SB 341 .06 Copy 1 ^ ^ / z- -'^^f •m^ I lIOWTOItAISETllKMPROFITAIiLY. DETAILS OF EXPERIENCE, Fi'oiii tlio Sele<'tion of Seed and Preparation ol the fi round, to Uai'v-estinK and Marketing: the Croi». STATEAfENTS OF SliVKNTKKN IMIACTICAI, (iMON (iltOWKIIS, Residing in diffbront Roctions of tho country, most of whom hnvo been en- gaged from ton to thirty years in raising Onions largely for market, etc.; to which is added an Illustrated Description of the Onion Ply. T M 13 L I S H K D BY C) R A N O F, J U I ) I ) . Editor of Americnn Atrricultuiiat. IS9 WATER STREET, NEW-YORK. 1859. 'iilered itccnr M ■llnR to Art of Cnnfrrf<< is removed. It is Monittimta necessary to hoe the ground over entirely, aiid carry ofT the weeds that may have grown after the onions liavo been pulled. The great pest of onion- ground usually is purslnin; and this must be watched and dealt with iti a summary way. It may be hardly necessary to suggest here that the fences and borders of onion-grounds should be kept entirely clean and tidy. lunate enough to live in proximity 10 the water. All the preparation oitions require for markei, is to cut or strip off their tops luid put them in barrels. A man or boy will prepare lifky 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 $5.00 per barrel, but the average net price, taking one year A man will hoe from half an acre to an acre of with another for several years bac!», has been about onions in a day. A smart boy will take care of from .$l.ftO per barrel. one to two acres of ground during the season, and have an odd day now and then to go fishing. Harvkstino. — This takes place during the latter 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 2.") to 60 cents part of August, and first of September. The time to per barrel, in advance of cost, so that by the time the pull onions, (which should bo done by hand,) is when consumer gels them the first price is nearly doubled. tho tops have fallen down and turned a brown or yel- lowish color. Sometimes on account of the sea-son, 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 iu some way, but it is of doubtful ex[>ediency. A Ge.neiial Rkmarks — There is no crop, perhaps, more sure than that of onions. They are liable, it is tnie, to blight, bu^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 irop. Five hundred liushels to scallion will bo such, whether standing up or bent an acre is an average crop, though eight hundred are down. When the main crop has ripened down, it is j frequently raised. 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. Tho 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: a(\er re- maining 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 iu a measure frotn the weather, so that when opened, the out-side skin shells o(T, and gives tlicm 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 an}- dangcr of injury ; there to be kept, if desired, until the following spring, provided the tops are left on them. If put in barn bays, a rough floor should be laid down on timber a few inches from the ground, in order that a circulation 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 frozen state. There are three varieties of onions commonly raised, ■amely, red, white, and yellow. Th.e red onions take the load, as they are more hardy, grow better, and bear handling better than either of the other kinds. The foregoing directions appl}* equally to each variety, though white ones require more attention in curing, and gentler handling. White onions in limited quan- tities and in good condition sometimes sell for fif\y per cent in advance of red one?. Onions, unlike most other crops, may be raised on the same ground for an indefinite length of time, without any deterioration in quality or quantity, pro- vided the ground is in good heart. The writer knows ground that ha.s 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 hero that skill in the 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 in the business to commence on a small scale. And let no one delude himgplf 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 bettor than onions. • Present price, laoo, .Tao. 25th, 13SB. UUVV TU KALSK UiNlU^^S, Raising Osiox 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 Httle above it. The best time to do this is when they are pulled, as then 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 grouad 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 hdk 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 between the rows, either with a spade or hoe, about the time the seed is in blossom, and working the dirt thus dug out around the onion stalks, is beneficial. Care should be taken after the onions have blossomed, not to handle them, or disturb their roots. Tlie seed matures about the same time 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 show the seed. The heads sliould then be cut ofi" 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 be 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 per 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. No. 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 ia a strong damp Icam, 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 liighly 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 manuring. 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 80 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 a 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, EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. while seed obtained from a distance, in numerous in- stancep, 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 fiill 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 can bo 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 the onions in the furrows, about four inches below the level, and as as they grow, keep entirely free from weeds, and fill in the furrows from the ridge. The dirt helps to support them upright. Otherwise, as the seed-balls grow 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. The good seed sinks, while tlio im- perfect will float, and should be skimmed ofT and thrown away, fare must bo taken to dry thoroughly ndor removing it from the water. One bushel of good onions usually yields from three to five pounds of seed. Land intended for onions should bo nearly level, to prevent the heavy rains from washing it after 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 largo quantities are grown, all kinds are used, first fermenting it to destroy foul seeds as much as possible, and fit it to mi.x 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 nil small stones above the size of a hen's egg, put on the manure, spread and plougli 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 fur 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 hand-labor. If you wish straight rows — which look and work better — stretch a line across your field to draw the seed-drill l)y, 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, costing about four dollars. They drop two rows at a time, twelve inches apart, and one half-inch 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, an 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 broadcast one bushel of salt to the acre, sudi as is used for hay. Thia will prevent the cut- worm which is sometimes troublesome, and the salt, I think, is a help to the crop. I can not say too much about keeping the weeds out, for no crop sulTers more from weeds than onions. Keep the weeds out as long as you can creep over them. They usually require four hoeings and weeding?, 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. Thia is the time they are apt to be neglected, as tV.e 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 to pull. Tliis is done by hand, cleaning of all weed.«, to 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 to bring them to this state, then cart them before the dew falls at night. When in the house, they should havo free circulation of air about them, until freezing 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-house, the more air about them the better. If the fioor ia HOW TO RAISE ONIONS. tight, put down scantling, and lay on a temporary loose floor for the onions, and if room is plenty, do not put them over two feet thick. That I may be better understood, I will give a description of a fit place to store onions for fall and winter keeping. Make a building with the top of the sills one foot from the ground, to afford room for air to blow freely under a loose 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 litter, 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 generally used. This work can be done at any time after they are housed, but those intended for keeping late in Spring will do better to remain in the tops until wanted 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 diflerent 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 ot one half of the crop before the holidays, and look out for the remainder. 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 j'ear 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, auc' 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 largo quantities of onions are annually shij^ped to New- York 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 i^lanting in the same place, they seem to be- come diseased from some cause not well understood, when alternating with another crop for a yca.T or two is said to remedy the evil. This disease shows itself by the curling of the leaves and turning of a yellow sickly hue, and upon breaking the leaves they appear to bo filled with a kind of smut ; hence the disorder is called the smut. Manure. — That from the hog-pen I consider the best, 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 Naragausott 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 croji. 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 raise onions EXPEniEN'CE OF PIlACTICAh- GUOAVERS. with it alone. WwhI ashes are an excellent nianure on any soil, and perhaps the grecnsand of New Jcrsej' would answer, as they seem to require potash. Pkeparatiox of the Soil. — The manure should be spread twenty-five or thirty loads for two horses or one pair of oxen, or a cart-load of forty bu-shels to the acre, and ploughed in with a good even furrow. Tiie depth will depend on the depth the soil has been l)roviously cultivated. The whole should be thorough- ly turned over, covering the manure completely ; and if tlie ground has not been highly manured previously, it should have a light dressing on top, of decomposed inauuro, or wood ashes. Then harrow the ground fine with a light harrow, and rako smooth and level, re- moving any coarse manure, stones, or lumps that may interfere witii 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 nike, into which all the lumps of manure and small stones may bo deposited and leveled over with the soil. Those places will be found to produce as well or better than the rest of the piccca PLASTi.va. — Plant in hills with the rows twelve inches apart, and si.x inches between the hills. Wc use a machine that plants ia hills, two rows at once, at tlio 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 the 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 si/,o for marketing by the bushel. With u.