unnecessary. After having cleaned oflf a strip, pull 
 six or eight rows more, throwing the onions together 
 with those first pulled upon the strip hoed and raked 
 off. Hoe and rake oflf as before, and so continue to 
 pull and hoe until the piece is finished, leaving the 
 onions spread broadcast over the surface of the field. 
 The scallions, if any, may be left to go out with the 
 weeds or refuse. Let the onions remain in this situa- 
 tion for two weeks or more, until well cured, that is, 
 until the tops have become thoroughly dry. They 
 should then be turned over with a rake, as many 
 of them will be imbedded into the ground more or 
 less, gathering moisture. In a few hours after stirring, 
 with a good sun, they will be fit for housing. It mat- 
 ters not, however, if they remain in the field for 
 a mczth after pulling, or at least until freezing weather 
 In fact, we prefer to have them remain out as long as 
 .t will answer, as they are very apt to sweat, heat, and 
 sprout when put in large quantities, if housed early, 
 although ever so well cured, and it is qaite as conve- 
 nient to rnaiHcel them from the field. It is recommend- 
 ed and practised by many to pile the onions as they 
 are pulled. We have practised it, but prefer the 
 method above described. When piled, they want 
 more at'eution in curinff, as they are very apt to hol'd 
 
 ] moisture enough from rains to make them blacken, il 
 not opened and stirred frequently. 
 
 Housing. — It is highly important to have them 
 stored in a suitable place. This needs to be dry, cool, 
 and, when necessary, warm. We have housed them in 
 the cellar, but find it too damp and warm. They are 
 very liable to sprout and rot, and it is difficult to keep 
 them until spring. This, however, depends much 
 upon the dampness of the cellar. Perhaps as suitable 
 a place as can be had, unless by constructing a house 
 expressly for it, is the bay of a barn, using that portion 
 only below the first beam or sill. A tight floor should 
 be provided, and the sides lined with saw-dust, tan- 
 bark, turning-shavings, or something of the kind, to a 
 thickness of six or' eight inches A door should be 
 made at each end, so that there may be a circulation 
 of air, until compelled to close them by the severity of 
 the weather. A place of this description will hold 
 several hundred bushels, and should contain one or 
 two temporary partitions, running lengthwise, and 
 as high as the onions. This prevents them from lying 
 so compact, and tends to keep them from heating, 
 sweating, etc. Sticks, boards, or any thing of the kind, 
 placed in through them, answers a good purpose. As 
 soon as freezing weather sets in, close the doors, 
 and cover with straw. Those designed to be market- 
 ed before the severe cold weather comes on, may be 
 put in any place under cover. Those designed fo: 
 wintering should be put in with tops on, as they 
 sprout much less. In fact it is better to top them as 
 they are m.arketed, in all cases. Topping makes good 
 wet-weather employment. 
 
 Marketing. — The producer will have to exercise 
 his own judgment as to the proper season for market- 
 ing. For a number of years past they have brought 
 the best price in the spring, yet there have been 
 springs when we have thrown away hundreds of 
 bushels. This, however, seldom occurs. Where a 
 person raises largely, it is necessary to commence 
 marketing as soon as the onions are ripe enough to 
 pull, in order to get them oflPin time. We have found 
 it advisable to sell whenever they bring a good paying 
 price. They should never be moved while frozen. If 
 kept covered and undisturbed while frozen, the frost 
 will leave them uninjured, unless it is too severe, and 
 often repeated. 
 
 Yield. — Much depends upon the soil and season for 
 a large yield. The average crop is about five hundred 
 bushels per acre. A large yield can not be expected 
 in this section without having the soil of the proper 
 texture and a heavy manuring. The more manure, the 
 more onions. There is no difficulty in raising eight or 
 nine hundred bushels per acre. The same ground may 
 be used for many yeais in succession if well manured, 
 and with better success than by changing every year, 
 or every few years. Pains should be taken to destroy 
 all weeds, so that none shall go to seed upon the 
 
12 
 
 UOW TO RAISE ONIONS. 
 
 ground, t^nd also in makiag manure, that no seed may 
 oe preseut in that. By so doing for a few years, 
 onions may be raised with but little expense. 
 
 Experience is necessary to raise onions successfully. 
 We would not advise any person unacquainted with 
 growmg onions, to enter into it very largely at first, for 
 It would very likely prove a failure. We have 
 observed several instances where individuals have 
 commenced with a small patch, who have increased 
 
 gradually until tl.ey have reached six, eight, or lei. 
 acres, while others commencing with one acre or 
 more, were unsuccessful, and have abandoned \he 
 business. It can not be expected that from three to 
 four hundred dollars per acre should be realized with- 
 out considerable expense ; and although we may read 
 the various methods of others in regard to it, we are 
 ill-prepared to go into the business of raising onions 
 on a large scale without experience. 
 
 No. VI. 
 
 BY AKTHUR C. TAYLOR, FAIRFIELD CO., CT. 
 
 The first thing to look after is the seed. In select- 
 ing the onions to plant for seed, choose those of a 
 oright red color, of a medium size, with a small top, 
 ^well dried down to where it joins the bulb,) in shape 
 as near round as you can find. Round onions yield 
 more per acre than flat onea. If your seed-onions are 
 deeper than they are broad, your onions will be in- 
 clined to run to scallions, (unsalable onions with thick 
 green tops,) a result much to be dreaded by the onion- 
 raiser. Plant your seed-onions in drills, three feet 
 apart, the onions four inches apart in the drills. Plant 
 deep in the ground, and hoe the dirt up to the plants 
 as they grow. In weeding, be careful not to rub the 
 seed-stalks, as it will sometimes cause the seed to blast. 
 When the stalks have nearly all turned yellow, cut off 
 the seed-balls, and dry them on a roof or garret floor. 
 When dry, clean the seed, ready for sowing in the 
 spring. 
 
 In choosing the ground, a level piece is preferable 
 to side-hill, on account of its being less liable to be 
 washed by spring rains. The soil should be deep and 
 rich, nei'ner too wet nor too dry, (of the two rather 
 moist.) Onlike most other crops, onions may be plant- 
 ed on t' e same ground for a great number of years, and 
 still V,;ing good crops. 
 
 ¥^.i,nure very highly, stable-manure, ground bones, 
 ao'.es, and guano are all very good. Stable-manure 
 jould be ploughed in ; be careful to turn it all under. 
 Bones or ashes may be harrowed in after the ground 
 .n ploughed. Guano should be raked in after the har- 
 rowing is done. Guano does well with other manure. 
 It gives the young plants a good start early in the sea- 
 son. The ground should be ploughed deep. It may be 
 done eitlier in the fall or in the spring. Fall ploughing 
 is preferred by many, aa it helps on the spring work, 
 and gives a chance to get the seed in the ground early, 
 which is a great advantage. As soon as the ground is 
 free from frost, and dry enough to pulverize the lumps, 
 harrow it well, first with the tooth, then with a nice 
 even brush-harrow. After the harrowing has been 
 thoroughly done, use the hand rake until your ground 
 
 is free from lumps and stones. Be careful to pick up 
 all the stones. The ground is now ready for the seed. 
 Sow in drills one foot apart; gauge your machine to 
 sow about four pounds per acre. If the ground ia in 
 good order, and you are sure your seed is all good, a 
 little less than four pounds will do per acre. Cover the 
 seed by pushing the head of a rake or the back of a 
 corn-hoe along the drills. If the rows are made very 
 straight, it will save time in cultivating. 
 
 Nothing more is to be done until the onions are up 
 enough to see the rows. Then go through with alight 
 onion-hoe, stirring the ground between the rows. As 
 soon as the onions are all up, put in tho boys with 
 weeders, to take out the weeds which the hoes have 
 left. The weeders are little hoes, two inches wide bj 
 one iuch deep, with a short handle. Boys soon be 
 come very handy at this work, and are better than men 
 at the business. All we have to do now, is to keep free 
 from weeds by hoeing and weeding until puUing-time. 
 which is generally in September. When tho tops have 
 nearly all fallen down, and about half of them are dry, 
 they are fit to pull. Leave them on the ground after 
 they are pulled until the tops are all dry, then store 
 them in a dry place. Onions will look brighter if 
 Ijeaped up soon after pulling, and left in heaps to cure. 
 Much care should be used in curing white onions, as 
 tlie sale of them is injured by having the skins mil- 
 dewed. They should be pulled earlier than red 
 onions. A good plan is to carry them in, soon after 
 pulling, and dry them by spreading out thin in lofls. 
 
 An important item after the onion crop is raised, is 
 to have it well housed. Onions will keep best on a 
 floor where the air can circulate over and under them. 
 They should be kept cool, but must not be allowed to 
 freeze much. Onions for seed should be put in the 
 cellar when the weather becomes cold, as the yield ot 
 seed will be small if the onions have been touched 
 with frost. On a good piece of ground, six hundred 
 bushels of onions can be raised to the acre, which at 
 50 cents per bushel, will bring $300 from one "wre oi 
 ground. 
 
EXPERIENCE OF PBACTICAI, GROWERS 
 
 13 
 
 If the planting of onions for seed has been neglect- j onions, than to get a supply from seed stoies where 
 ed, great care shcald be taken in procuring seed. It you know nothing about the quality of the osioES 
 m better to give a large price for seed from selected [ planted. 
 
 No. VII. 
 
 BY DAVID H. SHERWOOD, FAIRFIELD CO., CT. 
 
 Raising Seed. — Most people are aware that the 
 great onion crop of the country is raised from the black 
 seed. There hag been a great change in the shape of 
 the onion within a few years. They were formerly 
 quite flat, but now the best are as far through from 
 the top to the root as the other way. Therefore select 
 the very best for seed, those that are as near round as 
 possible, solid and smooth. These should be kept 
 through the winter in a dry place, where the thermo- 
 meter will not fall below 20°. 
 
 As soon as tho frost is out of the ground in the 
 epring, it should be well manured and ploughed deep. 
 Dig trenches three feet apart and five inches deep. 
 Set your onions in the bottom of these drills about 
 six inches apart. As they grow up, fill the trenches 
 with dirt, and the stalks will not faU down, which is 
 apt to blast the seed. Keep clear from weeds until 
 they blossom, after which do not disturb them. 
 When the stalk below the seed-ball turns yellowish, 
 and the seed-husks begin to open, cut off the seed- 
 balls and spread them thinly on a tight floor, stirring 
 them once in three days ; or, what is better, spread 
 them ou a lattice over a tight floor, as they will then 
 have the air around them, which is very essential, as 
 they are apt to mildew. They should remain in this 
 way for several weeks, until they will shell easy. 
 After the chatf is blown out, pour the seed into water ; 
 throw away that which floats, and dry the remainder 
 in the sun for three or four days ; after which put in 
 coarse tags, and hang where it will have plenty of air, 
 as I know of no seed that is more .likely to chit than 
 onion-seed. 
 
 Preparation or the Ground for the reception of 
 the seed, is the next thing of importance. I have 
 seen good onions on reclaimed bog swamp, also on re- 
 claimed swamp with a clay sub-soil, but I think the 
 best ground for the purpose is a dry loam. It should 
 first be in hoed crops three or four years, and all 
 weeds kept from going to seed. Clear your ground 
 from all rubbish, stones, etc., in the fall, and, if pos- 
 sible, put on twenty loads, of fifty bushel each, of fine, 
 well-rotted manure to the acre, and plough it in before 
 winter. If thus treated in the fall, you can sow the 
 seed in tho spring much earlier and easier than if 
 ploughed in the spring. But as many are apt to put 
 off until to-morrow what should be done to-day, I will 
 say, manure your ground in the spring as soon as it 
 is dry enough to work, ploughing it in at once, as fast 
 
 as it can be harrowed, raked, and sowed, as it is apt 
 to become lumpy if allowed to lay in the sun after 
 ploughing. Never use a tooth-harrow, as it will draw 
 out the manure. I smooth the ground as follows: 
 Take a plank eight feet long, one foot wide, and three 
 inches thick. Through this, bore four holes, and insert 
 four sticks, four feet long and three inches square. On 
 the under-side of these sticks, fasten boards. The front 
 plank standing edgewise as it moves along, will level 
 the furrows, while the boards behind will smooth 
 them. "Wood ashes, at the rate of from one to two 
 hundred bushels to the acre, harrowed in, will pay 
 double their cost in most cases. After you have 
 leveled and smoothed your ground as much as con 
 venient with your team and leveler, use the hand- 
 rake, leaving the surface as fine and even as possible. 
 
 In order to have your rows straight, draw a lino 
 across the field. Draw the planting-machine by the 
 line. These machines for planting, which cost about five 
 doUars, plant two drills at a time, one foot apart, and 
 about half an inch deep. I use four pounds of seed 
 to the acre, and cover by drawing a hand-rake length- 
 wise over the drills. The usual time of sowing here 
 in the southern part of Connecticut, is from the first to 
 the fifteenth of April. A hand-roller drawn over the 
 ground after planting, will help the seed to germinate. 
 
 About two weeks is required to bring up the seed, 
 and they should be hoed as soon as the rows can be 
 seen, which will generally be the latter part of May. 
 The most convenient hoe which I have seen for this 
 purpose, is eight inches long and one and a half wide, 
 inserted in a handle six feet long. Much depends 
 upon how the hoe stands, about its working easy. If 
 made right, the dirt will slide over it. After the weeds 
 that are cut up by tho hoe, have had time to die, they 
 should bff gone over carefully one row at a time, cutting 
 and pulling every weed from the row. The most con 
 venient way for doing this, ia to crawl on your knees 
 with a small hoe in one hand, to cut where there is 
 room, and pull with the other hand. The hoe for this 
 purpose should be about three inches long, three 
 fourths of an inch wide, inserted in a handle eiglit 
 inches long. 
 
 From this time they .«hould be kept perfectly free 
 from weeds; to do tliis, they will require going over 
 from three to five times, or once in two weeks ; but 
 as to this, there can be no rule given, as much depends 
 upon the soil, the kind of mamiro weather, eta 
 
14 
 
 HOW TO RAISE OA'IOIfS. 
 
 It is much easier to keep them clean by going over 
 Uiem often, than to put it off too long; besides, weeds 
 sliade the ground and impoverish tlie soil. There 
 should be no trees to shade the onions, as they will 
 bardly grow in sight of one. 
 
 If the onions grow well, the tops will fall down 
 before they are done growing; at other times they 
 will stand stiff and never fall. If they fall down, they 
 are fit to pull when about three fourths of tlie tops 
 are dead, which is generally the last of August or the 
 fore part of September. The sooner they are pulled 
 after they are fit, the better they will keep, and the 
 brighter they will look. Commence, by pulling a few 
 rows, and lay them one side. Hoe- up the weeds and 
 rake them off, then pull the next rows, and hoe oft' the 
 weeds as before. Continue thus through the field. 
 Pull with your hands, and lay thera over carefully. 
 If the weather is good, after they have lain spread for 
 three or four days, pile them up, putting about three 
 busliels in a pile in the form of a pyramid. Let them 
 stand in this way from two to four weeks, or until the 
 tops are all dead, and if there should be heavy rains 
 during the time, the piles should be opened on a fair 
 day, and piled again. Piling them up causes thera to 
 sweat, and they are then less likely to sweat after 
 carrying in. After they are properly cured, open the 
 piles on a drying day, and they will generally be fit 
 to put in the day following. Never cart them until 
 they are perfectly dry and dusty, and it should be done 
 between 11 A.M. and 4 P.M. One half the secret of 
 iheir keeping well, is in carting them when perfectly 
 dry. 
 
 If they are to be disposed of before cold weather, 
 tbcy can be kept in any dry place where they will 
 have air. The best place is on a loose floor, where the 
 air will cfc'aw under them. If tliey are to be kept 
 through the winter, have a tight floor, which the frost 
 can not get under. On this lay scantling, upon Which 
 lay narrow boards, with cracks betw-een them. Board 
 up around the outside, leaving a space of one foot be- 
 tween them and the outside partition. Arranged in this 
 way, you have a free circulation of air all around them. 
 When the thermometer sinks to 20°, fill the space 
 around the outside with sea-weed, onion-tops, or some- 
 thing of the kind, which easily stops the circulation of 
 air. They can be put in such a place three feet deep, 
 with hay, cornstalks, or something of the ktnd, two feet 
 
 thick over them, and they will come out good in l-n» 
 spring. Before sending to market, cut the top one 
 inch from the onion. If they get frozen, lei them 
 remain still and covered until thawed. Always handle 
 them as carefully as you would apples, as a slight 
 bruise will cause them to mould and rot. 
 
