+

DETAILS OF EXPERIENCE,

From the Selection of Seed and Preparation of the

i Ground, to Harvesting and Marketing the Crop.
. STATEMENTS OF
| ;

SEVENTEEN PRACTICAL ONION GROWERS,

Residing in difforont sections of the country, most of whom have been en-
gaged from ten to thirty years in raising Onions largely for market, etc.;
to which is added an Illustrated Description of the Onion Fly.

‘AS Co;
< COPYRIGH)

—_—— -- -———_ seo oe

PUBLISHED BY ORANGE JUDD,
| Editor of American Agriculturist, -
1I89 WATER STREET, NEW-YORK.
1859.

re i e) Pt at to Act of Congress in the year 1859, by ORANGE JUDD, In the Clerk's Office of the District
if :% Court of the United vous for the Southern District of New-York.
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EXPLANATION.

[Tne following articles were written in response to a PREMIUM offered by the Editor of the American
Agriculturist, (New-York,) “for the best plain practical directions on raising onions; to be written by an ex-

perienced Onion Grower; not to exceed twelve pages of manuscript;

to embrace the various items, from the

selection of the seed to marketing the crop—all written out so plainly as to be useful to those who have had little

or no experience in the cultivation of this crop.”

An unexpectedly large number of good articles on this

subject were received from various parts of the country, all of which contain more or less of valuable hints
and suggestions, which will be generally useful. As room for but one or two only could be given in the
Agriculturist, the Editor conceived he would be doing good service to cultivators at large by selecting the
following essays, and publishing them in this convenient form—a suitable consideration having been offered

to the seve

writers, and their individual consent obtained. With slight verbal corrections, the several

articles are inserted here just as written. They follow each other about in the order received, without regard

‘to particular value. ]

‘ No. I.

[THE writer of the following has, we believe, had an experience of some thirty years in growing onious

for market.—Eb. ]

BY WM. J. JENNINGS, OF WESTPORT, CT.

SELECTION OF GROUND.—A deep loamy soil is con-
sidered the best for onions, though they will grow on
soil a large proportion of which is clay. A light
porous soil with a gravelly subsoil should be avoided.
The surface of the ground should be nearly level, as
hilly ground is liable to wash from heavy rains. In
selecting a piece of ground for onions, there are sey-
eral things that should be considered.

Ist. Ground that is stony should be avoided, unless
the cost of removing the stones is first considered.

2d. Ground that is overrun by weeds and trouble-
some grasses, should not be chosen until they are first
subdued.

3d. Ground that is shaded will not do; neither that
which is too wet to be worked early in the spring.

Having attended to the foregoing hints, it is also
important to select with reference to cultivating the
same ground for onions for an indefinite length of time,
for in so doing, the labor of first preparation is avoided ;
_ besides, each succeeding crop is more easily cultivated,
provided the previous work has been thoroughly done.

®

PREPARATION OF GROUND FoR SowinG. — Having
made a suitable selection of ground, the next thing to
be considered is its preparation. First gather out the
stones pretty thoroughly—putting the largest ones into
fences, the middling-sized ones into blind ditches, and
the smallest ones into the mud-holes of the roads. In
this way some good is done. Above all, avoid the
heathenish practice of emptying them by the road-
side, not only disfiguring the roads, but giving a har-
bor for briers, elders, and the ten thousand noxions
weeds that now infest such places. In the next place
give the ground a heavy coat of the best manure.
Hog-pen is the best home-made manure; next, stable,
if not too coarse; next, common barnyard, well rotted.
As to the quantity of manure on an acre, that must
be determined in part by the condition of the soil.
From twenty to thirty loads of forty bushels per load,
make a very good coat to begin with. After this is
deeply ploughed in, a top dressing of wood ashes—say
150 or 200 bushels to the acre, may be given, or from
300 to 500 lbs. of guano, or bones ground or sawed

2 HOW TO RAISE ONIONS,

are good, or any well-pulverized manure that will
not be in the way of the harrow and rake may be
be used. But take care not to use seedy manure if
you wish to save much labor and patience. Manure
may be carted on and ploughed under in the fall, or
in the spring just before sowing. If the ground is
ploughed in the fall, it will not be necessary to re-
plough in the spring. Fall ploughing should be put
off as long as possible—say to the middle of November.

Having manured and ploughed your ground, it is
now to be harrowed and raked, until it is as even and
smooth as a beet-bed. Harrows of either iron or
wooden teeth are first used to bring the ground toa
general level, and the stones to the surface; the brush
or bush-harrows are then used until the lumps are
pulverized, and the surface of the ground made
smooth, then wooden hand-rakes, of twelve teeth
each, are applied to take off the small stones and fin-
ish for sowing.

Manure for top-dressing may be harrowed or raked
in, and if guano is used, it is well to make a second
application during the growth of the crop, which may
be scuffled in by the hoe. All manure used should be
ploughed under or mixed with the soil immediately
after it is spread. ¢ :

Sowinc.—Now then the seed is to be committed to
the ground. And here a word or two of caution is
necessary. Be careful what seed is sown. If you are
under the necessity of buying seed, procure it of some
reliable man, a regular, honest onion-grower. It
should not be over one year old, and should sink when
placed in water. Better not trust to seed-merchants,
unless actually obliged to. Rather pay $5 per pound
for reliable seed, than get doubtful seed for nothing.
Having obtained your seed, say from three to four Ibs.
per acre, you now proceed to deposit it in the ground,
which is done, where onions are raised to much ex-
tent, by a simple machine, (costing $5,) drawn by
hand, making two drills twelve inches apart, and
dropping the seed in them at the same time. Next
comes the covering process, which consists in drawing
a hand-roller over the ground lengthwise the rows;
or, which is the most common way, pushing a clean
bright hoe over the drills This may be done by boys,
as they make smaller and lighter tracks than men.
Commence the work straight, and then be careful to
keep it so; not but that crooked rows make straight
onions, but for the beauty and neatness of the thing.
A man accustomed to it will sow three acres a day.
The time for sowing is the month of April, earlier or
later, according to the state of the ground. It is gen-
erally found that the earliest-sowed onions, other
things being equal, do the best.