«, where most of the crop is bunched on straw, for the \Vcst-Iudia and other foreign markets, we put from ten to twelve scctls in the hill, and we never thin them out. They seldom all vegetate, and some will be cut \\p in hoeing, so that two thirds the number you plant will bo 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- vided with a roller that does this. Onions will grow well very thick if provided with a sufficient quantity of manure. Varieties. — The kind will depend altogether on the market you wish to supply. We raise the common rod onion, becauso it suits our niiuket. Each one should consult the wants of his customers in this as in every other crop. The Yellow Danvers is a good sort for our homo 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 arc all one, namely, the early, second early, and late, and are produce- weedy, in alx)ut 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- rota may 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 without injuring the onions but very little, if any. Large quantities of car- rots are raised in this manner with us with very httle expense. They will want one hoeing after harvesting 8 HOW TO RAISE OXIONS. the onions, to clean out any weeds that may be still standing on the ground. The carrots will grow rapid- ly till frost, and even after. liARVESTixa. — The onions should be pulled as soon as the tops have mostly fallen, ^-hich 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 stalk. 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 sheep-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. BcNCHiNG. — To bunch onions rapidly and handsome- ly requires much practice, but sonie boys will make from tliree to four hundred bunches a day. It is done thus : Take about two feet in length of the butt- end , 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 once around to each onion, tapering them up from a good-sized one at the bottom, to the size of a large walnut at the top, and from ten to twelve in length. Keep the rows straight, and with a little practice, you can make a neat bunch that wiU suit, in many markets, better than loose onions, and also use 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 through the wnnter. 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 flavor in this climate. In order to be successful in growing the onion, the soil must be rich, light, and deep, and in a situation well exposed to the sun. You must not think of sow- ing the seed until you have worked the bed well to the depth 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 signs. No good gardener can dispense with the line : he will therefore scratch drills by the line just deep enough to be clearly eeen, 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 is one of the greatest causes of small crops 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 properties of the salt seem to cause them to enlarge. EXPEEIEXCE OF TRACTICAL GROWERS. 9 Tliig 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 pLnn, not only with the onion, but nil kinds of vegetables. In September, the 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 sun and air until they are quite dry on the outside. Of the different kinds, I prefer the white, as not being so rank to the taste, and we know they always bring a better price in the market. Although I confess to having been often disappointed in my experience with Patent Office seodf", owing to their ago before they are placed in the ground, yet I can safely recommend the " wiiite onion" obtained from England, as of superior . At the places where the lines meet, press in an onion, one third of the onion being placed in the ground, so that tho bulb will remain firm and ertct. After this is done, you will have a bed with the onions in s<4uare:S, live or six inches apart. Now, tho onion naturally forms its bulb the first year of its growtli, 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 llower and seed, and this must be prevented by plucking otV the flower-head as SiX)n as it makes its appearance. A second attempt will be made, whicli must also be prevented in the same way. Tlius, 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. Theeo 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 " ex- periments," has been given to the world on the subject of the onion : but a.s I have already remarked, give me M soil rich, light, deep, and well exposed to the sun, and in addition, a few bushels of leached ashes, and 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 the plants, are to be avoided. In very hot weather in summer, it may be necessary to water them — but do not carry this to extremes. The onion isa very hardy plant, and I have frequently left bulbs in the grwud througliout the winter for the purpose of obtaining an early ipess on the dinner-table in spring. These is another mode of raising the onion which I like very well, allhou^'h requiring a greater length of time to develop. This is by sowing the seed, tliickly in I drills from three to five inches apart, having prepared the ground in the same manner as above described, j and reserving the leached a.shes and salt for the second , year. By this method, you procure a number of bushels 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 the llower-shoots must be plucked off, as I have said in speaking of tho early summer variety. They j must be planted in the same way, in squares of five or si.x inches apart. Tlie onion lias been too shghlly 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 who 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 tho cLest and extremities. It is stimu- lant, acts upon the kidneys, upon the bronchial tubes and air-passages, and will excite irritation on the skin. If eaten in moderation, it increases tho 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 excit&ment. 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 the most useful vegetables we possess, and deserves better treatment at the hands of man. 10 HOW TO RAISE ONIONS. No. V. BY STEPHEN HOYT & SON, FAIRFIELD CO., CT. So:l is the first consideration in the culture of onions. To raise them successfully, it is important that this be right. The soil best adapted to them is a heavy, moist, (not wet,) rich loam, free from stonB. Fair crops of onions may be raised upon a light dry soil in favorable seasons, 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 Manurk. — Onions draw very heavily upon ihe 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 cfnions. 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, 6nly when composted with muck, or mixed with good soil. If nothing else can be had, guano 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. PLOOGHiNa, 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 off, so as to remove all stones, grass, roots, etc. It is very important to have the ground fine and clean before sowing, as much of the after-cultivation depends upon this. Seed. — There is nothing, perhaps, in raising onions of more importance than the seed, whicli should be right to start with. If the seed is poor and fails to come, or a part 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 best onions should be selected and put out as early aS possible in the spring; in rows three feet apart, and six inches distant in the row. Hoe often to keep clean, and when the hulls begin to open, remove the heads to some place under cover, where they niaj' re- main to be cleaned out at leisure. The seed may be loosened from the heads by threshing them with a flail, 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 good 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. AVhite onions sell for a large price, but they are more tender, and we have condemned them for 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. SowiXG 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 head of a rake. With this kind of machine, a man and boy will sow two acres per day. We have found four pounds of seed to the acre the proper quantity. The seed should be sowed as 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 care to re- move all 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 EXPEUIEXCE OF PKACTICAL GROWERS. 11 when puUcd out, and the patch will soon bo overrun. Our rule is, 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. I'ULLisG AND CuRiNQ. — Afl 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 closel}', and after being satisfied that they are making no more bottoms, pull them not- withstanding the tops may be green, keeping the scal- lions (or unbottomed onions") by themselves, as they will never cure sufficiently to be housed with the other onions. We would hero 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 (It to gather, first pull six or eight rows, throwing them upon the unpulled ones to get a start. Then hoe over and rake off the strip pulled, to remove all weeds or grass, if any are growing. If there are no weeds, this will be unnecessary. After having cleaned off 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 off as before, and so continue to pull and hoe until the piece is finished, leaving the onions spread broadcast over tho 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 bo imbedded into the ground more or less, gathering moisture. In a few hours after stirring, with a good P".;i, they will be fit for housing. It mat- ters not, however, if they remain in the field for a month after pulling, or at least until freezing weather. In fact, we prefer to have them remain out as long as it will answer, as they are very apt to sweat, heat, and sprout when put in large qiiantities, if housed early, although ever so well cured, and it is quite as conve- nient to maiiket 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 tiie method above described. When piled, they want more attention in curing, as they are very apt to hold moisture enough from rains to make them blacken, if not opened and stirred frequently. HocsrxG. — 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 iu 