 The expense of an acre of onions with me is aboi:t 
 as follows : 
 
 20 loads of manure at $1.50 $30.00 
 
 Carting, tnrnfng, spreading, etc 6.00 
 
 100 bushels ashes, at 17 cts 17.00 
 
 Ploughing and harrowing, 4.00 
 
 Raking and sowing, 4.00 
 
 4 lbs. of seed, at $1, 4 00 
 
 Hoeing four times, 6 days, 6.00 
 
 Weeding four times, 24 days, 20.00 
 
 PuHing and piling, 12 days, 10.00 
 
 Drawing in with team, two days, 6.00 
 
 Topping 500 bushels, at 2 cts., lO.Od 
 
 Marketing, ■ 8.00 
 
 Interest on land 12.00 
 
 Total $137.00 
 
 A crop -of onions will vary from 200 to 800 bushels 
 to the acre, according to the state of the soil, manure, 
 the care taken of them, etc. The price also varies 
 from 10 cts. to $1 per bushel. 
 
 The red globe onion is the variety generally raised 
 for market, as it yields more than other varieties, and 
 keeps better. The silver-skin onion brings the highest 
 price, but is very apt to mould and rot before winter. 
 Some may think, 1 have been very particular in tho 
 above description, but after they have had ten years' 
 experience, they will find there is yet something 
 to be learned. If you are too proud to go on your 
 knees, or have not the patience to spend much time on 
 a small place, or have not enough perseverance to do 
 the same thing over and over again, you had better sell 
 your seed, and sow your ground to buckwheat. 
 
 Onions are a crop which generally pay a large pro- 
 fit, but sometimes the neglect of a few days will 
 spoil it. The same piece may be planted year .-ifter 
 year with success. The weeding, pullir g, and topping 
 can be done by faithful boys as well as by men. 
 
 It is estimated that from the towns of Fairfield 
 and Westport there were sent to market last year 
 not far from 200,000 (two hundred thousand) bushela 
 
■EXPERIENCE OF PKACTICAI, afiOWBBR 
 
 li 
 
 No. VIII. 
 
 BY G. I. MILLER, NIAGARA, CANADA WEST. 
 
 It 18 of lUo greatest importance in growing onions to 
 have the right kind of soil, find that in the liighest 
 state of cultivation. In my opinion, a light sandy- 
 soil, well drained for all seasons, is preferable. Onions 
 also can be raised to great advantage on black loam or 
 light clay soil, providing the seasons are not too dry. 
 
 To prepare the ground, I would recommend a piece 
 that has been planted with potatoes, manured with 
 rotten horse-stable manure, at the rate of about fifty 
 loads per acre. As soon as the potatoes have been 
 taken from the ground, plough about seven inches deep, 
 letting it lie until the first of April, or as soon as the 
 ground will admit of being worked, then adding about 
 ten loads of hog-manure, well spread over the surface, 
 and plough under from five to six inches deep, after 
 which spread a few bushels of hen-manure, and then 
 harrow the ground until it is well pulverized. The 
 land is now ready to sow, for the earlier the seed is 
 sown, the better the onions will be. 
 
 Testing the seed can be done by cutting two sods 
 from the ground, and pouring boiling water over them, 
 letting the water drain well off, then placing the seed 
 between the sods, and laying them under the stove for 
 about two days, when the seed, if good, will sprout. I 
 would recommend the large red globe onion as being 
 the best variety for market. 
 
 The seed should be sown by a seed-drill, eighteen 
 inches apart, in rows lengthwise of the land, at the 
 rate of about three to three and a half pounds of seed 
 per acre, leaving a space of three feet in the dead fur- 
 
 rows for weed?, etc It is necessary, as soon ag the 
 rows can be plainly seen, to go through them with the 
 hoe, leaving the ground as level as possible, and at the 
 expiration of eight or ten days, go through them again, 
 weeding, and thinning them from one to two inches 
 apart : after which it will be necessary to apply the 
 hoe every two weeks, always bearing in mind, that the 
 oftener the ground is stirred, the greater will be the 
 produce. 
 
 After the tops are dropped down and withered, then 
 pull them at once, fur if left in the above condition, 
 they will take the second growth, which will injure 
 the quality materially. 
 
 After they are pulled up, let them lay on the ground 
 for a few days to dr^', then top them with a sharp 
 knife, taking care before doing this, that the onions are 
 perfectly dry ; after which, spread them thin, in a dry, 
 cool place, and then you have them ready for the 
 market. 
 
 It is advantageous to grow them on the same piece 
 of ground for five or six years, adding a little manure 
 every spring before ploughing. 
 
 Onions raised by this method will produce from 
 seven to nine hundred bushels per acre, on a light, 
 sandy soil. Onions raised on the aforesaid plan have 
 taken the first prizes for the last six years at our countj 
 and township shows, and the first prize at the Provin 
 cial Agriculture Show, held at Toronto, Canada West. 
 
 No. IX. 
 
 BY U. E. DODGE, CHATAUftUE CO., N. Y. 
 
 Seed. — To cultivate onions successfully, and with- 
 out failures, care is necessary in selecting and raising 
 seed. Seed should never be sown when over two 
 vears old. Onions, intended for seed, should be care- 
 fully selected, choosing the thickest and the most per- 
 fectly round, of medium size, and the brightest colors 
 of the kind. These should be stored through the win- 
 ter, or from December until the opening of spring. 
 At the earliest possible moment, they should be set in 
 furrows opened with the plough, three feet apart, and 
 four inches in the rows. None but fine, well-pulver- 
 ized land, should b • nsed for raising onion-seed. Cover 
 two inches deep. Avoid putting on any lumps or 
 stones, afl these, whenever they fall upon the onions, 
 
 retard their coming up, and oonsequentiy make an um 
 even harvest. All weeds must be kept down web 
 the cultivator and hand-hoe, until the seed matmes, 
 which will be about the last ofAu^nsi., ot the urst 
 of September — never later than the sixU of Seplrm- 
 ber in this latitude. Their matun.,y may be easily 
 known by the cracking of the ballr^. As soon as the 
 balls commence cracking, the headr. enould be clipped, 
 leaving six or eight inches of the sUlK adhering to the 
 head. The juice or sap which the stalk contains, ma- 
 tures more perfect seed than when clipped short. The 
 mode of cutting, is to take a common wooden pail in 
 the left hand, and a sharp knife in the other, holding 
 the blade parallel with the thumb, Slin the stalk b» 
 
10 
 
 HOW TO RAISE ONIONS. 
 
 tween the thumb and knife, at the same time swing up 
 the pail to the standip-g stalk, and a slight draw with 
 the right hand severs the head from the stalk, which 
 falls into the pail, with all loose seed which would 
 otherwise be lost. The pails, as they become full, are 
 emptied into bags, and taken to the drying-barn. It is 
 not an extraordinary day's work for a man to cut ten 
 bushels seed per day. 
 
 Drying the seed requires some care, and neglect in 
 >,his branch is the cause of great loss by failures in the 
 germination of the seed. Onion-seed, to be cured pro- 
 perly, and insure entire success in germination, should 
 be dried in the shade, spread upon a smooth level 
 floor, and not more than three inches thick. It should 
 be turned twice every day, until perfectly dry. The 
 tirst quality of seed is obtained from that which shells 
 while turning; that which remains, and has to be 
 threshed from the balls, being light, and of inferior 
 quality. 
 
 Soil. — That best adapted to the growth of onions is 
 a deep mellow loam, resting on a dry, porous sub-soil. 
 Although a vegetable of very shallow root, yet the 
 onion delights in a deep, finely- pulverized soil. Cold, 
 wet clay-sand seldom produces good crops, unless 
 thoroughly underdrained, and otherwise mechanically 
 prepared. 
 
 Preparation of the Ground. — Soil, containing 
 the natural requisites, namely, dry, mellow, and fertile, 
 should be ploughed in the fall, previous to sowing the 
 crop. Twenty loads, of one cord each, of well-rotted 
 maxvTire, prepared by shoveling over two or three times 
 the summer previous, should be spread upon each acre. 
 At each turning, put the outside of the heap into the 
 middle of the pile, thus destroying thousands of weed- 
 seeds that would otherwise grow, causing much extra 
 labor to eradicate them. The manure thus prepared is 
 spread evenly upon the ground, and turned under with 
 the plough from five to six inches deep, and thus re- 
 mains till spring, leaving the frost to pulverize the sur- 
 face, and destroy all insects whose winter-quarters have 
 been made beneath the Surface, and whose eggs and 
 larvae can not stand the severity of our winters, when 
 exposed to the weather from November till April. 
 
 As soon in the spring as the weather and the soil 
 m\\ permit, the bed should be cross-ploughed, leaving 
 the furrows upon edge as much as possible, so that a 
 harrowing will mix the manure with the soil. It 
 should be harrowed across the furrows, and raked 
 lengthwise of them by hand. 
 
 Planting. — Draw a line at one side of the bed, and 
 prepare a marker by taking a piece of scantling four 
 by four, or any other convenient size, and bore four inch- 
 holes, twelve inches apart. In these insert four pins 
 for teeth, a-^^.d make a hole in the middle of the piece, 
 at right angles to the teeth, for a handle. "With this, 
 draw marks parallel with the line, and the ground is 
 ready for sowing. Sow at the rate of four pounds seed 
 to tlrt) acre, with a seed-drill, being careful to gauge 
 
 the drill not to sow over that q aantity All over tb« 
 increases the labor of thinning. 
 
 If the weather has tlie appearance of being dry, ii 
 would be well to roll, after sowing, with a hand-roller; 
 but this is seldom reqijired, as the roller upon the drill 
 usually presses the ground sufiBciently for the germina- 
 tion of the seed. 
 
 Culture. — As soon as the onions make their i\y. 
 pearance above tho ground, sufficient to distinguish the 
 rows, they should be carefully dressed through with 
 the scuffle-hoe, to destroy all young weeds that may be 
 starting, and greatly facilitate the first hoeing and 
 weeding, which should be done when the plants are 
 about four inches high. Procrnstination here pays 
 heavy interest on the wrong side. Thin to three 
 
 inches in the row diagonally thus : ' '° • Great 
 
 .3m. 
 
 results are frequently obtained by sowing broadcast at 
 
 the weeding, when the ground is in a fresh state, 
 
 three parts wood ashes, two parts fine dry pulverized 
 
 hen-manure, and one part plaster, 'at the rate of three 
 
 bushels to the acre. 
 
 The only sure road to success with this crop is clean 
 cultivation, annual manuring, and careful attention 
 during their growth. With these requisites, onions can 
 be grown on land year after year. The writer of this, 
 last year (1858) raised over five hundred bushels to 
 the acre on land that had had no other crop upon it 
 for over a quarter of a century, and by actual experi- 
 ments finds that it produces better onions, and is 
 easier tilled, in consequence of its being kept free from 
 weeds year after year, and the onions are less liable to 
 run to scallions. In this particular they are an excep- 
 tion to any other crop, as all other crops are benefited 
 by rotation. 
 
 As a market vegetable, the onion is one of the 
 easiest grown ; its plump, firm flesh is not liable to 
 injury from bruises, as many other vegetables ; ita 
 keeping qualities and hardiness to frost, render it a 
 vegetable of the first importance for distant markets. 
 
 The onion is hardy in its nature, standing well tht 
 late frosts of spring and the early frosts of autumn, 
 and the best results are obtained from the earliest sow- 
 ing ; in fact, this is almost indispensable to obtain a 
 large crop, although there may be certain seasons in 
 which a late crop may do well ; but it ;s net safe tc 
 defer sowing later than the twentieth of April. The 
 last of March, or the first of April would be preferred, 
 if the ground was in the proper condition. No time 
 should be lost upon the opening of spring until 
 the seed is in. A little snow, or a few frosty nights, 
 will not injure it. "With proper attention, and large 
 drafts upon the bank of muck and manure, a few acres 
 of onions will increase tho deposits at the Bank of 
 Exchange a large per centnge in a few years, as I shall 
 attempt to show in the following calculation, taking low 
 market prices, and a high estimate on labor, and hardly 
 an average per acre, say four hundi'cd bushels : 
 
EXPERIENCE OP PEACnCAL GROWERS. 
 
 17 
 
 3 days' ploughing and dragging, $4.00 
 10 " raking and sowing, 10.00 
 •-'0 " weeding and thinning, first time, 20.00 
 15 " " " second time, 15.00 
 
 8 " hoeing, last time, 8.00 
 
 20 " harvesting and housing, 20.00 
 
 4 pounds seed, 4.00 
 20 loads of manure, 20.00 
 
 3 bushels top-dressing, .75 
 
 Interest on land, 10.50 
 
 Total, $112.25 
 
 400 bushels, at 50 cents, 200 00 
 
 Net profit per acre, $87.75 
 
 Harvesting onions is not so laborious as many 
 other kinds of vegetables ; their maturity being earlier 
 in the season, those engaged in their culture are not 
 pxposed to the late cold autumn winds, as they would 
 be with a crop of beets, carrots, or turnips. The most 
 expeditious mode of harvesting is to dig them with 
 the common hand-hoe, running one corner of the hoe 
 under the row, giving it a long draw, taking about 
 four rows at a time, digging over some ten or twelve 
 feet ; then, with the back of the hoe, shove them up 
 three or four feet, and hoe the ground level, and spread 
 the onions upon this hoed space. 
 
 When treated in this way, they should lie from 
 three to four weeks, or until perfectly dry. They 
 should then be picked from the bed, and carted to the 
 bam, or some building where they will not be exposed 
 to storms and kept upon a floor, as they will soon 
 injure if piled in large heaps upon the ground, in con- 
 sequence of the dampness which they draw from the 
 earth. If properly dried, and secured from damp, they 
 will keep for months in this condition, without any 
 further trouble. They are liable to grow when damp, 
 so that it is important that the cultivator see that this 
 part of the work be conducted thoroughly and carefully. 
 
 Marketing. — Onions are principally sold by the 
 bushel, and by the string. If intended to market by 
 the bushel, the tops should be cut close and smooth, 
 and all loose skin removed, to give them a bright, 
 plump appearance. If for home market, they may be 
 put in bags, or hauled by the wagon-load, avoiding 
 rough handling as far as may be. If for a distant 
 market, barrels are the most convenient mode of pack- 
 ing. Fill them with the onions, packing tiglit, that 
 that there be no shaking, and head strongly. Packed 
 in this way, and perfectly dry, they will go thousands 
 of miles by railroad or ship, and open fresh and sound. 
 
 Those intended for strings should have two inches 
 of the top left upon the onion. The strings are made 
 by taking a few straws, (rye straw is best.) and with a 
 piece of wrapping twine, commence at the butt end of 
 the straw to wind, and at every two or three turns add 
 an onion, ending at the top. This secures it firmly, 
 and brings its broad, flat base upou tl ■ outside of the 
 
 string. The largest should be tied upon the bottom of 
 the string, gradually diminishing in size, until the 
 smallest are tied upon the top. Tliis gives the string 
 a conical form, and a neat and tidy appearance, wheo 
 arranged for sale. 
 
 Preservation. — Keeping through the winter, with- 
 out injury from fi^osts, or loss from heating and grow- 
 ing, requires care and experience, and various methods 
 are adopted to avoid these results. They are buried in 
 large ricks upon the ground, and covered with a heavy 
 coat of straw and a light coat of earth. They are also 
 lied upon strings, and hung upon the beams in the 
 cellar or warm garret, or spread thinly upon shelves in 
 the cellar Some pack in boxes or barrels, encased 
 with several thicknesses of paper, and leave them in 
 an out-building. All these have been practised with 
 varied success. The most popular mode, and the one 
 which has given the most satisfactory results, is to 
 spread straw, threshed with a flail, to the depth of 
 twelve to eighteen inches upon the barn-floor, scafibld, 
 or garret ; upon this, spread the onions from six to ten 
 inches thick, and cover witli straw eighteen inches to 
 two feet, laying on old pieces of boards or rails to com- 
 press the straw. Treated in this way, if at a sufficient 
 depth from frost, they are not affected by the changes 
 of temperature, and keep in fine condition till the first 
 of May. 
 