CuLTIvVATION.—About four weeks from the time of
sowing, cultivation commences in earnest. The first
thing to be done in this department is to go through
them with an onion hoe, as soon as the rows can be

distinctly seen, when the dew is on in the morning.
The hoeing this time must be light—just skimming the
top of the ground—the hoe being put forward and
drawn toward the hoer. In the course of a few days
weeding must be commenced; removing all the weeds
from among the onions. This part of the work is usu-
ally performed by boys, for various reasons: 1st. Be-
cause they can be hired for about half the price of
men. 2d. A good active boy, fifteen or sixteen years
old, can do as much, or more work than a man; and
also because it is less tiresome for boys than full-grown
men: for it must be remembered that the stooping or
crawling posture must be assumed in weeding onions.
In other words, whoever does this work must get
down to them, eyes, fingers, and all, and not be
ashamed of his occupation, or of soiling his clothes.
The tools needed for hoeing and weeding onions are
few and simple. The most approved hoe in use, is
usually made from a buck-saw plate, either new or
worn, cut about eight inches in length, and from one
to two inches in width, with a goose-neck riveted on
the inside of it; or to make the hoe stiffer, two goose-
necks are used, riveted as before, but about one and a
half inches from the ends of the plate, and uniting in
one shank in the handle, which may be about five feet
long. This hoe should be kept clean and bright, so
that the dirt will slide over it without being much dis-
placed. A push or scuffle-hoe is sometimes used in
the advanced growth of the crop. The tools used for
weeding, aside from what nature has provided, are a
crooked knife, {common case or shoe-knife with the
lower end bent up,) and a weeder made of thin steel
plate, about two inches long and one wide, riveted
with a goose-neck, like the hoes, and fixed in a handle
about eight inches long. Later in the season, a larger
weeder is used, about four inches in length, and set in
a handle about two feet long. This is used, when the
onion-tops have become large, for the purpose of tak-
ing out single weeds, and when hoeing the ground
would injure the onions.

After this description of tools, we will return to
hoeing and weeding. As no definite rule can be giv-
en for the number of hoeings or weedings, this must
be left to the discretion of the owner, or the person in
charge. Suffice it to say, the oftener the ground is

Ys

stirred, the better for the crop. Ground should usu-,

ally be hoed about once in two weeks during the
earlier part of the season, and the weeding must be
governed by numbers and growth of the weeds. It is
all-important that the weeds be not suffered to get the
advantage. Keep them down—keep them out—be
vigilant. Think of the old adage about the stitch in
time, and apply it here.

This same vigilance must be exercised during the
growth of the crop. Some persons, owing to extra
work during haryest, are apt to neglect their onions.
This should never be. July*is an important month to

Ot

EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS, 3

MARKETING.—This may commence as soon as onions
are ripe, aud continue until the middle of May fillow-

the onion-grower. .If neglected then, the crop is as
geod as half-lost. Neither is it true that onions are
injured by working among them when bottoming, | ing, provided communication is open. The most com-
although care is necessary not to knock down the tops, mon way of sending onions to market, is by putting
nor disturb the bulbs when growing; but bad usage | them in barrels with ove head, and sending them iu
is better than entire neglect, Neither should weeds | vessels; as freight by water is cheaper than by land.
be permitted to go to seed on the ground intended for | This holds good, ho-wvever, only for those wiio ure for-

ouions the vext year, after the crop is removed. It is
sometimes necessary to hoe the ground over entirely,
aud carry off the weeds that may have grown after
the onions Lave been pulled. The great pest of onion-
ground usually is purslain; and this must be watched
and dealt with ina 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.

A man will hoe from half an acre to an acre of
onions ina day. A smart boy will take care of from
one to two acres of ground during the ‘season, and
have an odd day now and then to go fishing.

HARVEStING.—This takes place during the latter
part of August, and first of September. The time to
pull onions, (which should be done by hand,) is when
the tops have fallen down and turned a brown or yel-
lowish color. Sometimes on account of the season, or
seed, or both, there will be more or less that will not
drop down and dry up. Some have proposed in such
cases to roll a barrel over them, or break them down
in some way, but it is of doubtful expediency. A
scallion will be such, whether standing up or bent
down. When the main crop has ripened down, it is
best to pull them all, and sort out those which are not
fit for market, to feed out to the cattle; for which
purpose they are esteemed of considerable value.
The cattle generally devour them greedily; they
should not however be fed to milch cows.

The most approved way of curing onions after they

are pulled, is, to let them lie scattered about the
ground for about three days, and then pile them up in
small stacks, containing about a barrel each: after re-
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.
The stacking gives them an opportunity to sweat, and
keeps them in a measure from the weather, so that
when opened, the outside skin shells off, and gives
them a brighter and clearer appearance, than they
would have if left to cure, scattered about the field.
- Onions cured in this way may be put up in bins, or
bays to the depth of four or five feet, without any
danger of injury; there to be kept, if desired, until
the following spring, provided the tops are left on
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.

tunate enough to live in proximity to the water,

All the preparation onions require for market, is to
cut or strip off their tops and put them in barrels, A
man or boy will prepare fifty bushels in a day. Onions
always keep best in their tops; therefore they should
not be removed until ready for market.

| The price of onions varies from $1.00* to $5.00 per

barrel, but the average net price, taking one year
with another for several years back, has been about
$1.50 per barrel.

The onions sent to New-York market are usually
wholsaled from vessels to the dealers, and resold by

| them in smaller lots, they selling from 25 to 50 cents
| per barrel, in advance of cost, so that by the time the
| consumer gets them the first price is nearly doubled.

GENERAL RemMaRrkS—There is no crop, perhaps,
more sure than that of onions, They are liable, it is
true, 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 crop. Five hundred bushels to
an acre is an average crop, though eight hundred are
frequently raised.

There are three varieties of onions commonly raised,
namely, red, white, and yellow. The red onions take
the lead, as they are more hardy, grow better, and bear
handling better than either of the other kinds. The
foregoing directions apply equally to each variety,
though white ones require more attention in curing,
and gentler handling. White onions in limited quan-
tities and in good condition sometimes sell for fifty per
cent in advance of red ones.

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 has been used for upwards of thirty con-
secutive years for this crop, and the last was as good,
or better than the first.

It may not be amiss to remark here that skill in 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 himself with tha idea of becoming suddenly
rich from raising onions. Patient, honest industry
will here, as every where else, be rewarded, and when
a good market is within a convenient distance, and
the soil suits, perhaps no crop pays better than onions.