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, sothat 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 aa 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 doort», 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 for wintering should be put in with tops on, as lliey sprout mucli less. In fact it is belter to top them as they are marketed, in all cases. Topping makes good wet-weather employment, Markktiso. — The producer will have to exercise his own judgment as to the proper sea.son 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 onioni are ripe enough to pull, in order to get them off in 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, tho 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. Tlie more manure, the more onions. Tliere is no difficulty in raising eight or nine hundred bushels per acre. The same ground may bo used for many vents in succession if well manured, and with better succp'^s than by changing every jenr, or every few years. PaiuM should be taken to deptroy all weeds, so that none shall go to seed upon tlie 12 HOW TO RAISE ONIONS. ground, and also in making manure, that no seed may be present in that. By so doing for a few years, onions may be raised with but httle expense. Experience is necessary to raise onions successfully. We would not advise any person unacquainted with growing onions, to enter into it very largely at first, for It would very likely prove a faihire. "We have observed several instances where individuals have commenced with a small patch, who have increased gradually until tbey have reached six, eight, or ten acres, while others commencing with one acre or mgre, were unsuccessful, and have abandoned the 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 ARTHUR 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 bright 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 ones. 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 oft" 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, neither too wet nor too dry, (of the two rather moist.) Unlike most other crops, onions may be plant- ed on the same ground for a great number of years, and still bring good crops. Manure very highly, stable-manure, ground bones, ashes, and guano are all very good. Stable-manure should be ploughed in ; be careful to turn it all under. Bones or ashes may bo harrowed in after the ground in 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 either in the fall or in the spring. Pall ploughing is preferred by many, as it helps on the spring work, and gives a chance to get the seed in the ground earhj, ■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-harr9w. 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 is 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 a light onion-hoe, stirring the ground between the rows. As soon as the onions are all up, put in the boys with weeders, to take out the weeds which the hoes have left. The weeders are little hoes, two inches wide by one inch 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-lime, which is generally in September. When the 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 heaped up soon after pulling, and left in heaps to cure. Much care should be used in curing white onions, as the sale of them is injured by having the skins mil- dewed. They should be pulled earlier thau red onions. A good plan is to carry them in, soon after pulling, and dry them by spreading out thin in lofts. 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 of 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 acre of ground. EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 13 „ ..e p,„U„. or 0.0.3 ror ... .a, .e„ .e,eo;. • »-'. -» -,£ '.Z'^olt Xl ::Z ed," great care should be Uken in procuring seed. It is better to give a largo price for seed from selected you know nothing about the quality of the oniona 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 has been a great change in the shape of the onion within a few years. They were formerly quite tut, 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 po3.siblo, 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 the frost is out of the ground in the spring, it should bo 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 inrhos opart As they grow up, fill the trenches with dirt, and the stalks will not full down, which ia apt to blast tho seed. Keep clear from weeds until they blassom, aOer which do not disturb them. When tho stalk below tho seed-ball turns yeUowish. and the socd-husk.s begin to open, cut off tho seed- balls and spread them thinly on a tight floor, stirring them once in three days; or, what la better, spread them on a lattice over a fight Hoor, as they will then have tho air around them, which is very essential, aa they are apt to mUdcw. They should remain in Uiia way for scver.il weeks, untU they will shell easy. After tho chaff ia 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 bags, and hang where it wiU have plenty bf air, aa I know of no seed that ia more likely to chit than onion-seed. rREPARATiON' OF TDE GROtrxD for the reception of the seed, ia tho next thing of importance. I have seen good oniona on reclaimed bog swamp, also on re- claimed swamp with a clay sub-soil, but I think the best ground for the purpose U a dry loam. It should first bo in hoed crops three or four years, and all weeds kept from going to seed. Clear your ground from all rubbish, stone.s, etc., in tho f:dl, 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 eariier and easier than if ploughed in tho spring. But as many are apt to put off until to-morrow what should bo done to-day, I will say, manure your ground in the spring as soon aa it is dry enough to work, ploughing it in at once, aa fast as it can be harrowed, raked, and sowed, aa it is apt to become lumpy if aUowed to lay in the sun after ploughing. Never use a tooth-harrow, aa it will draw out tho manure. I smooth the ground aa follows: Take a plank eight feet long, one foot vndc, 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 loarda. The front plank standing etlgewise as it moves along, will level the furrows, while the boards behind will smooth them. Wood aahes, at the rate of from one to two hundred bushels to tho acre, harrowed in, will pay double their cost in most cases. After you have leveled and smoothed your ground aa much as con- venient with your team and levcler, uso the hand- rake, leaving tho surface aa fine and even oif po&'*ible. In order to have your rows straight, draw a line across the field. Draw tho planting-machine by tho line. These machines for planting, which cost about five doUara, plant two drilla at a time, one foot apart, and .ibout half an inch deep. I use four pounds of aoed to the acr?, and cover by drawing a liand-rake length- wise over the drilla. The usual time of sowing hero in tho southern part of Connecticut, is from the first to the fifteenth of April A hand-roller drawn over the ground after planting, will help tho seed to germinate. About two weeks ia required to bring up the seed, and they should be hoed aa soon aa 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, ia eight inches long and one and a half wide, inserted in a handle six feet long. Much depends upon how the hoe stands, about ita working easy. If made right, the dirt will slide over it. After tho weeds that are cut up by tho hoe, have had time to die, they should begone over carefully one row ata time, cutting and pulling every weed from the row. The most con- venient way for doing this, is to crawl on your knees with a small hoe in one hand, to cut where there is room, and pull with tho other hand. The hoe for this purpose should bo about threo inches long, three fourths of an inch wide, inserted in a handle eight inchea long. From thia time they should bo kept perfectly free from weeds; to do this, they will require going over from three to five timea, or once in two weeks ; but aa to this, there can be no rule given, aa much depends upon tho soil, the kind of manure, weather, etc. 14 HOW TO RAISE ONIONS. It is much easier to keep them clean by going over them ofceu, than to put it o£f too long; besides, weeds shade the ground and impoverish the soil. There should be no trees to shade the onions, as they will liardly 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 the 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 off tlie weeds as before. Continue thus through the field. Pull with your hands, and lay them 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 them 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 their keeping well, is in carting them when perfectly dry. If they are to be disposed of before cold weather, they can be kept in any dry place where they will have air. Tlie best place is on a loose floor, where the air will draw under them. If they are to be kept through the winter, have a tight floor, which the frost can not get under. On this lay scanthng, upon which lay naiTow boards, with cracks between them. Board up around the outside, leaving a space of one foot be- tween them and the outside partition. Arranged in this way, you liave 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 kind, two feet thick over them, and they will come out good in the spring. Before sending to market, cut the top one inch from the onion. If they get frozen, let 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 about as follows : 20 loads of manure at $1.50 $30.00 Carting, turnfug, spreading, etc 6.00 100 bushels ashes, at 17 cts 17.00 Ploughing and harrowing, 400 Raking and sowing, 4.00 4 lbs. of seed, at $1, 4 00 Hoeing four times, 6 days, 6.00 "Weeding four times, 24 daj'S, 20.00 Pulling and piling, 12 days, 10.00 Drawing in with team, two days, 6.00 Topping 500 bushels, at 2 cts., 10.00 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, I have been very particular in the above description, but after they have liad 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 after j^ear with success. The weeding, pulling, 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 j'^oar, not far from 2.00,000 (two hundred thousand) bushels. EXPEBLEXCE OF PRACnCAX GROWERS. 