 Onions are propagated from seed, sets, and multi- 
 pliers, or potatoe-onions. The universal mode of pro- 
 pagation at the South and West is from sets, which 
 are obtained by sowing the seed very thickly, broad- 
 cast or in drills, and when they obtain the size of a 
 filbert, pull them, and dry upon the ground in the sun. 
 These are kept till the following spring, and set by 
 hand. They make a quick, stron^ growtli, and produce 
 fiae onions. Multipliers are a variety that produce 
 large and small bulbs alternately, the large producing 
 several small ones the first year, and iliese small giv- 
 ing large the next year. These may be recommended 
 as a small early crop for family use, and early home 
 market, but not as a main crop, the increase of market- 
 able onions over the seed being too small. Of all the 
 various modes of propagation, sowing the seed for a 
 main crop deserves first rank -, its cheapness, compared 
 wilh other modes, and the focility with which it is 
 sowed, the early season. when it may be gathered in, 
 and the superior fine bulbs which it produces, recom- 
 mend it to general use. But whatever the mode of 
 propagation, the cultivator can not expect lemunerative 
 crops, unless he bestows careful attention to the selec- 
 tion of seed, the eradication of weeds during the 
 period of their growth, annual application of well-com- 
 posted manure, and m large quantities, and the harvest- 
 ing, securing, and marketing at the proper time. With 
 careful attention to these, and a naturally dry, fertile 
 soil, onions may be grown, with laige profits upon tli* 
 capital invested. 
 
IS 
 
 HOW TO RAISE ONIONS. 
 
 No. X. 
 
 BY W. R. BUNNELL, BRIDGEPORT, FAIRFIELD CO., CT 
 
 Kinds. — The thick or globular deep-red* onion, 
 known as the "Wethersfield Large Red, is the kind 
 generally grown in Fairfield county, Ct. It grows to 
 a good size when thinly sown on good ground, yields 
 weU, is of a beautiful color and shape, tender in cooking, 
 keeps well, and is very salable in New-York market, 
 for use or shipping. Also a yellow onion, (generally 
 called and sold for white,) of nearly the same shape 
 and qualities as the red, supposed to be the Danvers, 
 which sells in the same market for one to two shillings 
 a barrel more than the Reds, but does not generally 
 yield so well. 
 
 Seed. — All seed should be raised from good-shaped 
 if not large bulbs, to avoid scallions, (thick-necks or 
 green onions ; ) should be water-cleaned and kept very 
 dry, and though generally preferred only one year old, 
 will succeed nearly as well after the second, or even 
 third year, if it has been kept in a dry place, but seed 
 more than one year old sells at onlij half-price. Bought 
 seed should always be put into water and stirred for a 
 short time, and that which does not sink in fifteen 
 minutes, may be considered worthless or unreliable. 
 
 Soil. — Any good garden soil, from a clay-loam to 
 even quite a gravelly loam, say of one half mixture, is 
 suitable. In a dry season the first will yield best, and 
 .n a wet one the last — a medium may be best. 
 
 Exposure. — The best is a dry level, or a slight in- 
 clination to any point of the compass but the north. 
 It should never incline over four inches to the rod, to 
 prevent the rains from -jvashing away the soil with the 
 seeds or young plants. An inclination of one to two 
 feet to the rod is sometimes seen. The plants on side- 
 hills, after they get well rooted, do not suffer from the 
 washing away of the soil, but those buried by the 
 washed soil are injured ; therefore if possible avoid 
 steep side-hills and hollows, especially the latter, 
 where water can stand after rains, which is most inju- 
 rious of all. 
 
 Manure. — Xo fresh yard-manure should bo used, as 
 it is apt to be full of seeds, which will greatly increase 
 the labor of tending, and the straw will be in the way 
 of ploughing, raking, and hoeing. Night-soil or hog- 
 manure is preferred. If barnyard manure is used, it 
 should be thrown into heaps before the first of March, 
 to kill the seeds and ripen for use by heating, or it may 
 be carried out to the field and each load be heaped by 
 itself, and the earth around thrown upon them as soon 
 as it thaws, to the depth of three or more inches, to 
 keep oS" the cold winds, and preserve their moisture, 
 and raise the heat high enough to vegetate the seeds. 
 Turning, or well shaking up, putting the outside to the 
 Biiddle a week or two before nsmg, will still further im- 
 DTOvo it. As to the quantity, the crop will be in pro- 
 
 portion to that and the quality; it should be from forty 
 to sixty or more ox-cart loads to the aero, and twelve 
 to fifty bushels of leached ashes harrowed or raked in, 
 or sowed on the rows after weeding. 
 
 Ploughing. — So soon as the ground is dry, have the 
 manure on the field. First hoe it over, to cut up all 
 grass, weeds, and roots, and rake them off; for if 
 ploughed under, they will be a great plague. Then if 
 the heaps of manure were covered with earth, hoe 
 it off as they are wanted, and return it to the hollows 
 to level the ground, and spread it just fast enough to 
 feed the plough, breaking it fine ; then rake or scrape 
 it with a dung-fork, into the furrow, to b6 covered in 
 the next bout. Once ploughing is sufficient, if well 
 done. A second would throw out the manure. Im- 
 mediately after ploughing, if your quantity of manure 
 was not sufficient, strew any special manures, as pou- 
 drette, guano, superpho.sphate, bone-dust — probably 
 the best of all. etc., to make up the deficiency. If the 
 ground is lumpy, harrow lengthwise first, and finish off 
 by going over with the back of the harrow down, c/ 
 with a brush harrow, (see Agriculturist, 1858, page 
 108.) Then proceed to rake off all the stones and 
 rubbish, and to even the surface. If the soil is mellow 
 after ploughing, harrowing may be omitted. Many 
 simply scatter short fresh manure, plough once, and 
 rake down, drill and sow ; but it is a miserable way, 
 making extra work in weeding, and producing a light- 
 er crop. 
 
 Sowing. — This is cheai>est and quickest done with 
 a machine, called an onion-sower, whicli sows two 
 rows at once, one foot apart, and costs about $5, 
 and is to be found at the agricultural stores. It must 
 be regulated on a floor or board, to sow the seed to 
 average ^ to f of an inch apart, which will be about 4 
 lbs. to tlie acre — 3-|- to 4 is the usual quantity for a 
 crop which is not to be thinned out. The machine 
 does not cover the seed. This is done by drawing the 
 back of a hay-rake lengthwise over one or two rows 
 at a time. Any special manures may be scattered 
 with great advantage upon the seed in the drills before 
 covering. Make the drills about f of an inch deep 
 when open. But many prefer the old way of sowing 
 by hand, and make a drill-rake with a head three feet 
 four inches long, of three or four inches scantling, with 
 three teeth fifteen inches long, pointed, and one foot 
 apart, with a short curved handle four to five feet long, 
 Starting with a line for a guide, (which must also be 
 used with the machine,) and afterwards following the 
 last drill with one tooth, and sow by hand, from a 
 small cup, distributing the seed with the thumb and 
 fingers at the same distances as stated for the machine, 
 and much straighter and more evenly, but it Ls a tedioui 
 
EXPERIENC-E OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 
 
 19 
 
 process. In either case it should be most carefully 
 and regular) r done, and on a still day, or the wind will 
 scatter it beyond the drills. The straighter and nar- 
 rower the f'eed is sown in the drills, the narrower will 
 be the spo.ce left to weed after hoeing. Radishes or 
 some quick-growing seed may be sowed thinly, one or 
 iwo »'>eds to a fof^t, to direct in hoeing the first time, 
 ds the onion top? are so fine they can scarcely be seen, 
 excepting when the dew is on. The radishes may be 
 suflered to gi'ow, and be gathered for market. 
 
 HoEiKG. — The first hoeing should be commenced 
 when the rows can first be distinguished, with a hoe 
 eight inches long, made by cutting off the back of an 
 old grass-scyihe, flattening ihe blade, and punching a 
 small nole within tlirdb fourths of an inch from each 
 cud, without lieating ii, to which a forked brace wiih 
 goose-necks must be riveted through the goose-heads, 
 to attach it to a light, long handle, usually that of a 
 hay-rake. Tlie beveled edge of the plate should be 
 down, and the heads of the livels sunk. "With this 
 hoe proceed to scrape once in ihe middle between the 
 ""ows, with a reach of two feet or More, barely shaving 
 off the weeds without breaking thiough the crust, 
 'jaiTying along one or more spaces. Keep the hoe in 
 good order by rubbing on a flat stone, o: grinding, and 
 if it clogs, which it will do on new-ploughed ground 
 for two or three years from the sod, push it along on 
 tiie ground as you step forward, or clean with a stick. 
 The same process, which is light work, and quickly 
 (lone, may be repeated with advantage within a week, 
 out in a fortnight tfom first hoeing, or less, according 
 to the size of the weeds, hoe again, only breaking up 
 (he crust, say about half an inch deep, loosening but 
 not moving the earth out of place, in the middle of the 
 (ipaces as before, or, which is better, with two strokes, 
 one close to each row, making nearly a double hoeing, 
 which, if the rows can be distinctly or readily seen, is 
 the best manner for the first hoeing. 
 
 Weeding. — The woeders, upon their hands and knees, 
 should follow close upon the last hoeing, with onion- 
 weeders, made from table knives by breaking off the 
 bl.ades to two or two and a half inches from the han- 
 dles, and heating the end to bend it a little to one side^ 
 so as to fit it to the curve of the thumb, and cooling it 
 immediately, to return its temper. The back should 
 then be ground to an edge, and the corners rounded, 
 so as to work it in either hand. The weeds should be 
 cut oflT below the crowns of their roots, say half an 
 inch under ground, or, which is better, loosen the 
 ground two iuclies deep on each side of the row, by 
 drawing the knife or weeder, thrust into the ground to 
 the handle, and turned a little sideways in the hand, 
 at a steep angle towards and on one side of the row 
 and two inches from it, and then by clianging hands, 
 on the other, when, if properly done, the ground will 
 be loosened, so that the weeds can easily be scraped or 
 nulled out with their roots, and then the earth should 
 be pressed back upon the roots of the onions by the 
 
 palms of the hands, tc hold them Srm, and to prevent 
 witheriag if they have been injured. The weeds will 
 cause much more injury to the crop if not eradicated, 
 than they will suffer from cutting off the onicc -roots 
 two inches under ground, which is not necessary, and 
 should be avoided, but may occasionally happen. 
 
 In two weeks or less they will require another hoe 
 ing and weeding similar to the last, and a fortnight 
 after, hoeing again, if not weeding. There should be 
 no hilling or hauling away of dirt, but the surface 
 should be kept level. 
 
 Gathering. — When the tops die and fall, the crop 
 should be pulled and spread evenly over the ground to 
 dry or cure. The scallions (thick-necked or green 
 onions) with the weeds, if any, should be thrown into 
 heaps or carried off. After three or four days' drying, 
 turn them over carefully with the teeth of a wooden 
 rake, without bruising, and let them dry as many days 
 more; or instead, as they preserve a brighter color, 
 put them into heaps of two to four bushels, to sweat a 
 few days, when, if intended for early market, cut the 
 dead tops off one inch from the bulbs, and barrel to 
 send away; but if wished for storing, they may be 
 left in heaps some weeks, or carried under cover on a 
 floor witli the tops on, and piled around the sides of a 
 barn floor, three feet high, or put into bins with slats 
 on the sides, and not close, like open horse- stalls, fill- 
 ing every other one, and putting strips of boards acrosa 
 the ends and through them, or slanting them up so as 
 not to need supports, and leave all the doors open. 
 After a week or ten days' drying as above, put them 
 under cover in any airy place, as a shed, but watch 
 and examine every few dsys to see if they are gather- 
 ing moisture, heating and growing; if so, open and 
 spread to dry again. 
 
 Storing for Winter. — If the onions are to be 
 kept upon a barn or other floor, pile them one foot and 
 a half or two feet deep, leaving a space of one to two 
 feet all around. Cover them with one thickness of 
 sheets to keep out hay-seed, chaff, etc., and when hard 
 freezing weather sets in, cover one to two feet deep 
 with hay, straw, or any similar substance, filling all 
 the spaces around the heap. Do not disturb them il 
 frozen, until the frost is out, which may be hastened by 
 opening the doors and removing a portion of the cov- 
 ering each day for a week. 
 
 A wagon or wood-house tightly boarded, floored, 
 and fitted up with, a bin or bins as follows, is undoubt- 
 edly the best place, and such as one of our oldest 
 onion-cultivators, after long and sad experience, has 
 adopted and used for some years with perfect success. 
 Set up scantlings for a stall or bin, of three to five 
 feet wide ; on thc^e nail two or three tiers of ten-inch 
 boards two or three inches apart, and as far above the 
 floor, leaving a wide space, two to four feet at each 
 end, to pass round, and for free circulation of air. Then 
 place every three to four feet, before the onions fill up, 
 on each board, cross-boards eight or ten inches wide 
 
20 
 
 HOW TO RAISE ONIONS. 
 
 resting ot each tier of sido-boards, with cleets on each 
 end, like a wagon-board for a seat — one or two hogs- 
 head staves side by side are the cheapest, if the width 
 of the bin is calculated for them, with similar strips 
 resting on these, in number according to the widHi of 
 the bin, about one foot apart, running lengthwise — and 
 thus on each tier of side-boards as they are filed, 
 using loose side-boards for the top, as high as wislied 
 or needed. The ends may be filled up, slanting so as 
 to support themselves, or cross-boards may be fitted in. 
 The spaces under the staves or flat boards will effectu- 
 ally ventilate and prevent heating. The onions should 
 be well dried and have their tops left on, and when 
 first frozen be covered with one or more thicknesses of 
 carpets or old garments, and have them hung around 
 fiieir sides. Freezing does them no apparent injury, if 
 ■jhey are thawed gradually. When wished for winter's 
 sale, the temperature should not be below freezing, 
 nor much above it, which wOl have to be regulated by 
 stoves, or by moving them to dry cellars wlien hard 
 frost comes on. 
 
 To Raise Seed. — Select a piece of warm, rich 
 ground, manure it well, plough deep, and strike out 
 light furrows two feet and a half apart, and set out, 
 six inches apart, well-bottomed onions, (no scallions,' 
 remembering that " like produces like." Set them in 
 the bottom of the furrows, and cover well. Till 
 the ground as for potatoes, with plough and hoe, ridg- 
 ing well, to support the tops. In August, when the 
 seed-pods are half-opened, gather by cutting off the 
 stalks jiist below the tops, and spread them on a cham- 
 ber-floor to dry, and thresh out any time when needed. 
 Or, as mice arp very fond of it, spread a few days on 
 sheets in the s'ln, and when dry, rub the seed out lu 
 the hot part of the day, when it will shell much more 
 easily than in the cooler parts, for it rapidly absorbs a 
 great deal of moisture. Clean it by stirring it in water : 
 the good seed will sink in a few minutes; all the res* 
 should be thrown away with the chaff. "Put the seed 
 into bags, and keep it in a dry t)l«co o*U '\ tb« "efoli 
 of mice. 
 
 No. XI. 
 
 BY H. WADE, FLOYD CO., IOWA. 
 
 First select the best and brightest-looking onions 
 for seed, and plant them in rows about two feet apart, 
 one foot in the row, and when they grow up, drive 
 stakes and draw twine along, to keep the heads in their 
 place, until ripe. Then cut them off and tie in bunches 
 of about a dozen heads, and hang them in a shed, 
 where the wind does not blow very much, for a time, 
 and then rub out and spread thin for a few days be- 
 fore putting away for winter, and thus good seed for 
 spring may always be had. 
 