* Present price, $3.00, Jan. 25th, 1859,

4 HOW 10 HAIN UNLIONDS.

RAIsinG Onron 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 alittle 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 ground should be pre-
pared in the same manner as for the regular crops, and
then laid out in drills about three feet apart, and four
inches deep. In these drills the onions are to be
placed, four or five inches apart, covered with fine
dirt and gently pressed down with the feet, or hand
roller. As soon as they are well out of ground, they
should be gone through with a hde or cultivator, and
the weeds kept down by occasionally hoeing the
ground, and weeding, until the seed is ripe. The

SY

No.

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.

The 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 should
then be cut off and exposed to the sun on a blanket
or floor, until the seed will readily shell; then by rub-
bing with the hands, or threshing with a flail if a
quantity is raised, the seed is made ready to 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.

A. SSP ITF

at,

BY JOHN H. SHERWOOD, FAIRFIELD CO., CT.

THE Ouion 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 Sort most congenial to them is 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 highly manured
for those crops. Commencing with grass land, the first
crop might be corn, next year potatoes, or what is
better, carrots, as potatoes are apt to rot with
high 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 so loose, that worms are apt to injure the onions,
if not destroy most of the crop.

The kind of onion usually grown here, is the red,
and those are preferred which approach the nearest
to a globe in shape, ag 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—taised to sell, probably. Many men in this vi-
cinity lost their crop last year from this canse, the
fault being entirely in the seed, as that raised by them-
selves or neighbors, planted side by side, did well,

Se ee

ir,

EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 5

while seed obtained from a distance, in numerous in-
stances, went to tops, or made “straight onions,” as we
call them.

To grow good seed, select the globe-shaped bulbs
of good size. In the fall put them in a dry cool place,
but not where they will freeze much. Set them out
as early as possible in spring, or as early in April as
the ground can be worked. Set in good garden-soil,
in rows three feet apart, and eight inches distant in
the row—or to particularize, slightly ridge the land,
and set 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 the im-
perfect will float, and should be skimmed off and
thrown away. Care must be taken to dry thoroughly
after removing it from the water. One bushel of good
onions usually yields from three to five pounds of seed.

LAND intended for onions should be nearly level,
to prevent the heavy rains from washing it 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 large quantities are grown, all kinds are used,
first fermenting it to destroy foul seeds as much as
possible, and fit it to mix with the soil more easily and
evenly. A dressing of ashes is very advantageous
to the crop.

To prepare the ground for onions, first clear the sur-
face of all snall stones above the size of a hen’s egg,
put on the manure, spread and plough to the depth of
seven inches the first year. After that, plough somewhat
deeper. The ploughing may be done in November, if
you have many to plant, and wish to get them in
early. Let the ground lie in the furrow until spring,
and then spread on at least one hundred bushels of
ashes to the acre. If no ashes are used, apply from
two to three hundred pounds of guano, and harrow
with iron teeth, if the ground was ploughed in the fall;
otherwise use a plank frame, or a plank with brush
‘set in, which will leave the land smoother for the hand-
‘rake. As the bush-harrow will need some weight,
about that of a man, I usually ride on it, and by
‘change of position can throw my weight £0 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 by, and by moving it up to the
work, there will be no difficulty in keeping straight.
The seed-drills used about here are very simple in con-
struction, 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, as
it covers two rows at once. Four pounds of good
seed are plenty for one acre. It should be planted
as early in April as the ground will admit. Do not
work it when wet, for it will be lumpy, and hard to
cover the seed properly. When up enongh to see the
rows, hoe between them, with a hoe made expressly
for that use. The blade of the hoe should be eight
inches in length and one and a half broad, with a
long crooked shank. Next comes the weeding.

Have a small hoe made like the above, but one and
a half inches in length, set in a handle six inches long.
With this in one hand, get on your knees, and crawl
over them, destroying all the weeds; for if not well
done at this time, the work will be hard the next.
Second hoeing and weeding the same as first, but can
be done faster. About this time, say the first of
June, sow broad-cast one bushel of salt to the acre,
such as is used for hay. This will prevent the cut-
worm which is sometimes troublesome, and the salt, I
think, is a help to the crop. I can not say too much
about keeping the weeds out, for no crop suffers more
from weeds than onions. Keep the weeds out as long
as you can creep over them, They usually require
four hoeings and weedings, 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 pul] them by hand. This is the time they
are apt to be neglected, as the 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. This is done by hand, cleaning of all weeds, 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 have
free circulation of air about them, until freezing
weather, and then be protected from extreme cvld,
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 floor is

6 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 different
ports. They are sent as soon as they are large enough
in the fall, and continued until late in spring. Asa
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 year or two; after that, if well
manured, the crop is more certain and the land may
be continued in onions year after year. I know o.
ground that has produced onions for forty years in
succession, with only a rest of one or two years, ané
yielded well. ;

.L.L LLL OI OOO

No. III.

BY JONATHAN DENNIS, NEWPORT CO., R. I.

THE Island of Rhode Island and the shores of Nara- |

gansett Bay, have long been celebrated for the raising
of onions, particularly the town of Bristol, situated on
the main land, twelve miles from the city of Prov-
idence, and enjoying a fine harbor, from which large
quantities of onions are annually shipped to New-
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.

Som.—The onion requires a rich soil, and if it is not
naturally so, it must be made so, by the addition of a
liberal dressing of manure, otherwise it is of but little
use to try to raise a crop of onions; black heavy soil
and rather moist, or such as will not suffer from drouth,
perhaps is the best; but almost any soil that will pro-
duce a good crop of Indian corn will answer if made
rich enough. Old gardens that have been long culti-
vated will generally raise a crop without much diffi-
culty, but new land, or land that has not been highly
cultivated for a number of years, will not generally
produce a full crop for the first year or two, owing, as
I suppose, to the manure not becoming sufficiently in-

“

corporated with the soil. Those not experienced in the
raising of this crop should not be discouraged if they
do not succeed the first year, for the onion, unlike
most other crops, succeeds better the longer it is plant-
ed on the same ground, except in some instances af-
ter long planting in the same place, they seem to be-
come diseased from some cause not well understood,
when alternating with another crop for a year or two
is said to remedy the evil. This disease shows itself
by the curling of the leaves and turning of a yellow
sickly hue, and upon breaking the leaves they appear
to be filled with a kind of smut; hence the disorder is
called the smut.