15 No. VIII. BY G. I. MILLER, NIAGARA, CANADA WEST. It is of the greatest importance in growing onions to have the right kind of soil, and that in the highest stito 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 tiie seasons are not too drj^. To prepare the ground, I would recommend a piece that has been planted with potatoes, manured with rotten horse-stable manure, at tiie 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 tlic first of April, or as soon as the ground will a-lmit of being worked, then adding about ten loads of hog-manure, well sprcvl over the surface, and plough under from five to six inches deep, after which spread a few bushels of hen-manure, and then harrow tlio ground until it is well pulverized. Tlio land is now ready to sow, for the earlier tho seed is sown, the better tho onions will be. Testing the seed can bo done by cutting two sods ftxjm tho ground, and pouring boiling water over them, letting tlie water drain well olT, then placing tho seed between the sods, and laying them under tho stovo for about two days, when the seed, if gooil, will sprout I would recommend the largo rod globe onion as being tho best variety for market Tho seed should bo sown by a seed-drill, eighteen inches apart, in rows lengthwise of tho land, at the rate of about throe to throe and a half pounds of seed per acre, leaving a space of three feet in the dead fur- rows for weeds, etc. It is necessary, as soon as 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 wili be necessary to apply the hoe every two weeks, always bearing in mind, that the oftcner the ground is stirred, the greater will bo the produce. After the tops aro dropped down and withered, then pull them at once, fur if left in tho above condition, they will take the second growth, which will injure tho quality materially. After they arc pulled up, let them lay on the ground for a few days to dry, then top them with a sharp knife, taking care before doing tliis, that tho onions aro perfectly dry ; after whicli, spread them thin, in a dry, cool place, and then you have them ready for the market It is advantageous to grow them on tho same piece of ground for five or six ycai-s, 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 tho aforesaid plan have taken the first prizes for the last six years at our county and township show.*', and tlie first prize at tiio Provin- cial Agriculture Show, held at Toronto, Camada YTest, on September 28th, 1858. No. IX. BY U. E. DODGE, CHATAUftTJE CO., N. Y. Sekd. — To cultivate onions successfully, and with- out failures, care is necessary in selecting and raising seed. Seed should never be sown when over two years 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 flx)m December until the opening of .spring. At tho earliest possible moment they should be set in furrows opened with the plough, three foet apart, and four inches in tho rows. None but fine, well-pulver- ized land, should hi used for raising onion-sccd. Cover two inches deep. Avoid putting on any lumps or stones, as these, whenever they fall upon the onions, retard their coming up, and consequently make an un- even harvest. All weeds must bo kept down with tho cultivator and hand-hoe, until the seed matures, which will be about tho last of August, or the first of September — never later than tho sixth of Septem- ber in this latitude. Their maturity may bo easily known by the cracking of the balls. As soon as the balls commence cracking, the heads should be clipped, leaving six or eight inches of the stalk adhering to the head. The juice or sap which the stalk contains, ma- tures more perfect seed than when clipped short. Tho mode of cutting, is to take a common wooden pail in tlie left hand, and a sharp knife in tho other, holding the blade parallel with the thumb. Slip the stalk be- tween the thumb and knife, at the same time swing up the pail to the standing 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, arc 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 this 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 bo turned twice every day, until perfectly dry. The first quality of seed is obtained from that which shells while turning; that which remains, and has to be threshed from the balls, being hght, and of inferior quality. Soil. — That best adapted to tlie 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 undcrdrauaed, and otherwise mechanically prepared. Preparation op 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 manure, 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 mches 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 larvas 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 will 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, and 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 the acre, with a seed-drill, being careful to gauge the drill not to sow over that quantity. All over that, increases the labor of thinning. If the weather has the appearance of being dry, it would be well to roll, afler sowing, with a hand-roller; but this is seldom required, as the roller upon the drill usually presses the ground sufficiently for the germina- tion of the seed. Culture. — As soon as the onions make their ap- pearance above the ground, sufficient to distinguish the rows, they should be carefully dressed through with the scuffle-hoe, to destroy all young weeds that may ho j starting, and greatly facilitate the first hoeing and I weeding, which should be done when the plants are ' about four inches high. Procrastination here pays heavy interest on the wrong side. Thin to three inches in the row diagonally thus : * '^ .• Great 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 thfeo 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 ; its 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 the 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 is not safe to defer sowing later than tlie 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 ' drafl:s upon the bank of muck and manure, a few acres of onions will increase the deposits at the Bank of Exchange a large per centage 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 hundred bushels : EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GRO^V^ERS. 11 2 days' ploughing and dragging, $4.00 10 " raking and sowing, 10.00 20 " weeding and tli inning, first time, 20.00 15 " " " second time, 1 5.00 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 IlAUVESTrxo onions is not so Jaborious as many other kinds of vegetables ; their maturity being earlier in the .soa.«on, those engaged iu their culture arc not exposed to the late cold autumn wind;?, as they would be with a crop of beets, carrots, or turnips. Tho most expeditious mode of harvesting is to dig them with tho common hand-hoe, running one corner of the hoo under tho row, j^iving it a long draw, taking about four rows at a time, digging over some ten or twelve fo6t; then, with the back of tho hoe, ghovo them up three or four feet, and hoo tho ground level, and spread the onions upon this hoed space. When treated in thU way, they should He from three to fuur wcek.^ or until perfectly dry. They should then bo picked from tho bed, and cartetl 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 upou the ground, in con- scqucnco of tho dampness which they draw from the earth. If properly tlried, 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 imjiortant that the cultivator see that this part of the work be conducted thoroughl_v and carefully. MAnKKTiXG. — Onions aro principally sold by the bushi'l, and by tho string. If intended to market by tlie bushel, the tops should bo 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 tho 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 tho onions, packing tiirht, that that there bo 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 tho onion. The strings are made })y tiiking a few straws, (rj-e straw is best.) and with a piece of wrapping twino, commence at the butt end of tho 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 upon the outsido of the string. The largest should be tied upon the bottom of tho string, gradually diminishing in size, until the smallest are tied upou tho top. This gives tho string a conical form, and a neat and tidy appearance, when arranged for sale. Presertatiox. — Keeping through the winter, with- out injury from frosts, or loss from heating and grow- ing, requires care and experience, and various methoili are adopted to avoid those results. They are buried in large ricka upon tho ground, and covered with a heavy coat of straw and a liglit coat of earth. They arc also lied upon strings, and hung upon the beams in tho cellar or warm garret, or spread thinly upon shelves in the cellar. Some pack in boxes or barrels, enca.sed with several thicknesses of paper, and leave them in an out-building. All thcso have been practised with varied success. The most popular mode, and the ono which has given the most satisfactory result.s, is to spread straw, threshed with a flail, to the depth of twelve to eighteen inches upou tho barn-floor, soaflVild, or garret ; uijon this, spread tho onions from six to ten inches thick, and cover with straw eighteen inches to two feet, laying on old pieces of boards or rails to com- press tho straw. Treated in this way, if at a sufTicient depth from frost, they aro not afTected by tho changes of temperature, and keep in fine condition till the first of May. Onions aro propagated from seed, sets, and multi- pliers, or potatoe-onions. The universal mode of pro- pagation at tho South and West is from sets, which are obtained by sowing tho seed very thickly, broad- cast or in drills, and when they obtain tlie size of a filbert, pull them, and dry upon tho ground in tho sun. These are kept till the following spring, and set by hand. They make a quick, strong growth, and produce fine onions. Multipliers are a variety that produce largo and small bulbs alternately, tho large producing several small ones tho first year, and these small giv- ing large the next year. These may bo recommended as a small early crop for family use, and early home market, but not as a main crop, tho increase of market- able onions over tho seed being too small. Of all tho various modes of propagation, sowing the seed for a mam crop deserves first rank ; its cheapness, compared with other modes, and the facility 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 remunerative crops, unless ho bestows careful atteution to tho selec- tion of seed, tho eradication of weeds during the jwriod of their growth, annual application of well-com- posted manure, and in 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 large profits upon tlio capital invested. 