 Mow for preparing the ground. I have grown 
 onions on almost all kinds of soil, but the best on a 
 sandy loam. In preparing my garden, out here in the 
 West, I fixed on a place to grow my onions. I dug it 
 two good spades deep and mixed it as well as I could. 
 The soil was pretty sandy and not very rich, but very 
 dry. In the fall I put on good rotten manure of any 
 kind I could get, about four inches thick, and let it lie 
 all winter, and as soon as dry enough in spring, I mixed 
 (t altogether about eight inches deep with a good four- 
 toothed fork. (When I raised them in fields I used a 
 cultivator for this part of the work.) I then let it lie a 
 few days to dry, and then dragged perfectly, until four 
 inchosof the surface was all quite fine. I have a marker 
 that marks four drills at a time, one foot apart, about 
 oni> inch deep. A small seed-sower is best for plant- 
 mg. Care must be taken mt to sow too thick, unless 
 you are near a market wherj you can sell green onions ; 
 then it does not signify, as thinning loosens the soil 
 
 for what is left. Rake them in lightly, lengthwise the 
 rows, so as not to get the seed out of the drill ; then 
 with a light hand-roUer go evenly over the piece each 
 way, and leave it till the onions make their appear- 
 ance. In cultivating, use a light sharp tooth-rake, 
 head nine inches long, teeth one and a half inches 
 apart, handle six feet long. It is better than a hoe, as 
 you can loosen the soil close to the rows without cut- 
 ting the roots, and if you made a good seed-bed, a 
 man will do as much again with a rake as a hoe. 
 Rake over every week if the weather permits, as soon 
 as it is dry enough after a hard rain to keep the top 
 from crusting. Attend to this at first well, and you 
 will not regret it. 
 
 About June, as soon as the onions are up enough, 
 thin out to about four inches in the row, pulling out at 
 the same time what few weeds are growing with them, 
 and afler that, you may run the small rake between 
 the rows occasionally. Onions may always be on one 
 spot in a garden, but you must manure pretty well 
 every fall, after the ground has been dug. Once in 
 two years dig two spades deep ; and if a stiff clay soil, 
 put stones or something at the bottom, for an under- 
 drain. Grood well-rotted barnyard manure is as good 
 as any to manure with. I have grown them three 
 years in one place, and last year I had the be.st and 
 handsomest I ever saw. You could hardly tell <ma 
 fi-om the other. 
 
 When the tops begin to fall down, I go oyer theo 
 
EXPERIENCK OF PEAOTICJlL GBOWEES. 
 
 aad press them all gently down with a rake-head, or 
 something of that sort, and as soon .is the roots let go 
 of the soil I use a wooden-toothed rake and turn them 
 over, if it is likely to be fine a day or two, and then 
 pick them up and carry them to a shed or barn-floor, 
 ana lay them out thin, till perfectly dry. After this, a 
 good dry cellar I believe is the best place to keep them. 
 
 They told me in Dlinois when I left, that 1 could not 
 grow onions m Iowa as I did there, but I find I can. 
 and I Delieve better ; but I have not begun to grow 
 them in the lield yet, as we have no market for them. 
 They pay well if you have a market, if you manure 
 well, and care for them as you should. 
 
 No. XII. 
 
 BY J. B. WAKEMAN, FAIRFIELD CO., CT. 
 
 It is over twenty-five years since I raised my first 
 crop of onions. I commenced with two rods of ground, 
 and have increased to eight acres. There is but one 
 place in the United States where more onions are 
 raised than here ; that is in Dauvers, Mass., where it 
 has been stated they raise more than 200,000 bushels 
 a year. But New- York market is mostly supplied 
 from this section. It would be rather a low estimate 
 to place the yield of this town at 140,000 bushels a 
 vear. Great crops were formerly raised in Wethers- 
 field, but of an inferi^or quality, rather small, and seat 
 to market in bunches. 
 
 I think I can say, from the time that I first com- 
 menced raising onions, up to the present time, I 
 have raised more bushels to the acre than any other 
 person about here. The first and most important item 
 is the seed. It is very important to know what kind 
 of onions it was I'aised from. In other crops we can 
 generally tell by the looks of the seed, whether it is 
 good or not. Not so with onions. It is impossible to 
 tell by the looks of the seed whether it will raise 
 sealUons, or the flat onion, or the round deep onion, 
 which is mostly raised in this section. There was a 
 great deal of seed bought in New-York last year, by 
 the farmers near here, which raised mostly scallions 
 without bottoms. It has been estimated by many that 
 it was a loss to them of from ten to twelve thousand 
 dollars. It would bo some satisfaction to know from 
 what kind of onions it was raised. I think it must be 
 onions that were grown on a poor soil, and were not fit 
 for market, but left until the next year for seed. 
 
 I raised the flat onion when I first commenced the 
 business. They will not yield one third as much as 
 the round onion ; so we can not judge what the result 
 will be if we do not know what kind of onions our 
 Beed was raised from. "We have, by selecting the 
 large round deep onion from year to year, improved 
 our quality and quantity, so that we raise six to nine 
 hundred bushels where we once raised not more than 
 three to five hundred bushels. We select the most 
 solid, largest, deepest, and brightest for seed. Seeu- 
 onions should be kept from freezing. A light freezing 
 will sometimes injure the chit or germ. 
 
 The best ground for raising them is level land with 
 
 a deep soil, free from stones. But I have raised them 
 successfully on gravelly soil and quite stony. I pre* 
 fer, however, a deep loamy soil. I would plant the 
 ground with corn or potatoes — I prefer corn — one or 
 two years. It should be highly manured, and not a 
 single weed allowed to go to seed. When the corn- 
 crop is gathered, prepare the ground in the fall for the 
 next year's crop of onions, by putting on twenty cart- 
 loads of well-rotted manure, fifty bushels to the load, pel 
 acre. It should be free from weed-seed, and ploughed 
 in deep, and not harrowed in the fall. I have 
 ploughed my ground both spring and fall, manuring ai 
 the same time. It is not more than half the work to 
 prepare ground for the seed, that was ploughed in the 
 fall, and the yield is as good, if not better "Bog- 
 manure is the best, but any kind of strong manure 
 will do. All manure should be free from seed. 
 Manure, either fine or coarse, should be ploughed 
 in deep. If ashes are to be had, put on one to 
 two hundred bushels to the acre. The crop of onions 
 will pay for them the first year, and they will last from 
 five to eight years. Bone dust is a fine manure. The 
 ground in the spring should be prepared for the seed 
 as soon as it is dry, by harrowing with tooth and brush, 
 until the ground ia level. It will not do to have the 
 ground too mellow. It should be rather hard to have 
 the onions bottom well. It needs to be very mellow, 
 about an inch deep, and raked off level. It requires 
 from three to four pounds of seed to the acre. I sow 
 them by a machine made very simple, and costing fi-om 
 two to four dollars. It sows two rows at once, twelve 
 inches apart, the wheels being six inches fi-om the 
 hoppers that drop the seed. The first row must bo 
 perfectly straight, which will be a guide to the second, 
 and so on. To cover them up, I take a hoe that stands 
 in well, and push it along over the line where the seed 
 is. When they get up so that I can see the rows, T 
 commence hoeing them, and as soon as there are any 
 weeds to be seen, weed them ; and continue to hoe 
 and weed as long as there is a weed to be seen. It 
 will not pay to sow a piece of onions if they are not 
 taken care of, and no crop pays better if well tended. 
 There are some farmers that lose one third or more of 
 their crop by not taking proper care of them, and let- 
 
22 
 
 HOW lu BAISE ONIONS 
 
 ting vl.o vveoda grow after the onions have attained some 
 size. If one intends to raise them year after year on 
 the same piece of ground, (and they will grow as well 
 by heavy manuring as they did the first year,) he must 
 not let a single weed go to seed. 
 
 If the right kind of seed and plenty of manure are 
 used, and the ground cultivated as it ought to be, we 
 may expect from five to eight hundred bushels to the 
 acre. If the ground is free from weeds as it should be, 
 when the crop is gathered in, so much the better for 
 the next year's crop. When most of the onions get 
 ripe, I let them dry one or two days, and when dry 
 rake them in windrows, and when little damp, either 
 at night or morning, pQe them up in small heaps, 
 and let them stand till they have no moisture in the 
 top. When it comes a drying day, spread them out, 
 and when perfectly dry, cart them in. They can be 
 kept from two to six feet thick if they are well cured, 
 and put where the air can circulate around them, till 
 very cold weather, and then they must be kept from 
 being frozen too much. 
 
 It seomed to me the hardest work that I had ever 
 done, to weed the first piece I planted, and it cost more 
 
 to cultivate my first two rods of giound, than it hafl ac 
 acre since, owing to the ground being full of foul seeu- 
 Onions are the most profitable crop that a farmer 
 can raise, and the quantity has been increased from 
 three hundred to nine hundred bushels per acre, and I 
 think one thousand bushels or more can be grown by 
 proper cultivation. Red onions are now wholesaling 
 at three dollars per barrel, and white ones at four dol 
 lars per barrel. One year I sold my onions at one dol- 
 lar a bushel, and sent them to market in the fall be- 
 fore housing. I have sold red onions as high as five 
 dollars a barrel, and white ones at six dollars. There 
 has been no timewithin twelve years, but that onions 
 would bring two dollars a barrel in the course of the 
 year. There is one thing that farmers have to com- 
 plain of, and that is, it costs us so much before the 
 onions get into the consumers' hands. It costs us 
 about twenty cents a barrel to send them to New- York. 
 and they are sold to wholesale dealers, who make 
 from twenty-five to fifty cents a barrel, and so it costs 
 us from sixtj'- cents to one dollar per barrel before the/ 
 get into the consumers' hands. 
 
 ]^o. XIII. 
 
 BY LOUIS STRADER, GREEN CO., KY. 
 
 Potato Onions are the only variety much cultivat- 
 ed in the Green river country. They are a very pro- 
 lific, mild, and well-flavored vegetable. The sets grow 
 from the roots, numbering from four to fifteen from each 
 onion, and are much larger than the sets from the red 
 onions; they are not quite so hardy, however. 
 
 Select the largest auJl best-shaped sets to raise from. 
 They aUain their full size the first year after planting. 
 To raise the sets, select large, sound, and well-formed 
 onions. 
 
 Planiiug, Odltivation, Etc. — I much prefer plant- 
 ing in the fall ;»ihey come much earlier, the yield is 
 larger, and they are saler in the ground after planting 
 than elsewhere through the winter. Plant about the 
 middle of October for this latitude, earlier further 
 north, and later as you go south. Select a situation 
 gently sloping to the south, a rich, dry, loamy soil, 
 Lighly manured with well-rotted stable-manure. Plough 
 or spade up the land some nine inches deep, when tlie 
 ground is in good working condition. Avoid working 
 the land when too wet, as it causes it to bake, which 
 Is a great drawback lo the growth of onions. Pulver- 
 ize the soil thoroughly with a hand-rake, by drawing 
 it back and forth until all ilie clods are broken fiae_ 
 Cut two sticks 18 inches long, and tie one to each end 
 of a line, wliich should be as long as the piece of 
 ground intended for planting, and with it mark off the 
 
 ground in rows 18 inches asunder, using the stirks at 
 each end of the line as a measure, sticking them flown 
 to hold the line well stretched. Scrape out the drills 
 by the side of the rope deep enough to hold the onions, 
 so that the top may be even with the surfacn of the 
 ground. Then place the large onions in the dnlls nine 
 inches from each other, and the sets six inches from 
 centre to centre, and fill up the drill with well-rotted 
 stable-manure. Next, draw up the fine earfh so as to 
 saake the drill in a ridge, in order to protect the onions 
 from too much freezing. This ridge should be scraped 
 off in the spring, when they begin to grow 
 
 If the fall should be favorable, they will soon come 
 up ; they should be covered up before hard weather 
 sets in, with corn-stalks, hay, or somelhii'g of the sort, 
 to protect them during wiurer. 
 
 They should be uncovered in the spnng after the 
 ground ceases to freeze. After this, they should be 
 well worked with a hoe once a week, until they are 
 fully grown, taking care not to disturb the roots too 
 much. About this time the earth should be scraped 
 from them, to uncover the top of the onions, that they 
 may be exposed to the sun, which will ripen them. 
 The eartii should not be scraped from them until some 
 of the tops begin to fall over on the ground. Let 
 them remain in this condition until the tops are dead 
 and nearly dry. They should then be pulled up, and 
 
KXPBEIENCB OF PRACTICAL GEOWBES. 
 
 23 
 
 tied in buuches, and hung up in an open shed, until 
 thoroughly seasoned ; or if the crop is large, they may 
 be spread thin in an open Icfl, until seasoned, when 
 fchey may be barrelled up and sent to market. 
 
 The above mode of cultivation applies to sets as 
 well as to the grown onions. The sets should be 
 taken up aiul treated in the same manner as the large 
 onions. If they are not planted in the fall, they 
 should be planted in the spring as early as the ground 
 will bear working, observing the same directions as in 
 Ml planting ; omittmg the covering of them. In the 
 northern and middle parts of the United States, sets, 
 and other onions designed for planting, should be kept 
 in a warm and dry cellar, boxed up and mixed with 
 
 dry dirt — that is, when they are not planted in the 
 fall. 
 
 Red Onions are not so prolific, are very strong and 
 highly scented, but are hardy, nnd keep well througti 
 the winter. The sets grow on the top, and have to be 
 well propped up before they ripen, or they will fall 
 down and rot in wet weather. The same mode of 
 cultivation is to be observed with these, aa laid down 
 for the potato onion. 
 
 Shallots are a small variety, which grow in large 
 bunches. The roots resemble garlic, but are much 
 larger. They have nearly gone out of use in this 
 region. Their cultivation is about the same aa already 
 laid down for the other varieties. 
 
 No. XIV. 
 
 BY R. I., PLYMOUTH CO., MASS. 
 
 Wrra the onion-grover, soil and position are the first 
 and by no means the least important. You can make 
 them grow on almost any soil under favorable circum- 
 stances, but to cultivate successfully, which is the 
 great object, it is necessary that the soil should partake 
 largely of vegetable deposit, be mellow, free from small 
 stones, and lie as near level as you can have it, so as 
 to prevent copious showers from washing out the seed 
 — which I have known occur on slightly-inclined 
 
 When the spot has been selected, put in your plough 
 a foot to sixteen inches deep, in the fall, giving the 
 frost an opportunity to operate for you in pulverizing 
 or fining up your soil, which is very necessary, aa I 
 have found in the course of many years' experience. 
 As soon as the frost is out in the spring, don't lose a 
 single day after the soil is sufficiently dry to work — 
 put in the plough not over four or five inches deep, 
 haul on your dressing, and harrow in until it is fully 
 mixed with the soil. 
 
 I will here insert a bit of my experience. At the 
 outset of my onion-cultivation, I had a man in my 
 employ whose father owned the farm previous to my 
 coming into possession. He was positive I could not 
 raise onicnf on that place, as all his ancestors had 
 failed, after repeated trials in most, favored localities, 
 and utmost care throughout. Deciding to try for 
 myself, 1 directed him to plough a garden, part of it for 
 onions, only a few inches deep. On examining the 
 piece, and mquiring of him, I found the whole 
 ploughed as deep as the plough would run, giving as 
 reason that it could be spaded up easier. I had two 
 tons of stones loaded upon a wide-felloed cart, and 
 driven over the piece until it was thoroughly packed 
 down, put on the dressing, and worked it in with a 
 
 horse-cultivator, planted eleven bv eleven inches apart, 
 kept well stirred through the season, and for my labor 
 had forty-seven bushels and three pecks of onions, from 
 seven and a half rods of ground, or at the rate of a thou- 
 sand bushels per acre. If you plough or work your soil 
 deep, the roots will consequently strike deep, and hold 
 on so as to afford you a bountiful crop of bull-necks, or 
 scallions, as my boys call them. I think this the 
 cause of the failure of most persons who are not Buc- 
 cessful. I have found in cases of mildew that have 
 come under my observation, that those portions of the 
 field were the most affected where the soil was the 
 most mellow. 
 