Manure.—That from the hog-pen I consider the
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 Naragansett Bay
produce large quantities of marine plants, which are
washed on the shores and collected by the farmers,
and composted in barn-yard and hog-pen, and produée
a most valuable manure for this crop.

Large quantities of fish are taken in this bay, and
when composted and mixed with barn or hog-yard
manure, are much used for onions. Guano does not
seem to suit them as well as it does some other crops,
and I would not advise farmers to try to raise onions

ae a

oe eee

Alia)
=P.

EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL’ GROWERS, 7

with it alone. Wood ashes are an excellent manure

on any soil, and perhaps the greensand of New Jersey

would answer, as they seem to require potash.
PREPARATION OF THE So1t.—The manure should
be spread twenty-five or thirty loads for two horses or
one pair of oxen, or a cart-load of forty bushels to
the acre, and ploughed in with a good even furrow.
The depth will depend on the depth the soil has been
previously cultivated. The whole should be thorough-
ly turned over, covering the manure completely ; and if
the ground has not been highly manured previously,
it should have a light dressing on top, of decomposed
manure, or wood ashes, Then harrow the ground fine
with a light harrow, and rake smooth and level, re-

‘moving any coarse manure, stones, or lumps that may
interfere with planting or hocing. If you have a large
bed, it saves labor to strike furrows through it, say a
rod or more apart, before commencing to rake, into
which all the lumps of manure and small stones may
be deposited and leveled over with the soil. Those
places will be found to produce as well or better than
the rest of the pieces.

PLANTING.—Plant in hills with the rows twelve
inches apart, and six inches between the hills We
use a machine that plants in hills, two rows at once, at
the required distance apart. Never plant them in
drills if you can avoid it. If you have no machine
that will plant in hills, I think you will save time in
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 size for marketing by the bushel. With us,
where most of the crop is bunched on straw, for the
West-India and other foreign markets, we put frem
ten to twelve seeds in the hill, and we never thin them
out. They seldom all vegetate, and some will be cut
up in hoeing, so that two thirds the number you plant
will be all, perhaps, that will come to maturity. They
require but slight covering, not exceeding one half or
three quarters of an inch deep, pressing the earth
down sightly upon the seed. Our machines are pro-
vided with a roller that does this. Onions will grow
well very thick if provided with a sufficient quantity
of manure.

_ Vanrtettes.—The kind will depend altogether on the
market you wish to supply. We raise the common
red onion, because it suits our market. Each one

‘should consult the wants of his customers in this as in

other crop. The Yellow Danvers is a good sort

for home market. It is hardy, cooks white, and
ee through the winter. The White Portugal
is a delicate onion, and sells the highest in our home
ets ee sor eels but is a poor keeper for winter

The red iti tm ia Qed Into three sorts, as they
are called, though in fact they are all one, namely, the

1 ie fe3

early, second early, and late, and are produced by
merely selecting the onions for seed. The early is a
flat onion, sometimes even hollowed at the crown, the
second early is full and round, and the late is some-
what pointed at both ends. . Therefore all you have to
do to produce those varieties, is to select the flattest
onions you can find, to raise your seed from, if you
wish to raise early ; the full round for the second early,
and so on, and you can readily produce the kind you
wish by a few years’ propagation in this way. We
raise the second sort mostly because it produces well,
and suits our market, though there are considerable
quantities of the early variety raised for the early
market, which do very well, although they do not pro-
duce as much, but bring a higher price on account of
being early. Be careful in purchasing seed to buy
from those you can rely upon, as old seed is very un-
certain.

The potato-onion is largely raised by market-gar-
deners, to be pulled up when partly grown, and tied in
bunches of six or more for the market. They are a
valuable variety, being of mild flavor, and cook very
white. They are propagated by sets and not by seed.
A large bulb set out in spring will produce a number,
some of good size, which may be pulled for market or
the table, with several small ones, which may by set
the next year, and which in turn produce one or two
large ones. There are a great many raised from pips,
as they are called, which are the very small onions
left from the main crop of the red variety, set out in
spring similar to the potato-onion, They will incline
to run to seed, and the seed-stalk must be broken off.
Be careful to break them below the large place on the
stalk, and they will produce a good bulb for early use. ”
Both the pips and potato-onion may be set thickly in
drills, as early in spring as the state of the ground
will admit of, and with a litle hoeing they will pro-
duce a good early crop. There is a variety called the
top-onion, which produces the seed or set on the top,
like the garlic; but they are not much grown, and
with us are not considered worthy of cultivation.

Hortnc.—Onions should be hoed as soon as the
rows can be seen, and as often as the weeds show
themselves. I consider it better to hoe often, for you
can hoe them twice over when they are not very
weedy, in about the same time it would take to do it
once if you let them get overrun with weeds; and
then it is a long and tedious job to clear them out, be-
sides injuring the crop in so doing. After the second
or third hoeing, when they have got a good start, car-
rots 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 little
expense, They will want one hoeing after harvesting

8 HOW TO RAISE ONIONS.

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.

HARvVEStTING.—The onions should be pulled as soon
as the tops have mostly fallen, which shows ma-
turity. Lay them in rows, two or three rows together,
straight and evenly, and when the tops are nearly dry,
cut them off, leaving about two inches of the 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.

Buncuine.—To bunch onions rapidly and handsome-
ly requires much practice, but some boys will make
from three to four hundred bunches a day. It is done
thus: Take about two feet in length of the 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 will 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.

Srormy¢.—Store your onions in a dry cool place, to
keep through the winter. The garret is a good place
for those who wish to keep a few for family use, coy-
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.

IT 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.

VSL VL LPP POPP PP WOOO

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 geen, 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
gaiu 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 galt seem to cause them to enlarge.

EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS.

_ This is about as good a way to cultivate the onion

from the seed to the perfect large onion, as I have
ever seen, or tried — and it is my custom to examine
every new idea, or experiment, that comes before the
public, with a view to a correct plan, not only with
the onion, but all kinds of vegetables. In September,
the necks of the onions should be twisted, and after
the leayes 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
seeds, owing to their age before they are placed in the
ground, yet I can safely recommend the “ white onion”
obtained from England, as of superior quality both as
regards size and taste.