18 HOW TO EAISE ONIOXS. No. X. BY W. R. BUNNELL, BRIDGEPORT, FAIRFIELD CO., CT Kinds. — The thick or globular deep-red onion, known as the Wethersfleld Large Red, is the kind generally grown in Fairfield county, Ct. It grows to a good size when thinly sown on good ground, yields well, 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, wliich 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 only 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 m 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 washing 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. — No fresh yard-manure should be used, as it is apt to bo full of seeds, which will greatly increase the labor of tending, and the straw wiJl be in the way of ploughing, raking, and hoeing. Night-soil or hog- manuro is preferred. If barnyard manure is used, it should be thrown into heaps beforto the first of March, to kill the seeds and ripen for use by heating, or it may bo carried out to the field and each load be lieapcd by itself, and the earth around tlirown upon them as soon as it thaws, to the depth of three or more inches, to keep off 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 middle a week or two before using, will still further im- prove 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 o.x-cart loads to the acre, 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 be covered in the next bout. Once ploughing is suCBcient, if well done. A second would throw out the manure. Im- mediately after ploughing, if your quantity of manure was not sufiQcient, strew any special manures, as pou- drette, guano, superphosphate, 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, or 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 cheapest and quickest done with a machine, called an onion-sower, which 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 the acre — 3|- to 4 is the usual quantity for a crop which is not to be tliinned 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, distrib\iting the seed with the thumb and fingers at the same distances as stated for the machine, and much straighter and more evenly, but it is a tedious EXPERIENCE OP PKACTICAL GROWERS. 19 process. la either caao it should bo most carefully and regularly done, and on a still day, or tbo wind will scatter it beyond tho drills. Tho stravjhter and nar- rower the seed ia sown in tho drills, tho narrower will be the space left to weed after hoeing. Radishes or some quick-growing seed may bo sowed thinly, one or two seeds to a foot, to direct in hoeing the first time, as tlio onion tops are so fine they can scarcely bb seen, oxocpiirig when tho dew ia on. The radisiies may be suU'ercd to grow, and bo gathered for market. liOEixc}. — The first hoeing should bo commenced when tho rows can first be distinguished, with a hoe eight inches long, made by cutting off tho back of an old grass-scythe, fiattcning the blade, and punching a small liole within three fourths of an inch from each end, without heating it. to which a forked braco with goose-necks must be riveted through tho goose-heads, to attach it to a light, long handle, u.sually that of a hay-rako. Tho beveled edge of tho plate should be down, and tho heads of tho rivets sunk. With this hoe proceed to scrape onco in llio middle between the rows, with a reach of two feet or more, barely shaving off tho weeds without brcjiking through Uio crust, carrying along one or more sjiaces. Keep the hoo in good order by nibbing on a fiat stone, or grinding, and if it dogs, which it will do on new-ploughed ground for two or three years from the sotl, push it along on tlio ground as you step forward, or clean with a stick. Tlio Siime proccs.*, which is light work, and quickly done, may bo repeated witli advantage within a week, but in a fortnight from first hoeing, or less, according to tho size of tho weeds, hoo again, only breaking up tho crust, say about half an inch deep, loosening but not moving tho earth out of place, in the middle of the spaces a-s before, or, which is better, with two strokes, ono close to each row, making nearly a double hoeing, which, if the rows can bo distinctly or readily seen, ia tlie best manner for tho first hoeing. Wkepino. — Tho weedors. upon their /jondsanf/A-nee*, should follow close upon the last hoeing, with onion- weoders, made from table knives by breaking off the blades to two or two and a half imhes from the han- dles, and heating the end to bend it a little to one side, so as to fit it to tho ciir\-o of the thumb, and cooling it immediately, to rettuii its temper. The back should then be ground to an edge, and tho comers rounded, so as to work it in either hand. The wcetls should be cut off below tho crowns of their roots, say half an inch under ground, or, which is bettor, loosen the ground two inches deep on each side of tho row; by drawing tho knife or weeder, thrust into tho ground to the handle, and turned a little sideways in tho hand, at a steep angle towards and on one side of the row, and two inches from it, and then by changing hands, on the other, when, if properly done, the ground will ' bo loosened, so that the weeds can casil}' Ik? scraped or pulled out Willi their roots and then the earth should be pressed back upon tho roots of tho onions by the palms of tho hands, to hold them firm, and to prevent withering if they have been injured. The weeds will cause much more injury to tho crop if not eradicated, than they will suffer from cutting off tho onion-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 bo no hilling or hauling away of dirt, but tho surface should bo kept level. Gathering. — "When tho tops die and fall, the crop should bo pulled and spread evenly over tho ground to dry or cure. Tho scallions (thick-necked or green onions) with the weeds, if a>iy, should be thrown into heaps or carried off. After three or four days' drying, turn them over carefully with tho 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 tho dead tops off one inch from tho bulbs, and barrel to send away; but if wished for storing, they may bo left in heaps sorao weeks, or carried under cover on a floor with tho tops on, and piled around tho sides of a bam floor, three feet high, or put into bins with slats on tho sides, and not close, like oiien horse-stalls, fill- ing every other one, and putting strips of boards across the ends and through them, or slanting them up so as not to need supports, and Icavo all tho doors ojKjn. After a week or ten days' drying as above, put them under cover in any airy pbce, as a slied, but watch and examine every few days to see if they aro gather- ing moisture, heating and growing; if so, open and spread to dry again. Stouixg for Wixter. — If tho onions are to bo kept upon a bam 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 hnrd freezing weather sets in, cover one to two feet deep with ha}', straw, or any similar sub.«tance, filling all the spaces around the heap. Do not disturb them if frozen, until tho frost Is out, which may bo 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 tho 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 these nail two or three tiers of ton-inch boards two or three inches apart, and na far above tho floor, leaving a wide space, two to four feet at each end, to pass rountl, and for free circulation of air. Then place everj- 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 on each tier of side-boards, with civets 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 width of the bin, about one foot apart, running lengthwise — and tlius on each tier of side-boards as they are filled, usmg loose side-boards for the top, as high as wished 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 efteetu- ally ventilate and prevent heating. The onions should bo well dried and have their tops left on, and when first frozen be covered with one or more thicknesses of carpets or old gai-ments, and have them hung around their sides. Freezing does them no apparent injury, if they are fliawed gradually. When wished for winter's sale, the temperature should not be below freezing, nor much above it, which will have to be regulated by stoves, or by moving them to dry cellars when 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 just below the tops, and spread them on a cham- « ber-floor to dry, and thresh out any time when needed. Or, as mice are very fond of it, spread a few days on sheets in the sun, and when dry, rub the seed out in 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 place out of the reach 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. Now 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 it altogether about eight inches deoi) 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 inches of the surface was aU quite fine. I liave a marker that marks four drills at a time, one foot apart, about one inch deep. A small seed-sower is best for plant- ing. Care must bo taken not to sow too thick, unless you are near a market where you can sell green onions ; then it docs 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-roller go evenly over the piece each way, and leave it till the onions make their appear- ance. In cultivating, use a light sharp tooth-ralce, 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 keeji the top from crasting. Attend to this at first well, and you will not regret it. Abbut June, as soon as the onions are up enough, tliin out to about four inches in the row, pulling out at the same time what few weeds are growing with them, and after 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. Good 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 best and handsomest I ever saw. You could hardly tell one from the other. When the tops begin to fall down, I go over them EXPElilKNCE OF rUAt.TICAL GROWERS. 21 and prc?s thorn all gently down with a rake-head, or something of that sort, and as soon as the roots lot go of the soil, I use a wooden-toothed rake and turn them over, if it is likely to he fine a day or two, and then pick them up and carry them to a slicd or ham-floor, and lay them out thin, till perf.-ctly dry. After this, a good dry cellar I believe is the best place to keep them. They told me in Illinois when I left, that I could not grow onions in Iowa as I did there, but I find I can, and I believe better ; but I have not begim to grow them in the field yet, as we have no market for thorn. They pay well if you have a market, if you manure well, and care for them as you should. No. XII. BY J. B. WAXEMAN, FAIRFIELD CO., CT. It is over twcnty-flvo 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 Panvers, Mass., where it has been sUited they raL«o more than 200,000 bushels n year. But New- York market is mostly supplied from this section. It would bo rather a low estimate to place the yield of this town at 1 10,000 buslicls a year. Great crops were formerly raised in Wethers- lield, but of an inferior quality, rather small, and sent to market in bunches. I think I can say, from the time that I first con*- mcnced raising onions, up to the present time, I have raisetl more bushels to the acre than any other person about here. The first and mast important item is the seed. It is very important to know what kind of onions it wa.s raised from. In other crops wo can generally tell by the looks of the seed, whether it is good or not. Not so with onions. It is impossible to toll by the looks of the seed whether it will raise Bcallions, 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 ne.ar here, which raised mostly scallions without bottoms. It has been estimated by many that it was a loss to them of from ton to twelve thousand doUai-a. 