 The quality of dressing used is quite important, and 
 the experience of those who have been in the business 
 is of some value. For the region round Naragansett 
 Bay, R. I., the cultivators of onions prefer a compost 
 of strong hog-pen manure to any other. It should be 
 well pulverized in the field, where it is necessary to 
 have it incorporated with the soil in as fine a state as 
 possible, which will save much after-labor. Do the 
 best you can, you will find enough refuse stufT to rake 
 off. You need not fear doing this part of the job too 
 well. Some apply good fine sea-weed in the fall, and 
 plough in; others use fish, but these, as a general 
 thing, are not obtainable, however valuable. If your 
 soil is rich, a yearly application of fifteen cords of hog- 
 pen manure per acre will keep your piece producing 
 indefinitely, as onions, unlike most other crops, im- 
 prove or increase in product by replanting the same 
 spot continuous years. There seems to be something 
 valuable in the tops, leaves, roots, etc., left afler a crop 
 is taken ofif, that is of service to the growth of a suc- 
 ceeding one. 
 
 A few years since, I used four hundred pounds of 
 
24 
 
 now TO BAISE ONIONS. 
 
 Peruvian guano on one hundred rods of ground, where 
 corn had been raised ihe previous season. From this 
 piece I, or ralher my boys, one ten, and the other not 
 twelve, took four hundred bushels of onions. These 
 were planted 11x5^ inches. Whether like satisfactory 
 results could have been obtained by repeating the ex- 
 periment, I can not say, as I have not had an oppor- 
 tunity of testing the matter since. After your dress- 
 ing is properly worked in, and ground well raked over, 
 you are ready for planting, which is done in various 
 ways, according to the fancy or necessity of those who 
 cultivate this crop. If you are purposing to bunch, 
 you want more seed in the hills than if intended for 
 barreling, or selling by the bushel The same is the 
 case if you wish to obtain large-sized tubers, without 
 80 much regard for quantity. For a number of years, 
 (thirteen I believe,) I planted a piece containing one 
 hundred and sixty-six rods, 11x11 inches each way, 
 calculating for six or eight seeds in a place, with satis- 
 factory results as to crop Unless the soil is very easily 
 worked, and comparatively clear from weeds, I would 
 not, for field-culture, recommend any thicker planting, 
 as the tingers have to do the work of a hoe, which 
 is fatiguing, and also requires much time. 
 
 I have planted 11x5 J inches on clean land, but 
 somehow did not find my interest in doing it, as more 
 seed and more time was required in after cultivation, 
 and not a satisfactory increase of crop. I have drilled 
 with seed-drills in continuous rows ten inches asunder, 
 plants within an inch or two. Time is saved in plant- 
 ing, but I like the old method of putting down with 
 the fingers, unless you have a very favorable piece for 
 drilling in. I have dropped three fifths of an acre in a 
 day, and have known those accustomed to it to drop 
 an acre. Experiments will soon decide which method 
 is best. If your soil is weedy, I would recommend 
 covering seed with sand, unless the soil is already too 
 sandy. A table spoonful of white sand marks the 
 hill, and you can work the earth sooner than if not 
 sanded, and again, the seed will germinate quicker, 
 getting start of the weeds. Quite a number of 
 varieties of the onion present themselves from which 
 to make a selection, only a few of which I can speak 
 of from experience. For field culture for distant 
 markets, the R. I. red or Weathersfield onion is con- 
 sidered decidedly the best, as it yields as well as any, 
 and keeps decidedly the best, which is one great item 
 of value, as all will testify who have dealt in the 
 article. The Danvers onion, a yellow variety, is quite 
 popular among growers in the vicinity of Boston, and 
 they claim for it superior flavor as well as good keep- 
 ing qualities; yet I could never have them as sound 
 in spring as the red onion. The white or silver-skin 
 onion is a favorite with marketmen and consumers, 
 from their being nice-looking, and of superior flavor — 
 tot so strong as the red. A serious objection to these 
 W their liability to decay and the necessity, of course, 
 
 for a ready market and quick consumption The thre« 
 varieties I have named are all sufficient for you to 
 select from, according as your market maj require. 
 
 As soon as your onions show themselves above the 
 surface, commence hoeing and weeding, as the weed? 
 will surely give you great trouble if you do not 
 Don't allow a weed in the hill if you wish for success 
 The frequency of going over your fields will depend 
 upon the rains and foulness of your soil— you may fix 
 it in your mind that you can not stir the soil too often. 
 Leisure moments can be profitably spent on an onion- 
 bed. 
 
 The time of gathering the crop is important, and re- 
 quires good judgment as well as experience. Portions 
 of the hills as well as portions of the field will ripen 
 earlier than others. T the first ripe are sufifered to 
 remain until the others that are not ripe are dead, the 
 first will have sent out new roots, which disfigure 
 them much, and the interior of the onion will com- 
 mence growing again, and send up sprouts if time 
 enough is allowed ; if not, these are the first to sprout 
 and rot, when gathered in. I keep a good watch of 
 my crop, and as soon as the first indications of a second- 
 growth are manifest, I pull all up and lay in rows for 
 curing and topping. They should remain on the 
 ground until the tops are all dead, (except the bull- 
 necks,) before topping, as they are much more liable to 
 sprout and rot, if cut while the tops have sap in them. 
 
 It is found economical in pulling to lay three rows 
 or drills together upon the middle row, roots up from 
 the ground as much as possible, with the alternate rows 
 reversed thus: 
 
 so that when you commence topping, you take the 
 onion in your left hand, which will bring the top in 
 place for the knife or sheep-shears, (which are often 
 used,) and the onion dropped in the space between 
 the two rows, thus bringing six rows or drills into 
 one. If any weeds are on the ground previous to 
 topping, hoe them up in spaces where your onions are 
 to lay, rake all oflT clean, for you may have to stir up 
 your onions several times previous to getting in, 
 which can be quickly done with a rake, if no weeds 
 are ia the way. Cut the tops about three inches long 
 for bunching, and one inch for barreling. Cutting 
 any shorter than this, increases the chances of decay. 
 Many shippers prefer having tops two inches long, and 
 all the refuse leaves also, if perfectly dry, as on board of 
 vessel and in confined places they sweat freely, and 
 the tops and dry leaves absorb a large quantity of 
 moisture, and thus in a measure prevent heating and 
 decay. If you have not a ready sale for your crop, 
 and find you must store them for a lime, dou't put 
 them in the cellar, but into some dry room above 
 ground, that will allow you to spread them, not over 
 two and a half feet deep, and as much Was as you sau 
 
EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 
 
 25 
 
 During the cold winter of 1856-57, I kept two 
 hundred bushels of onions in a wood-house, that was 
 covered with matched boards. On the inside of stud- 
 ding I tacked up some old boards, and tilled the space 
 between them and outside of buildhig with salt hay, 
 not to prevent freezing, but to avoid sudden thawing. 
 I covered the onions with old pieces of carpets, bags, 
 etc. They remained until some time in April, when I 
 took them to market as sound as when put in, not 
 losing more than a bushel. Never allow them to be 
 stirred until you are sure the frost is out, for it will 
 surely ruin them. Neither uncover in the least, until 
 they are entirely free from frost. 
 
 I may as well suggest here the propriety of every 
 jnion-grower raising his own seed — as good seed is 
 dU important to success, and you can not be sure of 
 getting it from seed men. In selecting onions for seed, 
 take medium-sized, round, or deep ones, and by per- 
 sisting in this practice, you will tind that your onions 
 will more and more partake of this character, weigh 
 more and keep belter than the flat or oval-shaped. 
 Onions are required by law to weigh fifiy-six pounds 
 to the bushel, and flat saucer-shaped ones will not 
 ■wme up to the standard. 
 
 If you wish to have early onions for marketing, sow 
 in Septeaiber, cover the bed, when the frost first haid- 
 ens the ground, with sea-weed, or any other non-con- 
 ductor, to prevent thawing in winter, uncover in 
 spring, as soon as you find the frost out, and you have 
 onions with two months the start of those put in, in 
 the spring. 
 
 There is a variety called Potato Onion, that is early 
 and mucli used by market-gardeners. They grow 
 from planting the tuber, attaching themselves around 
 
 the one planted. 1 have had marvelous Increase from 
 this variety. 
 
 As it may not be uninteresting to a beginner, I will 
 state the result of my experience in cultivating onions 
 for successive years. In 1836, I took up a place for 
 onions containing an acre and six rods. Soil good, 
 some weeds, and some small stones tfttbe worked out. 
 I planted this piece over a dozen years, drilling 11x11 
 inches all the time. My smallest crop was 357 
 bushels, and my largest 723 bushels, and no season 
 under 500 bushels, except the one I have named aa 
 the least, which was a very wet season, and the crop 
 scalded or mildewed. The season I obtained the 723 
 bushels, a friend of mine had over 1700 bushels from 
 two acres, which he planted in drills 11x5^ iiiches" 
 These crops were unusujlly large. I also kept an ac- 
 count of expenses on crop up to time of sale. In this 
 account I charged the crops with every item of ex- 
 pense, interest on land, dressing, labor, tools, etc., etc., 
 and found that I could raise onions for about 17 cents 
 per bushel. Some seasons they cost me more, others 
 less, according to yield of crop, or extra amount of 
 lab.ir to keep clean in wet seasons. They never cost 
 me over twenty, nor under thirteeq cents per bushel. 
 As to price obtained, I am not so well able to state, 
 as I often t-old in different places, and at different 
 times, and account of sales going in with other arti- 
 cles. I never sold a crop, however, under thirty-one 
 cents, and have often sold for a dollar per bushel. 
 The papers report at this time onions in New-York at 
 two dollars and a half per barrel. — From the above 
 statement, the conclusion is reached, that I have found 
 the cultivation of onions profitable, and that any one 
 may do the same under favorable circumstances. 
 
 No. XV. 
 
 BY SAMUEL BOUTON, FAIRFIELD CO., CT. 
 
 Varie'MES. — Onions wfLi grow on almost any soil 
 that is not too dry. The kind of onions v.'hich can be 
 raised with the most advantage will depend on the 
 time when it is designed to market the crop. If in- 
 tended for winter, the variety known as the black 
 onion, will l)o found the best, as they are very solid 
 and firm, and their keeping qualities cas not be sur- 
 passed. If for a fall market, that variety known as 
 the "Wethersfield Red is better, as the yield will be some- 
 what greater, and they will be ripe a few days earlier, 
 if for an early market, potato onions should be rai.ed. 
 The advantages of the potato onion over the other 
 Kind, are, first, an early market and the use of the 
 pround for some other crop, after they are off; and 
 second, a high price, and one third less labor in their 
 ■iultivaticMi. The disadvantages are, first, a great out- 
 
 lay is required for seed ; and second, it is difficult to 
 keep the seed during the winter. I would not recom- 
 mend them for field cultivation, unless on a sraaU 
 scale. As the mode of cultivation for these diflerent 
 kinds is essentially the same, one description will 
 answer for the whole. 
 
 Seed. — The seed should be procured of some 
 reliable seed-grower, if possible out of the immediate 
 neighborhood, as seed brought from a distance "will do 
 better than that which is grown on tue ground, where 
 the crop is to be raised. If this can not be done, the 
 seed may be raised on .lie spot. Sound, firm roots 
 should be selected for seed. They should be put in 
 the ground as soon as the frost is out. They should be 
 set in rows, twelve inches apart one way, by aVjout 
 six tb"^ other. Light poles or twine may be rur 
 
26 
 
 HOW TO RA.TSE ONIONS. 
 
 through the rows to support the stalks, otherwise they 
 will bo liable to be blown down by high winds, which 
 will injure the seed. The seed should be gathered 
 when fully ripe. It may be separated from the husk 
 by rubbing between a good pair of leatlier mittens, or, 
 if the quantity is large, it may be threshed by the flail. 
 The dust may tiow be separated by the fan. The seed 
 Bliould then be put into water sufficient to cover it, 
 when the blasted, if any, will swim. These should be 
 thrown away; the remainder maybe carefully dried 
 and put up for use. 
 
 Care should be taken in selecting seed, to procure 
 a good article, as this is the rock on which the hopes 
 of the cultivator are frequently shipwrecked. If the 
 seed be shrunk, scallions may be the only product. 
 Old seed is not so likely to grow as new, but if it 
 must be planted, it should be soaked a few hours in 
 water. They should be planted as soon as the ground 
 is sufficiently dry. The middle or latter part of April 
 ts in this latitude about the time. A late crop is more 
 dependent on the weather than an early one. If the 
 planting is delayed till the middle of May, a croo of 
 scaUions may be the only product. 
 
 Manure. — -The best manure for onions, is night-soil. 
 Twenty loads, of twenty-five bushels each, will iJo for 
 an acre of ground. If this can not be had, someihiD<j 
 from the hog-pen, at the rate of thirty loads to the 
 acre, will be found an excellent manure. If the 
 ground is heavy and clayey, a compost may be made 
 of nnfermented horse-manure and muck. It may 
 be put together in about equal quantities, and should 
 be placed in alternate layers, first a layer of manure, 
 three or four inches thick, spread on the ground, then 
 a coat of muck, about the same thickness, and proceed 
 in this way, till the whole is finished. The lieat aris- 
 ing from the manure will rapidly decompose the muck, 
 while the muck will retain the ammonia arising from 
 ihe manure, and thus both will bo improved. In 
 about six weeks it will be fit for use. Thirty loads 
 to the acre will be a good dressing. 
 
 If the ground is sandy and gravelly, a compost 
 should be made of muck and unleached wood-aahes, 
 at the rate of about half a bushel of ashes for twenty- 
 five bushels of muck ; it should be placed in alternate 
 layers. In two or three months it will be fit for use. 
 If it should be shoveled over once or twice, it will be 
 improved : forty loads will be sufficient for an acre. If 
 acne of these can be had, fine well-rotted barnyard 
 manure .should be applied at the rate of not less than 
 thirt7 loads to the acre. The manure should be spread 
 evenly over tho ground, and ploughed immediately in, 
 six or eight inches deep. The subsoil plough should 
 be run in every furrow,* sixteen or eighteen inches 
 deep. Tho ground should now be ploughed with a 
 surface-plough, ten or twelve inches deep. If two 
 hundred pounds of the best Peruvian guano be now 
 •owed on and harrowed in, it will c^ive the plants a 
 
 fine start. The ground should be raked with a gardao- 
 rake, and made as level as possible. 
 
 Planting and Cultivation. — The SS'-'I may now 
 be planted ; four pounds of seed wDl be sufficient for 
 an acre. The rows should bo twelve inches apart 
 The drUl should be so constructed as to plant the seed 
 in hills, four inches apart in the rows, and three or 
 four seeds in a place. This will be found more conve- 
 nient for hoeing than a continuous drill, and the yield 
 will be as good. The seed should be covered about 
 half an inch deep, either oy the drill, or by passing 
 the hoe lightly over the rows. 
 
 As soon as the plants can be seen, they should be 
 hoed. This may be done if the ground is free from 
 weeds, by drawing a small hand-cultivator between 
 them ; or, if the ground is weedy, the hoe must be used. 
 The ground should next be stirred around the roots 
 of the plants. A small hoe, with four prongs on one 
 side, and a narrow edge on the other, will be found 
 very convenient. These are made of malleable iron, 
 and are sold at six cents each. If the ground is free 
 from weeds, four hoeings may be sufficient. If the 
 crop appear sluggish in the early stages of its growth, 
 a liquid manure may be prepared by dissolving one 
 hundred pounds of Peruvian Guano in water, and 
 sprinkling it on with a watering-pot. Tliis will bo 
 sufficient for an acre of ground. 
 
 At the second hoeing, carrots may be drilled between 
 th« rows, if desired. Drilled in at this time, they will 
 be no injury to the onion crop, and I have frequently 
 knovn the carrots to pay all the expense of cultivating 
 both crops. If this is not done, it is well to sow the 
 ground wi'h common turnips before the last hoeing, 
 as a good crop may be raised in this way with no other 
 trouble than sowing the seed and harvesting the crop. 
 