Besides the onions raised from the seed, we can
grow them so as to havea supply in July. The ground,
in this case, must be prepared early as the weather
will permit, in February, and for seed take a number
of those small bulbs that are always found in the beds
just deacribed, and which are not above an inch broad.

The bed being ready at the end of the first week, form |

it into squares on the surface by means of cross-strings.
At the places where the lines meet, press in an onion,
one third of the onion being placed in the ground, so
that the bulb will remain firm and erect. After this
is done, you will havea bed with the onions in squares,
five or six inches apart. Now, the onion naturally
forms its bulb the first year of its growth, and forms
flower and seed in the second year. Of course, there-
fore, these small onions, being in their second year,
will attempt to form flower and seed, and this must be
prevented by plucking off the flower-head as soon as
it makes its appearance. A second attempt will be
made, which must also be prevented in the same way.
Thus, the sap, which would otherwise have “run to
seed,” will be kept in the bulb, and by degrees two,
three, or four medium-sized onions will be developed.
These are to be taken in July or August, and dried
under a shed, as before directed.

A great amount of nonsense, in the shape of “ ex-
periments,” has been given to the world on the subject
of the onion: but as I have already remarked, give
me a soil rich, light, deep, and well exposed to the
“sun, and in addition, a few bushels of leached ashes,
and sg quantity of common salt, and I will
show you a crop of onions equal to any ever produced
by auy other mode.

9

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 groand
throughout the winter for the purpose of obtaining an
early mess on the dinner-table in spring. :

These is another mode of raising the onion which I
like very well, although requiring a greater length of
time to develop. This is by sowing the seed, thickly in
drills from three to five inches apart, having prepared
the ground in the same manner as above described,
and reserving the leached ashes and salt for the second
year. By this method, you procure a number of
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 flower-shoots must be plucked off, as I have
said in speaking of the early summer variety. They
must be planted in the same way, in squares of five or
| six inches apart.
The onion has been too slightly cultivated. This is
| owing to the vulgar notion of its unpleasant*smell. It
is true, it is apt to affect the breath, so that one 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 the ckest 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 the appetite and
promotes digestion, and may be used as a condiment ;
but in large quantities it is apt to cause flatulence,
gastric uneasiness, and febrile excitement. It may be
given with advantage in dropsy and gravel. If it be
boiled, it loses its essential oil, and becomes a whole-
some and harmless esculent. It may also be roasted
and split, and applied with benefit to suppurating
tumors. In fact, it is one of 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: 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 themisa
heavy, moist, (not wet,) rich loam, free from stone.

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

Manure.—Onions draw very heavily upon the soil,
and to insure alarge crop, manure should be applied li-
berally. No definite quantity can be recommended, as
the condition of the land varies so much; but, as a gen-
eral thing, there is more danger of not applying enough
than too much. Stable or barn-yard manure when tho-
roughly decomposed, may be considered a very proper
manure for onions. We have found ashes very beneficial,
and have raised fine crops with no other manure. They
should be composted with swamp-muck, using one
load of ashes to ten or twelve of muck. Apply
twenty-five or thirty loads to the acre—more would oe
better. Fish composted with muck, makes a very
superior manure for onions, not excelled if equalled by
any other manure. -Hight'to ten thousand fish, (moss
bunkers,) properly composted, make a good dressing
for an acre. We have used guano, and it makes

onions, like almost every thing else, grow, yet we are

not in favor of its use, Only when composted with
muck, or mixed with good soil. If nothing else can
be had, 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.

PLOUGHING, HARROWING, Eitc.—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.

SrED.—There is nothing, perhaps, in raising onions
of more importance than the seed, which 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 ihe
heads to some place under cover, where they may 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 ina warm place. Ina few
days the seed will germinate if itis 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.
White 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.

Sowine 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
ayrake. 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.

HoErING 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 cf 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

— less, gathering moisture.

-

EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS,

when pulled out, and the patch will soon be 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.

PULLING AND CurtmnGc.—As soon as the tops have
died down, or nearly so, pull them. When onions do
well, their tops will lop over just at the top of the
onion, and gradually die away. The grower will
mainly have to be his own judge when to pull. There
are seasons, however, when a large proportion of the
onions are inclined to run to scallions or large-necked
bulbs, and a beginner may be at a loss what to do.
Many remedies have been recommended to make
onions bottom, but we have found them of but little
use. Watch them closely, and after being satisfied
that they are making no more bottoms, pull them not-
withstanding the tops may be green, keeping the scal-
lions (or unbottomed onions) by themselves, as they
will never cure sufficiently to be housed with the other
onions. We would here mention that it is our opinion
that green or unfermented manures on ground that
has never raised onions, are very apt to produce the
above results.

» Having decided that the onions are fit to gather,
first pull six or eight rows, throwing them upon the
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 the surface of the field.
The scallions, if any, may be left to go out with the
weeds or refuse. Let the onions remain in this situa-
tion for two weeks or more, until well cured, that is,

-until the tops have become thoroughly dry. They

should then be turned over with a rake, as many
of them will be imbedded into the ground more or
In a few hours after stirring,
with a good sun, they will be fit for housing. It mat-
ters not, however, if they remain in the field for
a month after pulling, or at least until freezing weather.

In be td prefer to have them remain out as long as

it will ' r, as they are very apt to sweat, heat, and
sprout y en put in large quantities, if housed early,
although eve so well cured, and it is quite as couve-

~ nient to manket them from the field. It is reeommend-

ed and practised by many to pile the onions as they

are pulled. have practised it, but prefer the

_ method above described, When piled, they want

attention in curing, iad are very apt to hold

he
Real

Il

moisture enough from rains to make them blacken, if
not opened and stirred frequently.

Hovsine.—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 ia
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
as high asthe onions. This prevents them from lying
so compact, and tends to keep them from heating,
sweating, ete. Sticks, boards, or any thing of the kind,
placed in through them, answers a good purpose. As
soon as freezing weather sets in, close the doors,
and cover with straw. Those designed to be market-
ed before the severe cold weather comes on, may be
put in any place under cover. Those designed for
wintering should be put in with tops on, as they
sprout much less. In fact it is better to top them as
they are marketed, in all cases. Topping makes good
wet-weather employment.

MARKETING.—The producer will have to exercise
his own judgment as to the proper season for market-
ing. Fora 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 onion’ 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, the frost
will leave them uninjured, unless it is too severe, and
often repeated.