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 ne.xt 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 wo can not judge what the result will bo if we do not know what kind of onions our seed was raised from. Wo have, by selecting the largo round deep onion from year to year, improved our quality and quantity, so that wo raise six to nine hundred bushels whore wo once raised not more than three to five hundred bushels. Wo select the most solid, largest, deepest, and brightest for seed. Seed- onions should bo kept ftom freezing. A light freezing will sometimes injure the chit or germ. The best ground for raising tliom 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 com or potatoes — I prefer corn^-one or ' two years. It should be highly manured, and not a single wcetl allowed to go to seed. When the corn- crop is gathered, prepare the ground in tho fall for the next year's crop of onions, by putting on twenty cart- j loads of well-rotted manure, fifty bushels to the load, per 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 at the same time. It is not more than half tho work to prepare ground for the seed, that was ploughed in tho fall, and the yield is as good, if not better. Ilog- manurc is the best, but gny 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. Tho ground in the spring should be prepared for tho seed as soon as it is dry, by harrowing with tooth and brush, until tho ground is level. It will not do to have tho ground too mellow. It should bo rather hard to have the onions bottom well. It needs to bo very mellow, about an inch deep, and raked off level. It requires from throe to four pounds of seed to the acre. I sow them by a machine made very simple, and costing from two to four dollars. It sows two rows at once, twelve inches apart, the wheels being six inches from the hoppers that drop the seed. Tho first row must be perfectly straight, which will bo 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 tho lino where the seed is. Wlien they get up so that I can sec tho rows, I ' commence hoeing them, and as soon as there are any weeds to bo 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 ore some fiirmers that lose one third or more of tlieir crop by not taking proper care of them, and lot- 22 UOW TO RAISE ONIONS. ting t,he weeds 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, pile 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 seemed 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 ground, than it has an acre since, owing to the ground being full of foul seed. 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 time within twelve years, but that onions would bring two dollars a barrel in the course of the year. There is one thing that flirmers 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 sixty cents to one dollar per barrel before they get into the consumers' hands. No. XIII. BY LOUIS STRADER, GREEN CO., KY. ...J 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 and best-shaped sets to raise from. They attain their full size the first year after planting. To raise the sets, select large, sound, and well-formed onions. Planting, Cultivation, Etc. — I much prefer plant- ing in the fall; they come much earlier, the yield is larger, and they are safer in the ground after planting than elsewhere through the winter. Plant about the middte 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, highly manured with well-rolted stable-manure. Plough or spade up the land some nine inches deep, when the ground is in good working condition. Avoid working the land when too wet, aa it causes it to bake, which is a great drawback to the growth of onions. Pulver- ize the soil thoroughly with a hand-rake, by drawing it back and forth until all the clods are broken fine^ Cut two sticks 18 inches long, and tie one to each end of a line, wiiich 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 sticks at each end of the line as a measure, sticking them down 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 surface of the ground. Then place the large onions in the drills 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 earth so as to make 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 something of the sort, to protect them during winrer. They should be uncovered in the spring 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 lop of the onions, that they may be exposed to the sun, which will ripen them. The earth 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 EXPERIENCE OF PKACTIOAL GKOWERS. 23 tied in bunches, and hung up in an open shed, until thoroughly seasoned ; or if the crop is large, they may be spread thin in an open loft, until seasoned, when they may be barrelled up and sent to market. The above mode of culiivalion applies to sets as well as to tho grown onions. The sets should be taken up and treated in the same manner as the large onion?. If they are not planted in the fall, they should bo planted in the spring as early as the ground will bear working, observing the same directions as in fall planting ; omitting tho covering of them. In the northern and middle parts of thfe United States, sets, and other onions designed for planting, should be kept in ;i warm and dry cellar, boxed up and mixed with dry dirt — that is, when they are not planted in the fall. Red Oxioxs are not so prolific, are very strong and highly scented, but are hardy, and keep well through 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 modo of cultivation is to be obser^'ed with these, as laid dov/n 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 as already laid down for the other varieties. • No. XIV. BY R. I., PLYMOUTH CO., MASS. "With tlio onion-grower, soil and position are the first and by no means tiie least important. You can make them grow on almost any soil under favorable circum- Etances, 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 levfl aa you can have it, so as to prevent copious showers from washing out the seed — which I have known occur on slightly-inclined grades. When tho 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 neces.sary, 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 tlie 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. lie was positive I could not raise onions 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, I directed him to plough a garden, part of it for onions, only a few inches deep. On examining the piece, and inquiring 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 tho piece until it was thoroughly packed down, put on the dressing, and worked it in with a horse-cultivator, planted eleven by 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 tho 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 tho field were tho most afTected 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 incor3x>rated with the soil in as fine a state as possible, which will save much after-labor. Do tho best you can, you will find enough refuse stuff to rake off. You need not fear doing this part of tho job too well. Some apply good fine sea-weed in the fall, and plough in; others use fish, but these, aa 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 tho same spot continuous years. There seems to be something valuable in the tops, leaves, roota, etc., left after a crop is taken off, that ia of service to the growth of a suc- ceeding one. A few years since, I used four hundred pounds of 24 HOW TO RAISE ONIONS. Peruvian guano on one hundred rods of ground, where corn had been raised the previous season. From this piece I, or rather 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 bajreling, or selling by the bushel. The same is the case if you wish to obtain large-sized tubers, without so 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 fingers 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 — not 80 strong as the red. A serious objection to these is their liability to decay, and the necessity, of course, for a ready market and quick consumption. The three varieties I have named are all sufficient for you to select from, according as your market may require. As soon as your onions show themselves above the surface, commence hoeing and weeding, as the weeds 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. I the first ripe are suffered 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 : 6 6 ? ? 6 6 ? ? so that when you commence topping, you take the onion in your left hand, which will bring the top iu 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 off 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 in 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 time, don'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 less as you can. EXPERIIilXCE OF P1:A(_TRAL GJIOWEUS. 