 Harvesting and Storing. — The onions, when ripe, 
 may be turned out of the ground by passing a hoe 
 under the rows. If intended for winter, they should 
 be left on the ground till perfectly dry. If the weather 
 is dry, three or four days will answer. The husks will 
 then peel off, and they will assume a bright-red color, 
 which makes them more salable. They should be 
 gatliered and stored without trimming If any still 
 remain with green tops, they ought to be thrown out, 
 as they may heat. 
 
 A cool dry cellar will be found the best place for 
 keening onions — the cellar of some out-buDding, as a 
 barn or cnrri35e-house. The cellar of a dwellhig. 
 house is o;enerally too warm. A little freezing wiU 
 do them no harm. A bin should be made in some dry 
 corner, with a floor raided a few inches from the ground. 
 Care should be taken to keep them perfectly dry, oi 
 they will be vcrv likely to rot- Ciire should likewise 
 be taken in carting and nlaciiig in the cellar, that the 
 onions are not bruised, or tL^v will soon decay Ground 
 treated as above described, may be planted with oniona 
 every year in succession, and if thi£» treatment is porso- 
 vered in, the crop will improve for aevcai ve<vr.s. 
 
BXPBRIKNCE OF PRACTICAL GROWEES. 
 
 n 
 
 No, XVI. 
 
 BY THOMAS FULTON, WAYNE CO., PA. 
 
 Qualities of Land. — To raise a good crop of onions, 
 t'ao land ia required to be, 1st. New, that is, lately 
 brought in from I'ich sod, and then there will be but 
 few weeds to contend with in the culture ; 2d. Rich 
 on the top : the land can not be made too rich for onions, 
 but the richness should be on the top of the land, as 
 tlie onion roots will not descend into the ground more 
 than an inch or an inch and a half at furthest ; and 
 3d. The land should be luell settled, as, if the land be 
 rich and soft, the onions will grow to tops, or what are 
 called (in Europe) "scallious," but if the land has been 
 well settled, they will grow to roots, or what is called 
 onions. 
 
 Preparation of Ground. — To obtain the above 
 results, the land should be prepared the previous year. 
 In Europe, especially in the north r,f Ireland, where 
 onions are extensively raised as a paying crop for 
 market, the land (generally rich sod) is ploughed early 
 in spring, neatly and light, into narrow ridges, say five 
 feet ridge and furrow, and about the middle of May, 
 the land is harrowed, and the manure (good barnyard) 
 put on ; the ridgea are lined out four feet wide, and the 
 manure spread evenly and broken fine. It is then 
 planted with potatoes. The seed is dropped in rows 
 across the ridge, about eight inches apart in the row, 
 and the rows about a foot from each other. The pota- 
 toes are then covered about an inch deep out of the 
 furrow, the mould spread evenly and broken fine. 
 They remain so until the potato plants begin to appear, 
 or when the " huds " are bursting the top of the land. 
 TJien the f'lrrowsare dug with a spade, and the mould 
 broken fine in them ; the mould is shoveled out of the 
 furrow, and spread evenly over the ridge about two 
 inches deep, after which they require no more labor 
 (except weeding, which should not be neglected, lest 
 the seeds of the weeds remain and give trouble in the 
 ensuing crop) until the fall, when the potatoes are fit 
 for digging up. This is done with a spade : the ridge 
 is all dug over evenly, the potatoes picked up, care 
 being taken to keep the rich mould on the top of the 
 ridge. The land remains n this way until sowing-time 
 Uia ensuing spring. The land ia well raked with an 
 Iron garden-rake. This will make sufiBcient mould. The 
 onion seed is then sown, and covered by raking it in ; 
 it is then clapped over with the back of a spade, or by 
 passing a hand-roller over it; this is called sowing on 
 the "winter face," and I have never seen this fail to 
 produce a good crop of onions. I have seen acres pre- 
 pared and raised in this way. 
 
 The objection to the above mode of preparing the 
 land i'. IV .s country is, that it requires a eood deal of 
 
 manual labor, which is scarce and expensive here 
 Where this ia the case — 
 
 Second Method. — I would say, plough rich so J, sow 
 it in buckwheat, and when the buckwheat ia cut and 
 taken ofi" plough the land neatly and light into narrow 
 ridges, five feet ridge and furr.)w; let it remain for 
 some time to settle and rot any weed.'^, then harrow 
 well and put on the manure. Mark or line out the 
 ridges four feet wide, leaving one foot for a furrow ; 
 spread the manure evenly, and break it fine. Trench 
 up the furrows and cover the manure evenly, let the 
 land remain until sowing time in spring, and prepare 
 and but in the onion seed on the "winter face,'" aa 
 above. I have not tried this, but I believe it will be 
 found to produce a good crop. 
 
 Third Method. — To prepare the land the fall pre- 
 viotis to sowing the onion seed, for small quantities. 
 
 Dig the patch (intended for onions) with a spade, a 
 foot deep, turn the top down, cover all grass or weeds, 
 and break it fine. Then mark out the ridges four feet 
 wide, leaving a foot for a furrow between the ridgea. 
 Then take a hoe, and draw the mould evenly about an 
 inch and a half deep from half-way across the ridges on 
 either side, to the place marked out for the furrow ; 
 spread the manure on the ridge (thus hollowed) evenly, 
 and break it fine ; shovel the mould collected on the 
 furrow, and cover the manure, leave it so until sowing- 
 time the ensuing spring ; then rake it well, and sow 
 the onion seed, cover with the rake, and clap it over 
 with the back of a spade. 
 
 Fourth Method. — To prepa/re the land at the time 
 of sowing the onion seed: dig it a foot deep, mark out 
 the ridges as in third method, and spread on the manure, 
 which should be well-rotted cow-dung. Horse-dung ia 
 not good — it has a tendency to get dry and mouldy. 
 Break the manure very fine, and cover it out of the 
 farrow an inch and a half deep ; pass the rake over it, 
 and sow the seed ; cover with the rake, and clap it 
 well all over with a spade, to settle and close the land. 
 I have raised good crops of onions in both these ways, 
 and the largest onions I ever raiaed, or saw raised, 
 were in this last way ; but the manure was taken out 
 of the privy, and mixed with an equal quantity o/ 
 house-ashes. 
 
 In selecting the seed, go to a respectable seed-store , 
 select that which has the least small or blind seeds 
 in it. If it is new seed, it is softer, and tastes stronger 
 of the onion than if it is old seed. Wliite glole or 
 white flat, mixed with a litUe red, say one third red, will 
 do well. 
 
 TiiiE of sowing the Seed. — 1.-. this country w« 
 
HOW TO RAISE ONIONS. 
 
 can not fix a certain time. In some places and some 
 seasons the land may be ready to receive the seed 
 earlier than at others ; but when the frost is fully out, 
 and the land dry enough for sowing, and ve^'etation 
 has set in, then I would sow the seed; about a seed to 
 the square inch is suflScient. 
 
 Weeding the Onions. — When they come up, if 
 weeds appear, pick them out as soon as possible. You 
 can with more safety to the crop pull out the weeds 
 when sm ill, than if they are allowed to grow large : 
 i'aen they are liable to injure the roots of the onions in 
 pulling them, and if allowed to grow large, they exhaust 
 ihe land, the whole strength of which should go to 
 raise the onions. 
 
 Management op the Crop. — When the onions 
 liave got up to be pretty large in the tops, (in Europe,) 
 those of them which do not show a disposition to make 
 a head, but grow up with a luxuriant top, (these they 
 oall "scallions,") are pulled out, and taken to market; 
 this gives room and air to those that are forming the 
 opioh at the root. When they begin to ripen, which 
 they win show by the tops beginning to wither, then 
 with the hand twist the stems of those which still 
 show a disposition to grow to tops and not make root, 
 about half-way up between the root and where the 
 tops branch oft"; this will prevent the sap from going 
 to the top, and cause them to grow at the root. When 
 they get ripe and tit for pulling, which will be shown 
 by the tops withering oft", pull those that are thus 
 withered oflj and dry them on cloths until they are 
 
 thoroughly dried. Those whose tops are uol ftiUy 
 withered, leave remaining some time longer, an : twisx 
 the tops a little more severely ; and when you think tliey 
 will make no farther improvement by remaining, pull 
 them all up, and string them like apples, passing tlie 
 needle through the stems an inch or two above the 
 head, and hang them up to dry either in the sunshine 
 by day, bringing them in by night, or near to the 
 fire or stove, until they are fully dried. 
 
 Then take the strings, and those whose tops are not 
 fully withered oft", and v/'th a penknife open the dry 
 peels a little oft" abov^e the head, and with the blade of the 
 penknife scoop the stems out of the heart of the onion, 
 and eloso up the withered peels on the top. This is 
 called "gelding the onion" This prevents them from 
 spouting when they are kept over, as such onions have 
 a tendency to sprout if not used soon. 
 
 Then the onions are ready for marketing. This is 
 done according to the wishes of the cultivator. Some 
 pick them, and sell the best at the highest price, and 
 the others at what they will bring, and some take them 
 all together, and sell at an average price for the whole. 
 
 Notes. — Six pounds of good seed will be sufficient 
 for an acre. 
 
 There are in an acre five Inmdred and twenty perches 
 of a five foot wide ridge and furrow, which will, if weil 
 managed, produce over a bushel to the perch or rod. 
 
 Twenty wagon loads of good manure will manure 
 an acre well. 
 
 No. XVII, 
 
 BY STILLMAN MORGAN, ADDISON CO., VT. 
 
 If a man has only a small piece of ground that he 
 can call his own, perhaps there is no crop more profit- 
 able than the onion crop. The writer has raised this 
 vegetable each year for thirty years. His success is 
 owing to experiments tried and varied until the best is 
 found. 
 
 The Gardener. — You wish only to cultivate from 
 one bushel to five. Find the "potato onion." But 
 if you can not find that kind, get the " top onion, " 
 which is nearest to it. The reason I recommend these 
 varieties to the gardener is, that the crop is sure, and 
 always grows clear of maggots. If you have plenty 
 oi them, take great and small, and use them all for seed. 
 
 For the Field. — Use the common black seed of 
 the white globe, or the " Wethcrsfield red;" I prefer 
 the latter. The Wethcrsfield reds look best in the 
 half-bushel, yield best, and sell best in market. If 
 you take any other kind, look out for good yielders. 
 
 i'::r.£'iP.ATiCN OP GiivOUND. — Select interval, made 
 land, that seems to have been brought from all direc- 
 
 tions; no matter if there is a good proportion of mujk. 
 But if it is clear muck, cart on gravel, a good mixture. 
 If your ground be clay, cart on loam or any kind of 
 light soil. But if your ground is light loam on sandy 
 soil, cart on clay quite abundantly. But if your land 
 is a naked rock, and nobody will let you into their 
 field for materials to make land of, then go into the 
 highway ; find a " sag " or low place, that has received 
 wash from roads or buildings or any where else. Cart 
 it to the place desired. And then you have an onion- 
 bed for a hundred years — don't change places often. 
 
 When the soil is to your mind, then cart on any kind 
 of rich manure; do this early, and have the ground 
 ploughed early in September. Then there will be time 
 for all foul seeds to grow, but not having time to mature, 
 you will loose your weeds. 
 
 Then in the spring, as early as possible, plough again ; 
 that will leave the manure well mixed and near the 
 top. Now put on your harrow or muck-rake, and 
 Dulveriae as fine as possible. Strike out yoi,r tjrour.-; 
 
EXPEErfiNCE or PEACTICAL GROWERS. 
 
 29 
 
 In handsome form. Then if you have enough ground 
 to pay, get a professional seod-sower. He will come 
 with a little machine, and sow three or fosr rows at a 
 time as fast as he can walk. Gauge your machine so 
 as to have the onions, when grown, so near as to touch 
 each other. But have the rows so fai apart, that a 
 common hoe will pass between. Do not be afraid of 
 tramping your ground, especially if the soil is light. 
 
 Weeding. — As the roots of onions, many of them, 
 grow near the surface, do not chop down deep with 
 your hoe to cut them off; many a good bed of onions 
 has been spoiled by late weeding, by disturbing the 
 ground too deeply. I like to have my onions hoed in 
 the morning, while the dew is on. If you are going to 
 raise onions indeed, don't be afraid of soiling your 
 knees. Do not cover up the onion too deep, nor leave 
 It so as to fall this way and that, by taking away too 
 much dirt from it. 
 
 "TopOnioxs" or "Potato." — "When your ground 
 IS ready, have a sort of furrowing instrument. It is a 
 home-made thing. Make a thing just like a rake, with 
 no teeth in it ; then put in as many teeth as you wish 
 to mark rows with, once going across the bed. Or 
 instead of teeth, nail on rockers. Then push the rake 
 so made, before you. And when you return, place the 
 end-rocker in the outside furrow ; thus do until your 
 rows are all marked. 
 
 Sowing. — Take your onions or seed in a basket by 
 your side, go down on your knees, and put in one at a 
 time. But be sure you put it right end up, or the 
 onion will grow heels over head. Cover the seed just 
 out of sight. 
 
 Salt. — When you have done planting or sowing your 
 onions, whatever kind they are, sow on salt, common 
 salt. Sow as thick as peas. I would do this again, 
 perhaps in June, not so much the last time. Whether 
 field or garden onions, go out in the morning while the 
 dew is on, or after a shower, take dry unleached ashes, 
 and with a shingle throw them up into the air, and let 
 them fall in a cloud of dust on the onions. Repeat 
 this two or three times while the onions are growing. 
 And I had forgotten to say that coal-dust, taken from 
 old coal-pits or from forges, with leached ashes coated 
 on, and well mixed in the ppo ::> 1 before ploughing, will 
 
 well pay. If your land is quite clayey, leave out the 
 ashes. I think the coal-dust and salt, besides verv 
 much quickening the growth of these vegetables, kec^ 
 ofi" the maggot-fly. 
 
 Go into store-cellars, where they have sold fi»b and 
 meat, and they will give you the salt and brine. An^ 
 when you are about it, get all they can spare. Then 
 if you have any to spare, put it on your muck heap, (o: 
 otlier crops. 
 
 If you are at a loss what kind of onions to cultivate, 
 inquire for the greatest yielders and the quickest to 
 sell. 
 
 Then the onions you wish to keep for your own use^ 
 trace them up and hang them in a dry place until 
 well seasoned, then hang them in the cellar-way for 
 all winter. 
 
 If you have any to sell, take a fair specimen of them ; 
 then go and show them where you wish to sell. But 
 by all means do not let them remain long on your 
 hands. If you keep them long in heaps, they will rot 
 And then you had better have any thing else. Let 
 them slide at the then present prices. You can well 
 afford them for fifty cents a bushel, but you will 
 oftener get a dollar. For your seed potato-onions, you 
 should have from two dollars to two and a half per 
 bushel. The seed of the top -onions I have usually 
 sold for from four to five dollars per bushel. I havG 
 sent out barrels of this seed to distant States, though 
 I have none now to sell. 
 
 Of the top-onions, I have raised at the rate of seven 
 hundred.bushels per acre. And one of my neighbors, 
 who followed my directions, raised at the rate of eight 
 kundred per acre. But I have never seen any kind 
 that yields so well as the Wethersfield reds. 
 
 If you wish to get good onions in June, sot out any 
 kind of an old onion, and when the top begins to form 
 as if to go to seed, cut off the main stalk, and it will 
 bottom. But these bottoms will never winter, but 
 rot. Eat them green, or supply the market. 
 
 If you want good, new, fresh onions in May, go to 
 the woods, and search in low places, and there gather 
 leeks. Or if you prefer it, raise cives, which are the 
 lowest species of the onioo. 
 
30 
 
 HOW TO RAISE ONIONS. 
 
 OUION GROWING IN THE SOUTHEEN STATES. 
 