YieELD.—Much depends upon the soil and season for
a large yield. The average crop is about five hundred
bushels per acre. <A large yield can not be expected
in this section without having the soil of the proper
‘texture and a heavy manuring. The more manure, the
more onions. There is no difficulty in raising eight or
nine hundred bushels per acre. The same grouud may
be used for many years in succession if wel] mavured,
and with better success than by changing every year,
or every few years. Pains should be taken to destroy
all weeds, so that none shall go to seed upon the

4

12

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 little 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 failure. We have
observed several instances where individuals have
commenced with a small patch, who have increased

HOW TO RAISE ONIONS.

gradually until they 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.

DML LDL LP WLIO IDOI IO

No. VI.

BY ARTHUR C. TAYLOR, FAIRFIELD C0., 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 smali 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 off
the seed-balls, and dry them on aroof 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 be 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 fallor in the spring. Fall ploughing
is preferred by many, as it helps on the spring work,
and gives achance to get the seed in the ground early,
which is a great advantage. As soon as the ground is
free from frost, and dry enough to pulverize the lumps,
harrow it well, first with the tooth, then with a nice
even brush-harrow. After the harrowing has been
thoroughly done, use the hand rake until your ground

is free from lumps and stones. Be careful to pick up
all the stones. The ground is now ready for the seed.
Sow in drills one foot apart; gauge your machine to
sow about four pounds per acre. If the ground 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 littlo 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 donoy, is to keep free
from weeds by hoeing and weeding until pulling-time,
which is generally in September. When tho tops have
nearly all fallen down, and about half of them are dry,
they are fit to pull. Leave them on the ground after
they are pulled until the tops are all dry, then store
them in a dry place. Onions will look brighter if
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 than 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 ona
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. . 1S

' | If the planting of onions for seed has been neglect- | onions, than to get a supply from seed stores where
ed, great care should be taken in procuring seed. It} you know nothing about the quality of the onions
is better to give a large price for seed from selected | planted.

eee

oe

“ . No. VII.

BY DAVID H. SHERWOOD, FAIRFIELD C0., CT.

as it can be harrowed, raked, and sowed, as it is apt
to become lumpy if allowed to lay in the sun after
ploughing. Never use a tooth-harrow, as it will draw
out the manure. I smooth the ground as follows:
Take a plank eight feet long, one foot wide, and three
inches thick. Through this, bore four holes, and insert
four sticks, four feet long and three inches square. Op
the under-side of these sticks, fasten boards. The front
plank standing edgewise as it moves along, will level
the furrows, while the boards behind will smooth
them. Wood ashes, at the rate of from one to two
hundred bushels to the acre, harrowed in, will pay
double their cost in most cases, After you have
leveled and smoothed your ground as much as con-
venient with your team and leveler, use the hand-
rake, leaving the surface as fine and even as possible.

In order to have your rows straight, draw a line
across the field. Draw the planting-machine by the
line. These machines for planting, which cost about five
dollars, plant two drills at a time, one foot apart, and
about half an inch deep. I use four pounds of seed
to the acre, and cover by drawing a hand-rake length-
wise over the drills. The usuabtime of sowing here |
in the southern part of Connecticut, is from the first to
the fifteenth of April. A hand-roller drawn over the
ground after planting, will help the seed to germinate.

About two weeks is required to bring up the seed,
and they should be hoed as soon as the rows can be
seen, which will generally be the latter part of May.
The most convenient hoe which I have seen for this
purpose, is eight inches long and one and a half wide,
inserted in a handle six feet long. Much depends
upon how the hoe stands, about its working easy. If
made right, the dirt will slide over it. After the weeds
that are cut up by the hoe, have had time to die, they
should be gone 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 the other hand. The hoe for this
purpose should be about three inches long, three
fourths of an inch wide, inserted in a handle eight
inches long.

From this time they should be kept perfectly free
from weeds; to do this, they will require going over
from three to five times, or once in two weeks; but
as to this, there can be no rule given, as much depends
upon the soil, the kind of manure, weather, etc.

Ratstina Seep.—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 flat, but now the best are as far through from
the top to the root as the other way. Therefore select
the very best for seed, those that are as near round as
possible, solid and smooth. These should be kept
through the winter in a dry place, where the thermo-
meter will not fall below 20°.

As soon as the frost is out of the ground in the
spring, it should be well manured and ploughed deep.
Dig trenches three feet apart and five inches deep.
Set your onions in the bottom of these drills about
six inches apart. As they grow up, fill the trenches
with dirt, and the stalks will not fall down, which is

‘apt to blast the seed. Keep clear from weeds until
they blossom, after which do not disturb them.
When the stalk below the seed-ball turas yellowish,
and the seed-husks begin to open, cut off the seed-
balls and spread them thinly on a tight floor, stirring
them once in three days; or, what is better, spread
them on a lattice over a fight floor, as they will then
bave the air around them, which is very essential, as
they are apt to mildew. They should remain in this
way for several weeks, until they will shell easy.
After the chaff is blown out, pour the seed into water ;
throw away that which floats, and dry the remainder
in the sun for three or four days; after which put in
coarse bags, and hang where it will have plenty of air,
as I know of no seed that is more likely to chit than
onion-seed.

PREPARATION OF THE GROUND for the reception of
the seed, is the next thing of importance. T have
seen good onions on reclaimed bog swamp, also on re-
claimed swamp with a clay sub-soil, but I think the
best ground for the purpose is a dry loam. It should
first be in hoed crops three or four years, and all
weeds kept from going to seed. Clear your ground

from all rubbish, stones, etc., in the fall, and, if pos-
sible, put on twenty loads, of fifty bushel each, of fine,
well-rotted manure to the acre, and plough it in before
winter, If thus treated in the fall, you can sow the
seed in the spring much earlier and easier than if
ploughed in the spring. But as many are apt to put
off until to-morrow what should be done to-day, I will
say, manure your ground in the spring as soon as it
is dry enough to work, ploughing it in at once, as fast

7

t

14

Tt is much easier to keep them clean by going over
them often, than to put it off too long; besides, weeds
shade the ground and impoverish the soil. There
should be no trees to shade the onions, as they will
hardly 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 generality 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 the
weeds as before. Continue thus through the field.
Pull with your hands, and lay them over carefully.
Ifthe weather is good, after they have lain spread for
three or four days, pile them up, putting about three
bushels 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.and4 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. The 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 scantling, upon which
lay narrow 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 have a free circulation of air all around them.
When the thermometer sinks to 20°, fill the space
around the outside with sea-weed, onion-tops, or some-
thing ofthe 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

HOW TO RAISE ONIONS.