1^5 During the cold winter of 1856-57, I kept two hundrod bushela 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 filled the space between them and outside of building 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 tliem 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 onion-grower raising his own seed — ^s good seed is all 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 find that your onions will more and more partake of this character, weigh more and keep better than the Hat or ovol-shapeJ. Onions are required by law to weigh fifiy-si.x pounds to tliQ bushel, and flat saucor-shaped ones will not come up to tho standard. If you wish to have early onions for marketing, sow in September, cover the bed, when the frost first hard- ens tho 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 tho start of those put in, in the spring. Tiiero is a variety called Potato Onion, that is early and much used by market-gardeners. They grow from planting tho tuber, attaching themselves around j the one planted. I 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, 1 took up a piece for onions containing an acre and six rods. Soil good, some weeds, and some email stones to be 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 as 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 llx5§ inches. These crops were unusually large. I also kept .in 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, tool.", etc, etc., and fjund 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 IT to keep clean iu wet seasons. They never cost me over twenty, nor under thirteen cents per bushel. As to prico obtained, I am not so well able to sLite, as I often sold in different places, and at different times, and account of sales going in with otkcr 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 tho above statement, tho conclusion is reached, that I have fouud the cultivation of onions profitable, and that any one may do the same under favorable circumstances. No. XV. BY SAMUEL BOUTON. FAIRFIELD CO., CT. VARiETiEa. — Onions will grow on almost any soil that is not too dr^-. The kind of onions which 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 be found tho best, as they are very solid and firm, and their keeping qualities can not be sur- passed. If for a fall market, that variety known as the Wcthersfteld Red is better, as tho yield will be sorae- what greater, and they will In; ripe a few days earlier. If for an early market, potato onions should be raised. The advania^jes of tho potato onion over the other kind, arc, first, an earl}- market and the us© of the ground for some other crop, after they aro off; and second, a high prico, and one third less labor in their cultivation. The disadvantages arc, first, a great out- lay is required for seed ; and second, it is difficult to keep the seed during tho winter. I would not recom- mend them for field cultivation, unless on a small scale. As the mode of cultivation for thcEe different kinds ia essentially the same, one description will answer for tho whole. Seed. — The seed should be procured of some reliable seed-grower, if possible out of tho immcdiato neighborhood, as seed brought from a distance will do better than that which is grown on the ground, where the crop is to be raised. If this can uot bo done, the seed may be raised on the spot. Sound, firm roots should bo selected for seed. They should bo put in tho ground as soon as tho frost is out They should bo set in rows, twelve inches apart one WTiy, by about six the other. Light poles or twine may be run 26 HOW TO RAISE ONIONS. through the rows to support the stalks, otherwise they will be 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 leather mittens, or, if the quantity is large, it may be threshed by the flail. The dust may now be separated by the fan. The seed should then be put into water suflQcient to cover it, when the blasted, if any, will swim. These should be thro^\Ti away ; the remainder may be carefully dried and put up for use. Care should be talcen 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 is 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 crop of scallions may be the only product. Manure. — The best manure for onions, is night-soil. Twenty loads, of twenty-five bushels each, will do for an acre of ground. If this can not be had, something 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 unfermented 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, tlien a coat of muck, about the same thickness, and proceed in this way, till the whole is finished. The heat aris- ing from the manure will rapidly decompose the muck, while the muck will retain the ammonia arising from tlio manure, and thus both will be 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-ashes, 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 bo 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 none of these can be had, fine well-rotted barnyard manure should be applied at the rate of not less than thirty loads to the acre. Tlie manure should be spread evenly over the ground, and ploughed immediately in, six or eight inches deep. The subsoil plough should be run in every furrow, sixteen or eighteen inches deep. The ground should now bo ploughed with a surface-plough, ten or twelve inches deep. If two himdred pounds of the best Peruvian guano be now sowed on and harrowed in, it will give the plants a fine start. The ground should be raked with a garden- rake, and made as level as possible. Planting and Cultivation. — The seed may now be planted ; four pounds of seed will be sufficient for an acre. The rows should be twelve inches apart. The drill should be so constructed as to plant the seed in hUls, 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 by 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 stuTed 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. This will bo sufficient for an acre of ground. • At the second hoeing, carrots may be drilled between the rows, if desired. Drilled in at this time, they will be no injury to the onion crop, and I have frequently known the carrots to pay all the expense of cultivating both crops. If this is not done, it is well to sow the ground with common turnips before the last hoeing, as a good crop may be raised in tliis 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, tliey 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 gathered 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 bo found the best place for keeping onions — the cellar of some out-building, as a barn or carriage-house. The cellar of a dwelling- house is generally too warm. A little freezing will do them no harm. A bin should be made in some dry corner, with a floor raised a few inches from the ground. Care should be taken to keep them perfectly dry, or they will be very likely to rot. Care should likewise be taken in carting and placing in the cellar, that the onions are not bruised, or they will soon decay. Ground treated as above described, may be planted with onions every year in succession, and if this treatment is perse- vered in, the crop will improve for several years. EXPERIEXCE OF PEACTICAL GKO^VEES. 27 No. XVI. BY THOMAS FULTON, WAYNE CO., PA. Qualities of Land. — To raise a good crop of onions, the land is required to be, Ist. Xev), that is, lately brought ia from rich sod, and then there will be but few weeds to contend with in the culture ; 2d. Rich on ili£ top : the land can not be made too rich for onions, but the richness should be on the top of the laud, as the onion roots will not descend into the ground more than an inch or an inch and a half at furthest ; and ;{d. The land should be well setUed, as, if the land be rich and soil, the onions will grow to tops, or wliat are called (in Flurope) " scallions," but if the land has been well settled, Ihoy will grow to roots, or what is called onions. PnErARATio>f OF Groukd. — To obtain the above result.'*, the land should be prepared the previous year. In Europe, especially in the north of Ireland, where onion.s are extensively raised as a paying crop for market, the land (generally rich sod) is ploughed early ill spring, neatly and light, into narrow ridges, saj- five feet ridge and furrow, and alx)ut the middle of May, the land i.s harrowed, and the manure (good barnyard) put on : the ridges are lined out four feet wide, and the manure .spread evenly and broken fine. It is then plai.ted with potatoes. The seed is dropped in rows iiero.<»3 the ridge, al>out eight inches apart in the row, and tlie rows about a foot from each other. The pota- toes are liien 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 " btul.s " are bursting the top of the land. Tlien the f'lrrows are 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, afier which they require no more lalx)r (except weeding, which should not be neglected, lest the seeds of Iho weeds remain and give trouble in the en.suing 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 ricli mould on the top of iho ridge. The land remains in this way until sowing-time the ensuing spring. The land is well raked with an iron garden-rake. This will make sufficient 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 piissing a hand-roller over it; this is called sowing on the " winti'r f'tcf," and I have never seen this fail to produce a pood crop of onions. I have seen acres pre- pared and raised in this way. Tlio objection to the above mode of preparing the land in this country is, that it requires a good deal of manual labor, which is scarce and expensive here. Where this is the case — Second Method. — I would say, plough rich sod, sow it in buckwheat, and wlien the buckwheat ia cut and taken off, plough the land neatly and light into narrow ridges, five feet ridge and farrow ; let it remain for some time to settle and rot any weedi", then harrow well and put on the manure. Mark or line out the ridges four feet wide, leaving one f»x)t 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 arid put in the onion seed on the '• winter face," as al)ove. I have not tried this, but I believe it will be found to produce a good crop. Third Method. — To prepare the land the full pre- vmus 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 fi>ur feet wide, leaving a foot for a furrow between the ridges. Then take a hoe, and draw the mould evenly about an inch and a half deep from half-way acro.