 It is a common impression that onions can not be 
 successfully raised from seeds, or " black seeds," as 
 growers term it, much south of latitude 40°. In 
 localities south of this, It is asserted that a crop can 
 only be gTown with certainty by the use of sets. 
 That a Southern climate is not unfavorable to the 
 onion, is shown by the fine specimens sent from Spain 
 and PortueaJ to the English markets, and of late 
 years to our own large cities. The onions grown in 
 Bermuda are so fine as to be regarded in our cities as 
 a distinct, variety, while New Mexico and Mexico 
 excel all the localities mentioned in the great size, 
 combined with tenderness and mild flavor of their 
 onions. The assertion that onions can not be grown 
 from seeds in the Southern States, is met by the fact 
 that large quantities are annually sent from Georgia 
 and other States to the Northern markets. Though a 
 share of these are grown from sets, the larger por- 
 tion are from the seed. Dr. A. Oemler, near Savan- 
 nah, Ga., reports having raised the "Giant Rocca'" 
 onion at the rate of ten hundred and fifty bushels to 
 the acre, a yield from the seed that would be re- 
 markably large in any locality. 
 
 Probably the failures with onions from seed have 
 been due more to late sowing than to any other 
 cause. Early sowing is very necessary at the North, 
 and is still more so at the South. The roots of the 
 onion do not descend into the soil very far, and the 
 crop is one of those most disastrously affected by 
 drouth. In the vicinity of Norfolk, Va., and iu 
 Maryland, the "Potato Onion" is grown almost ex- 
 clusively, and this variety can only be grown by 
 planting the sets, or small bulbs. In Georgia, the 
 " Red Wethersfield " and the " Yellow Danvers " are 
 preferred. Some of the recent varieties from the 
 south of Europe are productive, but are either too 
 small or too large to suit our markets. Those who 
 raise onions for the Northern markets, find that their 
 product brings the best prices when it comes in just 
 as the supply from Bermuda ceases, and before that 
 of Northern growth is ready. Hence the time of 
 sowing is regulated with a view to this, and it is not 
 desirable in this case, as with other vegetables, to place 
 
 the crop on the market at the earliest possible date. 
 The conditions of success with the Southern onion 
 crop are the same as at the North. The soil must be 
 light and loamy, as free as possible from weeds, and 
 be highly manured. As at the North, the same land 
 is continued in onions for an indefinite number of 
 years, making a change occasionally in the kind of 
 manure applied. The cow pea, with its abundance 
 of succulent foliage, allows the Southern grower to 
 supply the soil with a large amount of vegetable 
 matter. As soon as the onions are off, the soil is 
 sown to cow peas. The pea vines, usually killed by 
 frost, are allowed to lie until the first part of Decem- 
 ber, when they are turned under, burying them 
 deeply. Not only do the pea vines enrich the soil, 
 but they form such a dense mat that weeds can get 
 no foothold. The time for sowing onion seed near 
 Savannab is about the first of January, which gives 
 the pea vines an opportunity to decay before the seeds 
 are put in. By sowing at this time, the young onions 
 escape the heavy rains, and the severe cold which 
 sometimes occurs, to which those sown two months 
 or more earlier are exposed, while the time of 
 growth, owing to more favorable weather, is made 
 much shorter. 
 
 The cultivation of the growing crop presents no 
 features peculiar to the Southern States. There, as 
 elsewhere, success depends upon thorough and 
 prompt weeding. The smaller the weeds, when 
 hand weeding in the rows is done, the less the chance 
 of injury to the onions by disturbing their roots in 
 pulling up a large weed, the root of which has taken 
 possession of the soil. 
 
 The onions indicate that they have ceased to grow 
 and are mature, by the falling over of the tops. Usu- 
 ally the whole crop is not marketed at once, but suc- 
 cessive shipments are made. For this reason, tiic 
 field is gone over several times, at each time pulling 
 those bulbs, the tops of which have fallen. They 
 may be packed at once, or be left on the ground for 
 a few days, in order to dry off. The tops are cut off 
 with a sharp knife, leaving an inch or so of neck, 
 and packed in crates holding a bushel each. 
 
 ONION SETS. 
 
 An onion set is an onion raised from seed and 
 which has ripened while very small. This result is pro- 
 duced by sowing the seed thickly. The young bulbs 
 start as usual, but as a dozen or more are struggling 
 for the nutriment usually given to a single bulb, they 
 fail to increase in size, and come to maturity while 
 yet very small. When these sets are planted out, 
 they are under more favorable conditions, and at once 
 increase in size, and complete the growth which was 
 arrested in the first season. 
 
 Onion sets should be as small as possible, as a 
 greater number are contained in a given measure ; 
 
 not only this, but the smaller they are, the less risk is 
 there that they will run up to seed. They vary from 
 half an inch in diameter down to the size of a pea. 
 There are several methods of growing sets, but all 
 have the same end in view, the crowded condition of 
 the bulbs. One plan is to stretch a line, and drill in 
 six rows of seed at an inch and a half or two inches 
 apart. The drill is set to drop five or six seeds to 
 ! each inch of row. This will give thirty to thirty-six 
 j seeds to each lineal inch of the bed of six rows. At 
 I a sufficient distance from this to allow of the use of 
 ; the cultivator, usually thirty inches, another bed of six 
 
EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 
 
 31 
 
 rows is sown, and so on. The land will thus be laid 
 off in narrow beds of six crowded rows, each sepa- 
 rated from the next by an alley, wLich can be kept 
 clean by the use of the cultivator. The beds them- 
 selves must be kept free from weeds by the use of a 
 narrow weeding hoe, supplemented by hand-weeding. 
 Another plan is to mark the land in drills, nhie 
 inches apart, by the use of a marker. Each seventh 
 row is not sown, which leaves an eighteen-inch path 
 between every two beds of six rows each. The seed 
 is sown very thickly in the drills, using about thirty 
 pounds to the acre. Unless the crop is kept clean 
 while growing, it will be a total loss. As with large 
 onions, the sets show that they are ripe by the wither- 
 ing of the tops. They are usually dug by running a 
 trowel under them and throwing them ujion a sieve, 
 of the proper size to free them from the soil and re- 
 tain the bulbs. 
 
 It is very difficult to keep sets in good condition 
 during the winter. Before they are housed at all, 
 they should be exposed to the sun and air for a few 
 days, covering them at night. They must then be 
 stored in an airy loft, in layers not over three or four 
 inches thick. When freezing weather is at hand, the 
 sets are brought together in heaps, and covered with 
 straw or with mats. Owing to the difflculty in keep- 
 ing the sets, it is better to plant them in the fall. 
 
 Land for raising onions from sets is enriched and 
 prepared in the same manner as for sowing the seed. 
 The rows are marked at the desired distances apart, 
 usually ten inches, and the sets are planted two or 
 three inches apart in the row. The sets arc pressed 
 into the fine, mellow soil by the use of the thumb and 
 finger, always taking care to place them with the root 
 end down. The work is finished by going over the 
 rows with a wooden rake. 
 
 RAISING OmON SEED. 
 
 While onion seed, if properly kept, will often ger- 
 minate nearl}' as well when two years old, it is not safe 
 to depend upon seed that is over a year old. In either 
 case, the seed should be tested, — as all of that which is 
 only a year old will not germinate, and sometimes a 
 very large share will be abortive. Fifty or a hundred 
 seeds should be counted out, and either planted in a 
 pot or box of soil, or placed in a folded cloth or paper, 
 between two plates, where they can be kept moist 
 and warm. The percentage of good seed in a given 
 lot being ascertained, the drill should be set to sow a 
 sufficient number of seeds to make sure of a good 
 stand. 
 
 The freshness and vitality of the seed are of great 
 importance, bnt it is equally important that the seed 
 should come from a good stock. Seed raised from 
 onions planted out promiscuously, or even from the 
 "culls" left after selecting all the best bulbs for mar- 
 ket, may look well and germinate freely, but the crop 
 will be far from satisfactory, and will be likely to have 
 an undue share of " scaUions." For this no test can 
 be applied, and we can only rely upon the reputation 
 of the grower of the seeds. 
 
 While there are some growers of onion seed who 
 have a reputation for the quality of their product, and 
 endeavor to maintain it, there is much seed in the 
 market which one runs a great risk in buying. Un- 
 less the onion -grower can be sure of getting seeds 
 true to their kind, and of a strain likely to produce 
 few seallions, he had far better raise his own seed. 
 
 Very few are aware how readily the onion may be 
 modified by a few years of careful selection. It is 
 well known that themore nearly globular an onion is 
 in shape, other things being equal, the greater the 
 number of bushels that can be grown to the acre. If 
 we have a variety that is desirable in every other re- 
 spect, except that the bulbs are too flat, we can in a 
 few j'ears develop it into a globular onion. Each suc- 
 cessive year, the bulbs which show the slightest 
 departure from the general flat form arc selected for 
 
 seed. This, at first, may be almost imperceptible ; 
 but there will be variations, however insignificant, 
 and these must be encouraged. By selecting each 
 year the least flat bulbs, we soon may be able to se- 
 lect those the most round, and ultimately have those 
 i that are quite globular. 
 
 An onion, to keep well, should have a very short 
 neck, and at maturity the bulb should be firm and 
 solid around and at the base of the neck. A well- 
 known Connecticut seed-grower of the writer's ac- 
 ! quaiutance worked for several years to reduce and 
 I improve the neck, and the results were most striking. 
 In the first place, the grower of onion seed should 
 ^ have in view his ideal onion ; i. e., fix in his mind the 
 ' kind of onion he would have, and, in selecting his 
 i bulbs for seed, choose only those which show the 
 ' nearest approach to that ideal. 
 
 Onions set out for seed do not need a rich soil, as 
 too much manure i.s said to diminish the fertility of 
 the flowers, and cause many to blight. 
 
 The bulbs selected for seed may be kept until 
 spring, but it is much better to plant them out in the 
 fall. They should be put out some -weeks before realJy 
 cold weather sets in, in order that they may form 
 roots and get well established before the ground 
 freezes. Early in October is a good time in the 
 Northern States. By planting at this time the job is 
 out of the way; there is no difficulty about keeping 
 the seed onions through the winter, and there is no 
 danger that some one may take a fancj- to carry such 
 onion.'? to the kitchen. 
 
 The onions for seed may be set out in rows far 
 enough apart to work with a horsc-cultivator, or, if 
 to be kept clean by hand, the rows may be twelve to 
 eighteen inches apart. Open a furrow about six 
 inches deep, set in the onions six or eight inches apart 
 in the furrow, and cover with the hoe. In spring, use 
 the cultivator or hoe as soon as the soil is dry enough, 
 and keep down the weeds until the crop is ripe. The 
 cluster of seeds is quite heavy, and as the stalks arc 
 
33 
 
 HOW TO RAISE ONIONS. 
 
 from three to five feet high, according to the variety, 
 they are apt to be prostrated by a wind, aud many of 
 the seeds wasted. To prevent this, drive stakes at 
 eacli end of the row, and every eight or ten feet of its 
 length. Pass some cheap twine along each side of 
 the row, making it fast to the stakes. The twine 
 should be within a few inches of the seed clusters. 
 The seed is known to be mature when the capsules 
 or pods lose their green color and turn yellowish ; when 
 some of the pods break open, the heads in which this 
 occurs may be cut. If the crop ripens unevenly, it 
 may be necessary to go over it two or three times, and 
 cut those that are ready. As some of the seed will 
 shell out and be lost, it is well to receive the clusters 
 in a bucket, or in a basket in which a cloth is laid. 
 In cutting, leave six or eight inches of the stalk at- 
 
 tached to the head ; the partly-matured seeds will 
 ripen up much better than if the stem were cut close. 
 Spread the seed clusters uj^on a tight floor of an airy 
 loft. If the floor is not tight, spread a barn sheet or 
 other cloth, to allow the scattered seeds to be saved. 
 When the pods are quite dry, they are to be thrashed, 
 and the seeds winnowed by running them through a 
 fanning-mUl at least twice. After the mUl will re- 
 move nothing more, the seeds are placed, a few 
 pounds at a time, in a bucket or tub of water, stirring 
 for a short time ; allow the good seed to settle, and 
 gently pour off the water with the chaff and imperfect 
 seeds which float upon the surface. The seeds are 
 then to be spread thinly on boards or on sieves, to 
 dry, and only stored away when quite free from 
 dampness. 
 
 "RARE-aiPES'-TOP OR TREE ONIONS-POTATO ONIONS. 
 
 Many are fond of green or unripe onions, which are 
 eaten raw, usually sliced in viuegar. The market- 
 gardeners near cities commonly sell a large share, if 
 not all of their crop in tlie partly grown, immature 
 state. When bunched in this condition, the onions 
 bring a larger price than if they were allowed to 
 ripen. Green onions of this kind are usually very 
 strong and often hard. Much milder and more suc- 
 culent green onions are produced as follows : When 
 an onion is set out for seed, several leaves are pro- 
 duced, and finally a flower stalk pushes up among 
 them. As this leaf-growth, which takes place at the 
 expense of the old bulb, goes on, a new bulb is 
 at the same time formed by the lower parts of the 
 leaves, and in the centre of the old bulb, and it is 
 this new one which bears the flowers and seeds. 
 Sometimes there are two or three of these small 
 bulbs formed within an onion. If these young bulbs 
 are pulled when the flower stalk first shows itself, or 
 even before, they will be found vastly preferable to 
 any other form of green onion. In New England, 
 where they are often found in tho markets, these are 
 known as " Rare-ripes " or " Rare-ripe Onions ;" but 
 in New York the Shallot, a different species, is the 
 first green onion in the market. Any onions that have 
 sprouted, or those too small to be salable are set out 
 in very early spring to produce rare-ripes. 
 
 The Top or Tree Onion. 
 
 A number of plants are known in which there are 
 varieties that bear a cluster of green leaves in the 
 place of flowers. In one of the wild garlics, a com- 
 mon weed of our fields, flowers are rarely produced, 
 but in their place is a cluster of minute bulbs. In the 
 top-onion the same thing takes place, and instead of 
 flowers, the stem bears a dense cluster of little onions, 
 from the size of a boy's marble, downwards. When 
 
 these small bulbs are set out in the spring, they in- 
 crease in size and form a large handsome onion. This 
 onion, when planted out the next year, will produce a 
 crop of small bulbs and so on. It possesses no ad- 
 vantage over ordinary onions, and is cultivated mainly 
 as a curiosity. 
 
 The Potato Onion. 
 
 This is a variety of the onion which has completely 
 lost the habit of producing flowers and seeds ; it does 
 not even push up a flower stem. 
 
 Under the erroneous impression that it was intro- 
 duced into England from Egypt it is sometimes called 
 the '" Egyptian Onion;" in this country it is often 
 known as the "English Multiplier," and "Under- 
 ground Onion" is still another name for it. It is a 
 medium-sized, yellowish-brown onion, with a rather 
 stronger flavor than the common kinds. If a large 
 Potato Onion be planted in spring, it will produce a 
 cluster, sometimes as many as a dozen, of smaller 
 bulbs, varying m size, from a filbert, upwards. These 
 small onions, when planted next year, will each in- 
 crease in size to form a large bulb. The generations 
 thus alternate. One-year offsets, or small bulbs, are 
 produced, and the nest year these grow to the full 
 size. Ordinarily it would take two years to gi'ow 
 an onion of this kind, but in practice, some of the 
 bulbs in a cluster of small ones, are often large enough 
 for use, and when a small bulb is set out, it, besides 
 growing to a large bulb, often produces several small 
 ones also. So often does this occur, that, in cultiva- 
 tion on a small scale, it is not necessary to grow a lot 
 of offsets especially for " seed," as enough are usually 
 produced, attached to the large bulbs. This onion is 
 very hardy and may remain in the ground all winter, 
 It is also early. In some localities, especially near 
 Norfolk, Va., this variety is used as the market crop, 
 to the exclusion of those from seeds. 
 
EXPERIENCE OP PRACTICAL GROWERS, 
 
 RAISING ONIONS. 
 
 BY A CONNECTICUT SEED-GROWER. 
 
 The reason why many do not succeed in their first 
 attempt at raising onions is because they do not select 
 ground wliich has been suitably prepared in the cul- 
 tivation of the two or three previous crops. It is a 
 mistalie that onions do better, year after year, on the 
 same ground, simply becaiise onions follow onions. 
 It is the higher manuring, more thorough pulveriza- 
 tion and mixture of the soil and manures, and the 
 cleaner and more careful cultivation required every 
 year for onions, tlian is given to any other crop, that 
 fit ground better for them. 
 