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, turnfng, spreading, etc............. 6.00
100 bushels ashes, at 17 cts............08- 17.00
Ploughing and harrowing, ..............-- 4.00
Raking ands so wine 2 © cutee cee elnerstereisin tier 4.00
ATbs.*Of S6eGr ab PL ay esis ers ete bs ateteteate (ele 400
Hoeing four times; (6 \days,.. 2.2% «weenie > 6.00
Weeding four times, 24 days,............. 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
Markeetinpiy-utoste sie hs ate eters rete reus cre stator tats 8.00
imterest;on lands nirsiiotas sis eye ace remote 12.00

AT Gta Coote ae $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, ete. 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 had ten years’
experience, they will find there is yet something
to be learned. If you are too proud to go on your
knees, or have not the patience to spend much time on
a small place, or have not enough perseverance to do
the same thing over and over again, you had better sell
your seed, and sow your ground to buckwheat.

Onions are a crop which generally pay a large pro-
fit, but sometimes the neglect of a few days will
spoil it. The same piece may be planted year after
year 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 year,
not far from 200,000 (two hundred thousand) bushels.

EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS.

15

No. VIII.

BY G. I. MILLER, NIAGARA, CANADA WEST.

Tr is of the greatest importance in growing onions to
have the right kind of soil, and that in the highest
state of cultivation. In my opinion, a light sandy
soil, well drained for all seasons, is preferable. Onions
also can be raised to great advantage on black loam or
light clay soi), providing the seasons are not too dry.

To prepare the ground, I would recommend a piece
that has been planted with potatoes, manured with
rotten horse-stable manure, at the rate of about fifty
loads per acre. As soon as the potatoes have been
taken from the ground, plough about seven inches deep,
letting it lie until the first of April, or as soon as the
ground will admit of being worked, then adding about
ten loads of hog-manure, well spread over the surface,
and plough under from five to six inches deep, after
which spread a few bushels of hen-manure, and then
harrow the ground until it is well pulverized. The
land is now ready to sow, for the earlier the seed is
sown, the better the onions will be.

Testing the seed can be done by cutting two sods
from the ground, and pouring boiling water over them,
letting the water drain well off, then placing the seed
between the sods, and laying them under the stove for
about two days, when the seed, if good, will sprout. I
would recommend the large red globe onion as being
the best variety for market.

The seed should be sown by a seed-drill, eighteen
inches apart, in rows lengthwise of the land, at the
rate of about three to three and a half pounds of seed
per acre, leaving a space of three feet in the dead fur-

rows for weeds, ete. 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 ftom one to two inches
apart; after which it will be necessary to apply the
hoe every two weeks, always bearing in mind, that the
oftener the ground is stirred, the greater will be the
produce.

After the tops are dropped down and withered, then
pull them at once, fur if left in the above condition,
they will take the second growth, which will injure
the quality materially.

After they are pulled up, let them lay on the ground
for a few days to dry, then top them with a sharp
knife, taking care before doing this, that the onions are
perfectly dry; after which, spread them thin, in a dry,
cool place, and then you have them ready for the
market.

It is advantageous to grow them on the same piece
of ground for five or six years, adding a little manure
every spring before ploughing.

Onions raised by this method will produce from
seven to nine hundred bushels per acre, on a light,
sandy soil. Onions raised on the aforesaid plan have
taken the first prizes for the last six years at our county
and township shows, and the first prize at the Provin-
cial Agriculture Show, held at Toronto, Canada West,
on September 28th, 1858.

No. IX.

BY U. E. DODGE, CHATAUQUE C0., N. Y.

Srep.—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 from December until the opening of spring.

At the earliest possible moment, they should be set in
furrows opened with the plough, three feet apart, and
four inches in the rows. None but fine, well-pulver-
ized land, should bs used for raising onion-seed. 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 be kept down with
the cultivator and hand-hoe, until the seed matures,
which will be about the last of August, or the first
of September—never later than the sixth of Septem-
ber in this latitude. Their maturity may be 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. The
mode of cutting, is to take a common wooden pail in
the left hand, and a sharp knife in the other, holding
the blade parallel with the thumb. Slip the stalk be-

av Sar

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, are
emptied into bags, and taken to the drying-barn. It is
not an extraordinary day’s work for a man to cut ten
bushels seed per day.

Drying the seed requires some care, and neglect in
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
be 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 light, and of inferior
quality.

Som.—That best adapted to the growth of onions is
a deep mellow loam, resting on a dry, porous sub-soil.
Although a vegetable of very shallow root, yet the
onion delights in a deep, finely-pulverized soil. Cold,
wet clay-sand seldom produces good crops, unless
thoroughly underdrained, and otherwise mechanically
prepared.

PREPARATION OF THE GROUND. — Soil, containing
the natural requisites, namely, dry, mellow, and fertile,
should be ploughed in the fall, previous to sowing the
crop. Twenty loads, of one cord each, of well-rotted
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 inches deep, and thus re-
mains till spring, leaving the frost to pulverize the sur-
face, and destroy all insects whose winter-quarters haye
been made beneath the surface, and whose eggs and
larvee 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, fora 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

AV A ESE OM A EAS AN 0

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, after 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 be
starting, and greatly facilitate the first hoeing and
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: * f - Ko 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 three
bushels to the acre.

The only sure road to success with this crop is clean
cultivation, annual manuring, and careful attention
during their growth. With these requisites, onions can
be grown on land year after year. The writer of this,
last year (1858) raised over five hundred bushels to
the acre on land that had had no other crop upon it
for over a quarter of a century, and by actual experi-
ments finds that it produces better onions, and is
easier tilled, in consequence of its being kept free from
weeds year after year, and the onions are less liable to
run to scallions. In this particular they are an excep-
tion to any other crop, as all other crops are benefited
by rotation.

As a market vegetable, the onion is one of the
easiest grown; its plump, firm flesh is not liable to
injury from bruises, as many other vegetables; 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 the twentieth of April. The
last of March, or the first of April would be preferred,
if the ground was in the proper condition. No time
should be lost upon the opening of spring until
the seed isin. A little snow, or a few frosty nights,

‘will not injure it. With proper attention, and large

drafts upon the bank of muck and manure, a few acres
of onions will increase 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 :

j
;
:

EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS.