«s the ridges on either side, to the place marked out for tlie furrow ; spread the manure on the ridge (thus hollowed) evenly, and brc.ik 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 bac^ of a spade. FOCRTH Method. — To prepare the land at the time of sowing the onion seed: dig it a foot deep, mark out tlie ridges as in third method, and spread on the manure, which should be well-rotted cow-dung. Ilorse-duiig is not good — it has a tendency to get dry and mouldy. Break the manure very fine, and cover it out of the furrow an inch and a half deep; pass the rake over ir, 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 raised, or saw raised, were in this last way ; but the manure was taken out of the privy, and mixed with an equal quantity of 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. Wfiile ghhe or irhitefUit, mixed with a little red, say one third red, will do well. Time of sowi.vg the Seed. — In this country we 28 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 vegetation has set in, then I would sow the seed; about a seed to the square inch is sufficient. "Weeding the Onioxs. — 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 : then they are liable to injure the roots of the onions in pulling them, and if allowed to grow large, they exhaust the land, the whole strength of which should go to raise the onions. Management of the Crop. — When the onions have got up to be pretty large in the tops, (in Europe,) those of them which do not show a disposition to make a lieacl, but grow up with a luxuriant top, (these they call "scallions,") are pulled out, and taken to market; this gives room and air to those that are forming the onion at the root. When they begin to ripen, which they will 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 off; this will prevent the sap from going to the top, and cause them to grow at the root. When they get ripe and fit for pulling, which will be shown by the tops withering off, puU those that are thus withered off, and dry them on cloths until they are thoroughly dried. Those whose tops are not fully withered, leave remaining some time longer, and twist the to^is a little more severely ; and when you think they will make no further improvement by remaining, pull them all up, and string them like apples, passing the 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 off, and v/'th a penknife open the dry peels a little off above the head, and with the blade of the penknife scoop the stems out of the heart of the onion, and clos,^ 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 hundred and twenty perches of a five foot wide ridge and furrow, which will, if well 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. Ip 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 untQ 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 of 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 " Wethersfield red;" I prefer the latter. The Wethersfield reds look best in the half-bushel, yield best, and sell best in market. If you take any other kind, look out for good yiclders. Preparation of Ground. — Select interval, made land, that seems to have been brousrht from all direc- tions ; no matter if there is a good proportion of muck. But if it is clear muck, cart on gravel, a good mixture. If your ground be clay, cart on loam or any kind of fight 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 tliis early, and have tlio 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 pulverize as fine as possible. Strike out your ground EXPEEIJEXCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 29 in handsome form. Thca if you have enough ground to pay, get a professional scod-sower. IIo wiil como with a littlo machine, and sow three or four rows at a time as fast as ho can walk. Gauge your machine so as to have the onions, when grown, so near as to touch each other. But havo the rows so far apart, tliat a common hoe will pass between. Do not bo afraid of tramping your ground, especially if the soil is light. Weeiiixo. — 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 Uxt 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 llio onion too deep, nor leave it so as to fall this way and that, by taking away too much dirt from it. , "Top 0x10X9" or "Potato." — When your ground IS ready, have a sort of furrowing instrument. It is a home-made thing. Make a thing ju.st like a rake, with uo teeth in it ; then put in as many teeth as }'0U wish to mark rows with, once going across the bod. Or instead of teeth, nail on rockers. Then push the rake so made, before you. And when you return, place the end-rocki-r in the outside furrow ; thus do until your rows aro all marked. Sowixa. — Take your onions or seed in a basket by your side, go down on your knees, and put in one at a lime. Hut bo sure you put it right end up, or the onion will grow heels over head. Cover the seed just ont of sight. Salt. — When you have done planting or sowing your onions, whatever kind tliey 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 tlie dew is on, or after a shower, take dry unleachcd 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 aro growing. And I had forgotten to say that coal-dust, taken from old coal-pit:3 or from forges, with leached ashes coated on, and well mixed in the ground before ploughing, will well pay. If your land is quite clayey, leave out the ashes. I think the coal-dust and salt, besides very much quickening the growth of these vegetables, keep ofl' the maggot-fly. Go into store-cellars, where they have sold fiali and meat, and they will give you the salt and brine. And when you are about it, get all they can spare. Then if you have any to spare, put it on your muck heap, for other 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 tlicm 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 j-ou 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 oftenir get a dollar. For your seed potato-onions, you should h.ivo from two dollars to two and a half per bushel. The seed of the top-onions I havo usually sold for from four to five dollars per bushel. I havo .«ent out barrels of this seed to distant States, though I havo none now to sell. Of the top-onions, I have raised at the rate of seven hundred bu.shcl3 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, set 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 winder, 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 aro the lowest species of the onion. 30 HOW TO EAISE ONIONS. THE ONION FLY— Anthomyia Ceparnm. Fig. 1. In travelling through the county of Essex, N. T., a short time since, particularly along the beautiful plains in ihe vicinity of the Au-Sable River, I had my atteti- tion repeatedly attracted to the withered and sickly appearance of nearly all the fields of onions, throug-h which I pa-sed. Upon inquiring the cause, T wss in- variably told that it was ihe 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 difficulty 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 Ihe cultivation of which so considerable an amount of labor and experience have been expended. To such a degree liave their ravages extended in those countries, Fig. a. 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 efficient remedy for the destruction of their enemy. Much tmceriainty 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 daily access to the plants, shall establish a series of practical observations on their habits, and in this manner trace them through their various stages of existence, up to the perfect fly. Until this is ac- complished, and not till then, will we with any degree of certainly be able to suggest any reasonable method for effectually removing them. If it be not done speedily, a knowledge of the proliflc manner of iheir 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 the Antlwmyia ctpoj-ttm, of Meigeu, or a species so closely allied, as to diifer but little from it in any of its habits. It is shown at e, fig. 1, somewhat magnified, the ac- tual length being indicated by the perpendicular, and the spread of the wings by the horizontal line, below the cut of the fly ; c and d, same fig., show the pupa, from which the insect emerges, c being the natural size, and d magnilied. It belongs to the second gen- eral division of the Mu-'^cides, that of the Anihoimjzides, which is composed of specie.-^, all of whom have greatly the appearance of common tlies. The lai-va of this insect, a in fig. 2, is about \ of an inch in length, fleshy, and of a wiiite color. It is of a conical form, with a smooth and shining surface, and 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, fig. 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 hvr dajs become hatched, the larvaj immediately penelrat- ing between the leaves to the bulb, upon which it preys unseen ; but the effects soon become visible, for Fig. 4. Fig. 5. 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 EXPERIENCE OF PKACTICAL GROWERS. 31 at maturity, and change to the pupa state, fig 5, and ID 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. Aa many as from one to five of the Iarv;c were fre- quently to be met with on a single plant. The perfect insect is about half the eize 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 npon the back. The head is marked wilh 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 browni.'»h yellow. This fly mny not unfrequently be met with in the Bpring of the year, basking in the sunshine about the windows of the neighboring dwellings. And from the circumstance of finding their larv:o in the greatest pro- fusion, committing their depredations in the middleand latter parts of August, we are inclined to believe that they pas« through several generations in a season, and that they probably make use of tlie seed of the plant, on which to deposit the egg for the larvx- of the en- suing spring. If this be so, steeping the seeds in brine, before sowing, we should supixxse would be the proper remedy ; if otherwise, the procces will not mate- rially aCTect their germination. They appear to show a distinct predilection for the white onion, in preference to that of any other color. This insect it is exceedingly difBcult to destroy. Strewing the earth with ashes has proved of little avail ; powdered charcoal answers a much better pur- pose, and is generally in use in this section of country, but it should ouly 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 aa early in the spring 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 bum them over ; after which, plant the seeds for the ensuing crop immediately. This pro- cess, it 'M stated, has proved perfectly successful in driving away the insects and insuring good crops, and in addition to tiiis, has furnished a capital top-dressing to the soil. Onion-beds prepared from the hearths upon which charcoal has been burned, have likewise been mentioned as producing the perfect vegetable, entirtly free from the attacks of the lly. Should the charcoal method here mentioned, bo 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 more heallliful crop of tlio onion plants hereafter. J. £. •\7"OIj. lO. 000 916 793 THE (ESTABLISHED IN 1842)-IS PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH, and also in GERMAN. The German Edition is of same size, and contains the same matter, Engravings, ETC., AS the English, and is furnished at the same price. 77/6 teachings of the AGRICULTURIST are confined to no /State or Territory^ hut are adapted to the vmnts of all sections of the country. As its name indicates, this Journal is fndy American in its character. Form and Size.— Each Number contains 32 large double-quarto pages — eacli page being more than double the size of the pages of this " Onion " pamphlet. Matter. — Every Number is iilled with a great variety of plain, practical, re- liable, and higlily useful information upon every variety of OUT-DOOK ai\d IN-DOOK work, 'including FIELD CROPS, FEMCIMG, DOMESTIC A]¥I- MALS, VEGETABEES, DAIRYING, HOUSEWORK, Etc., and is alike use- ful to cultivators of EARGE FARMS OR VIEEAGE PEOTS. >^OTE. — A Special Department is devoted to the Instruction and Amusement of Boys and Girls. 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