 Onions will undoubtedly succeed better many years 
 on tiie same ground than most other vegetables, but 
 there is a hmit to this success. In Wethersfield, 
 Conn., formerly so famous for its onions, the cultiva- 
 tion has greatly declined on account of the diminished 
 product to the acre. The onions grown there now in 
 many of the old gardens are small ; they start quickly 
 andj.i>;row vigorously the forepart of the season, but 
 suddenly meet with a check when they should go on 
 growing, even if there be no signs of smut or blast, 
 and ripen too early to attain their former size and 
 productiveness. Much larger crops are now grown 
 m other towns. 
 
 One great trouble among beginners on new ground 
 is that the onions will not bottom and ripen at the 
 usual time, but continue to grow all the season and 
 produce too many " stiff necks " or scalHons. There 
 are several causes for this. One is, the land, which is ! 
 too poor to commence cultivation upon, is heavily 
 manured and plowed deep, bringing the poor subsoil 
 to the surface. The seed in such soil comes up weak, 
 if at all, and the onions grow very slowly until they 
 get hold of the decomposed manure, when it is too 
 late in the season for them to mature. Late sowing, 
 a wet season, and foreign or bad seed, are other 
 causes of scallions. If onions do not begin to bottom 
 before September rains, they never will. 
 
 The onion is not so particular about the character 
 of the original soil as many suppose. Good crops are 
 obtained on almost any soil, not too wet or too dry, 
 except a stiff clay, light sand, or hungry gravel. It is 
 essential, however, that the land should have been 
 made rich by the thorough incorporation of manures 
 and in clean tillage for at least two years from the 
 sod. Corn, and then potatoes, carrots, or beets, are 
 good preparatory crops. One or two heavily manured 
 tobacco crops admirably fit the ground for onions ; old 
 vegetable gardens are perhaps the best, except where 
 cabbages have been grown, which are the worst of all 
 crops to precede onions. Heavy or rather clayey, 
 moist, not wet, loam, generally produces the largest 
 onions. If coarse manure is to be used, spread on 
 twenty to thirty loads to the acre late in the fall, say, 
 about the middle of November, and plow it m not 
 very deep , or use one ton of fish guano, spread 
 on after plowing and harrow it in. If raw fish is put 
 on in the spring, the onions will continue to grow 
 
 until too late to ripen. In the spring, as soon as the 
 ground will work, plow four inches deep, and spread 
 on a good dressing of fine compost, or three hundred 
 pounds of Peruvian guano or superphosphate of lime, 
 and harrow It in well ; back harrow and harrow again, 
 and if not smooth enough, dress with rakes. When 
 not manured in the fall, fine hog-pen or stable ma- 
 nure, free from grass and weed seeds, should be 
 plowed in in the spring and the guano or other fer- 
 tilizers harrowed in. 
 
 Every farmer and gardener should have a reel and 
 line, and a marking rake. They will save a great 
 many steps in laying out ; besides, the straight and 
 uniform rows enable the workmen to accomplish a 
 great deal more iu cultivating and weeding with the 
 modern hand-weeding implements. 
 
 The Reel below may be made of wood, though iron 
 (which may be bought) is preferable. When made of 
 wood it consists of a square frame with projectin"- 
 top and bottom pieces with holes through the centres 
 to insert a stalie. It is turned by one of the sides ex- 
 
 REEL AND LINE. 
 
 tending through the top piece for a handle. The other 
 side should extend a couple of inches through the 
 bottom piece to hold the line when run off. In the 
 figure the handle is shown as mserted separately, 
 which is not neccssiary ; the projection above referred 
 to is not shown. A shorter stake will do for the 
 other end of the line. Common three-stranded cord, 
 about a quarter of an inch thick, is the most suitable 
 for the line. To construct a Marking Rake, make the 
 head three feet ten inches long by two inches square. 
 
34 
 
 HOW TO S.AIS.E ONIONS. 
 
 Bore four tbree-fourth-inch holes fourteen incbes 
 apart, commencing two inches from the ends ; one 
 hole in the centre; and holes at twelve, fifteen, six- 
 teen and a half and eighteen inches each side of it. 
 Make four teeth six inches long, an inch thick, and 
 round them at the points. Secure them with a pin or 
 key by the tops so they can be easily changed and ad- 
 justed to the different widths. The handle of the 
 marker should be six feet long, split, and spread so 
 as to form braces where it is fastened to the head. 
 
 Another form of marker is shown below, in which 
 the teeth are not movable ; they are fixed at the de- 
 sired distances, on both sides of the head. The land 
 being prepared for sowing, stick down the stake, run 
 oil the line, and lay it where it is desired to commence. 
 Adjust the marking rake to fourteen inches, draw 
 the outside tooth carefully by the line, and follow 
 back and forth in the last mark until completed. 
 "After the ground is marked off, it should lie a little 
 while for the surface to dry before commencing to 
 sow the seed. It covers much better, and the soil 
 will not stick to the wheel of the seed-sower. The 
 best onion-growers now do not use seed-sowers with 
 
 BRILL MAEKEE. 
 
 a roller attached. It packs the earth so hard that it 
 bakes after a heavy rain and very much impedes the 
 growth of the young plant, and it is not so easy in 
 weeding to break the crust formed when rolled down 
 flat as when the seed is covered by rakes or a light 
 drag. It is of the utmost importance to get good 
 seed — not only good, strong-growing seed, but seed 
 that has been raised from good-sized, well-ripened 
 onions. Imported seed cannot be trusted. The Second 
 Early Red Onion is the best for a general crop. Sow 
 four to six pounds to the acre — say about three seeds to 
 an inch or five seeds to two inches ; cover half an inch. 
 As soon as the onions are up so they can be seen 
 the length of the rows, run an onion-weeder or hand- 
 cultivator through them, with the rakes adjusted so 
 as not to throw the earth upon the young plants, and 
 repeat often enough to prevent the growth of weeds. 
 This will keep the ground perfectly clean between the 
 rows. When they are just out of "the double," or 
 when the first weeds begin to show, after cultivating, 
 
 the ground should be raked lightly, diagonally across 
 the rows wiih a common wooden hay rake. This will 
 break the crust, destroy the weeds in the rows, and 
 give the young plants a good start. 
 
 Early in June, when the onions are four or five 
 inches high, sow about three bushels to the acre of 
 not very coarse salt broadcast over them. After the 
 second weeding, spread on a good dressing of wood 
 ashes. They require three or four weedings in the 
 rows ; but if pains were taken in marking to keep the 
 rows straight and uniform, the onion-weeder will run 
 so close to them that there will be but few weeds to 
 remove by hand. 
 
 When the tops have fallen and nearly died down, 
 draw four rows together with a wooden rake, raking 
 two rows at a time toward the other two rows. Pull- 
 forks are sometimes used, but in careless hands they 
 pierce a good many onions. They may remain as 
 raked together several days, or until sufficiently cured 
 to strip ; cut the tops about an inch from the onions. 
 If they are stripped while the tops are partly green, 
 they do not keep so well. After stripping, remove 
 them to an outbuilding on a dry day, with a north- 
 west wind, and spread over the floor, not more than 
 a foot thick ; tuni them occasionally. 
 
 To keep onions in quantity through the winter; 
 just before they are likely to freeze, and when per- 
 fectly dry, spread them eighteen inches thick on a 
 tight floor in a bam or outbuilding which is under- 
 pinned so as to keep the cold air from freezing them 
 too severely next the floor. Leave a space of two feet 
 next the walls of the building on all sides ; spread a 
 sheet entirely over t'hem, fill the space with fine hay, 
 (rowen is the best) and tread it firmly ; then cover the 
 whole about two feet thick with the same, and the 
 onions will ordinarily keep well. They should never 
 be disturbed while frozen, but as soon as the frost is 
 completely out in the spring, take off the covering 
 and spread them all over the room, opening the doors 
 and windows to give air in pleasant weather. If they 
 are not well covered and the thermometer should fall 
 to fifteen degrees below zero, some of them may 
 freeze to death, and be soft when thawed. 
 
 White onions are the worst to keep, on account of 
 their gathering moisture so readily. They should be 
 kept spread quite thinly on the floor in the light and 
 where the air can circulate freely. Just before winter- 
 sets in, spread a few inches of straw on a floor, and 
 place the onions on it four or five inches thick ; 
 let them freeze a little, then cover them with straw 
 and let them remain undisturbed until spring ; or put 
 them into peach crates and cover with hay in the 
 barn, or pile the crates next the walls of a cool cellar. 
 Onions are generally one of the most profitable 
 crops, often yielding four hundred to six hundred, 
 sometimes eight hundred, bushels to the acre. 
 
HOW TO RAISE ONIONS. 
 
 35 
 
 THE ONION FLY.-Anthomyia Ceparum. 
 
 Fig. 1. 
 
 Is travelling through the county of Essex, N. Y , a 
 ^liori time since, particularly along the beautiful plains 
 in the vicinity of the Au-Sable River, I had my atten- 
 tion ^epeatedly attracted to the withered and sickly 
 appearance of nearly all the fields of onions, through 
 which I passed. Upon inquiring the cause, T was in- 
 variably told tnat it was the effects of a worm, and 
 that it was extremely doubtful if a single tuber in a 
 healthful condition would be obtained in a hundred 
 plants. This excited my curiosity, and on raising the 
 bulbs from the earth, I had little diflBculty in recogniz- 
 ing the larva of a Dipterous (two-winged) insect, be- 
 longing to a species which in England, as well as in 
 many other parts of Europe, for the last twenty years, 
 have almost entirely destroyed the onion crops, upon 
 the cultivation of which so considerable an amount of 
 labor and experience have been expended. To such a 
 degree have their ravages extended in those countries. 
 
 Fig. 8. Fig. 8. 
 
 that the husbandmen have been driven to the necessi- 
 ty of abandoning the culture of this important vegeta- 
 ble, not having yet met with any eflSoior t remedy for 
 the destruction of their enemy. 
 
 Much uncertainty still seems to prevail among ento- 
 mologists respecting the peculiar habits and instincts 
 of this little depredator, and we greatly fear that they 
 will long remain in ignorance, unless some interested 
 and intelligent Individual, residing on the spot, and 
 having daOy access to the plants, shall establish a 
 lenes of practical observations on their habits, and in 
 
 this manner trace them through their vanons stage* 
 of existence, up to the perfect fly. Until this is ac- 
 complished, and not til) then, will we with any degree 
 of certainly be able to suggest any reasonable method 
 for efifeotually removing them. If it be not don* 
 speedily, a knowledge of the prolific manner of their 
 increase, makes it probable that they will, in the course 
 of but a few years, spread over the whole country, and 
 almost, if not entirely, obliterate this highly useful 
 vegetable from our gardens. 
 
 This insect depredator is, I think, undoubtedly tlio 
 Anthomyia ceparum, of Meigen, or a species so closely 
 allied,' as to differ but little from it in any of its 
 habita 
 
 It is shown at e, fig. 1, somewhat magnified, the &ir 
 tual length being indicated by the perpendicular, and 
 the spread of the wings by the horizontal line, below 
 the cut of the fly ; c anH d, same fig., show the pupa, 
 from which the insect emerges, c being the natural 
 size, and d magnified. It belongs to the second gen- 
 eral division of the Mvscides, that of the Anihomyzides, 
 which is composed of species, all of whom have greatly 
 the appearance of common flies. 
 
 The larva of this insect, a in fig. 2, is about ^ of an 
 inch in length, fleshy, and of a white color. It is of a 
 conical form, with a smooth and shining surface, an(} 
 entirely free from any external .superficial appendages. 
 The incisions are finely granulate, and the last and 
 largest segment is obliquely truncated at its base, upon 
 which is placed a surrounding border of eight small 
 knots, or projecting points, as seen at b, flg. 2, repre- 
 senting the larva magnified. 
 
 The female fly deposits its eggs on the base of the 
 stem near the surface of the ground, which in a few 
 days become hatched, the larvse immediately penetrat- 
 ing between the leaves to the bulb, upon which it 
 preys unseen ; but the efiects soon become visible, fof 
 
 Fig. 4. Fig. B. 
 
 the leaves turn yellow, fall prostrate on the ground, 
 and quickly wither away. These are shown in figs. 3 
 and 4. In the course of about two weeks they arrive 
 
36 
 
 EXPERIENCE OF PKACTICaL GROWERS. 
 
 ai maturity, and change to the pupa state, fig 5, and 
 in from fifteen or twenty days more emerge the perfect 
 fly, fully prepared to accomplish their depredations by 
 depositing their eggs upon the more healthy plants. 
 As many aa from one to five of the larvae were fre- 
 quently to be met with on a single plant. 
 
 The perfect insect is about half the size of the com- 
 mon house-fly, with a few thinly scattered hairs cover- 
 ing the surface of the body. It is of an ash-gray color, 
 the males being distinguished by a series of dark stripes 
 upon the back. The head is marked with a brownish 
 spot upon its apex. The wings are exceedingly trans- 
 parent, exhibiting beautiful iridescent reflections from 
 their surfaces, the shoulders of which are of an ochery- 
 brown color, and the veins of brownish yellow. 
 
 This fly may not unfrequently be met with in the 
 spring of the year, basking in the sunshine about the 
 windows of the neighboring dwellings. And from the 
 circumstance of finding their larvae in the greatest pro- 
 fusion, committing their depredations in the middle and 
 latter parts of August, we are inclined to believe that 
 they pass through several generations in a season, and 
 that they probably make use of the seed of the plant, 
 on which to deposit the egg for the larvie of the en- 
 suing apring. If this be so, steeping the seeds in 
 brine, before sowing, we should suppose would be the 
 proper remedy ; if otherwise, the process will not mate- 
 ritlly affect their germination. They appear to show 
 fi diatinct predilection for the wLite onion, in preference 
 to that of aaxj other o6k». 
 
 This insect it is exceedingly difficult to destroy. 
 Strewing the earth with ashes has proved of little 
 avail; powdered charcoal answers a much btbter pur- 
 pose, and is generally in use in this section of country, 
 but it should only be thrown over about two thirds of 
 the bed, so as to leave a portion of the plants for them 
 to resort to on being brought to the perfect state, and 
 driven from their original resting-place. When they 
 have been converted to the larva state and commenced 
 their depredations, these plants should be pulled up 
 and consumed by fire. 
 
 It has been recommended to prepare the beds as 
 early in the sprmg as convenient, and suffer them to 
 remain eight or ten days for the noxious plants to 
 vegetate, then to cover them with straw to the depth 
 of ten inches, and burn them over ; aft^r which, plant 
 the seeds for the ensuing crop immediately. This pro- 
 cess, it is stated, has proved perfectly succe^.r-ful in 
 driving away the insects and insuring good crops, and 
 in addition to this, has furnished a capital top-dressing 
 to the soil. Onion-beds prepared from the hearths 
 upou which charcoal has been burned, have likewise 
 been mentioned as producing the perfect vegetable, 
 entirely free from the attacks of the fly. 
 
 Should the charcoal method here mentioned, be uni- 
 versally adopted, we have little doubt but that this 
 insect depredator will in a short time become greatly 
 reduced in number if not entirely destroyed, and afford 
 a much better chance for a mor* hsaithfol crop of the 
 onion plants heritor. S. iS. 
 
:*c^2^ 
 
 ^^TOBACCO^ 
 
 
 CULTURE. 
 
 pTv^ 
 
 PRACTICAL DETAILS, 
 
 ?_^ FROM THE :- •^ 
 
 Selection and Preparation of the Seed and the Soil, 
 
 Harvesting, Curing and Marketing the Crop. 
 
 PLAIN DIRECTIONS AS GIVEN BY 
 
 rOURTEEN EXPEEIENOED CULTIVATORS, 
 
 Residing in different parts of the United States, most of whom have had long practice 
 
 in the growing of Tobacco. 
 
 ALSO, NOTES ON THE TOBACCO WORM. 
 
 4?ILLUSTRATED.|^ 
 
 1 
 
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