2 days’ ploughing and dragging, $4.00
10 “ raking and sowing, 10.00

20 “ weeding and thinning, first time, 20.00

Birt “ ** second time, 15.00
8 “ hoeing, last time, 8.00
20 “ harvesting and housing, 20.00
4 pounds seed, 4.00
20 loads of manure, 20.00
3 bushels top-dressing, 15
Interest on land, 10.50
Total, $112.25

400 bushels, at 50 cents, 200.00
Net profit per acre, $87.75

HARVESTING onions is not so Jaborious as many
other kinds of vegetables; their maturity being earlier
in the season, those engaged in their culture are not
exposed to the late cold autumn winds, as they would
be with a crop of beets, carrots, or turnips. The most
expeditious mode of harvesting is to dig them with
the common hand-hoe, running one corner of the hoe
under the row, giving it a long draw, taking about
four rows at a time, digging over some ten or twelve
feet; then, with the back of the hoe, shove them up
three or four feet, and hoe the ground level, and spread
the onions upon this hoed space.

When treated in this way, they should lie from
three to four weeks, or until perfectly dry. They
should then be picked from the bed, and-carted to the
barn, 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 upor the ground, in con-
sequence of the dampness which they draw from the
earth. If properly dried, and secured from damp, they
will keep for months in this condition, without any
further trouble. They are liable to grow when damp,
so that it is important that the cultivator see that this
part of the work be conducted thoroughly and carefully.

MARKETING.—Onions are principally sold by the
bushel, and by the string. If intended to market by
the bushel, the tops should be cut close and smooth,
and all loose skin removed, to give them a bright,
plump | appearance. If for home market, they may be
put in bags, or hauled by the wagon-load, avoiding
rough handling as far as may be. If for a distant

~ market, barrels are the most convenient mode of pack-

ae

ing. Fill them with the onions, packing tight, that
that there be no shaking, and head strongly. Packed
in this way, and perfectly dry, they will go thousands
y railroad or ship, and open fresh and sound.
itended for strings should have two inches
of the top left upon the onion. The strings are made
by taking a few straws, (rye straw is best,) and with a

_ piece of» wrapping twine, commence at the butt end of

+ tthe straw to wind, and at every two or three tums add
an onion, ending | at the top. This secures it firmly,

° ohio its broad, flat base upon the outside of the

17

string. The largest should be tied upon the bottom of
the string, gradually diminishing in size, until the
smallest are tied upon the top. This gives the string
a conical form, and a neat and tidy appearance, when
arranged for sale.

PRESERVATION.—Keeping through the winter, with-
out injury from frosts, or loss from heating and grow-
ing, requires care and experience, and various methods
are adopted to avoid these results. They are buried in
large ricks upon the ground, and covered with a heavy
coat of straw and a light coat of earth. They are also
tied upon strings, and hung upon the beams in the
cellar or warm garret, or spread thinly upon shelves in
the cellar. Some pack in boxes or barrels, encased
with several thicknesses of paper, and leave them in
an out-building. All these have been practised with
varied suecess. The most popular mode, and the one
which has given the most satisfactory results, is to
spread straw, threshed with a flail, to the depth of
twelve to eighteen inches upon the barn-floor, scaffold,
or garret; upon this, spread the 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 the straw. Treated in this way, if at a sufficient
depth from frost, they are not affected by the changes
of temperature, and keep in fine condition till the first
of May.

Onions are propagated from seed, sets, and multi-
pliers, or potatoe-onions. The universal mode of pro-
pagation at the South and West is from sets, which
are obtained by sowing the seed very thickly, broad-
cast or in drills, and when they obtain the size of a
filbert, pull them, and dry upon the ground in the sun.
These are kept till the following spring, and set by
hand. They make aquick, strong growth, and produce
fine onions. Multipliers are a variety that produce
large and small bulbs alternately, the large producing
several small ones the first year, and these small giy-
ing large the next year. These may be recommended
as a small early crop for family use, and early home
market, but not as a main crop, the increase of market-
able onions over the seed being too small. Of all the
various modes of propagation, sowing the seed for a
main crop deserves first rank ; its cheapness, compared
with other modes, and the facility with which it is
sowed, the early season when it may be gathered i 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 he bestows careful attention to the selec-
tion of seed, the eradication of weeds during the
period of their growth, annual application of well-com-
posted manure, and 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 the
capital invested.

-

18

HOW TO RAISE ONIONS.

No. X.

BY W. R. BUNNELL, BRIDGEPORT, FAIRFIELD C0., CT

Kinps.—The thick or globular deep-red onion,
known as the Wethersfield Large Red, is the kind
generally grown in Fairfield county, Ct. It grows to
a good size when thinly sown on good ground, yields
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,
which sells in the same market for one to two shillings
a barrel more than the Reds, but does not generally
yield so well.

SeEpD.—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.

Soin.—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
sn a wet one the last—a medium may be best.

Exposure.—the best is a dry level, ora 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 be full of seeds, which will greatly increase
the labor of tending, and the straw will be in the way
of ploughing, raking, and hoeing. Night-soil or hog-
manure is preferred. If barnyard manure is used, it
should be thrown into heaps before the first of March,
to kill the seeds and ripen for use by heating, or it may

_be carried out to the field and each load be heaped by
itself, and the earth around thrown upon them as soon
as it thaws, to the depth of three or more inches, to
keep 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 farther 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 ox-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 sufficient, if well
done. A second would throw out the manure. Im-
mediately after ploughing, if your quantity of manure
was uot sufficient, 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 Agricultwrist, 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 8 of an inch apart, which will be about 4
Ibs. to the acre—3} to 4 is the usual quantity for a
crop which is not to be thinned out. The machine
does not cover the seed. This is done by drawing the
pack of a hay-rake lengthwise over one or two rows
at atime. Any special manures may be scattered
with great advantage upon the seed in the drills before
covering. Make the drills about # 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 seantling, with
three teeth fifteen inches long, pointed, and one foot
apart, with a short curved handle four to five feet long,
Starting with a line for a guide, (which must also be
used with the machine,) and afterwards following the
last drill with one tooth, and sow by hand, from a
small cup, distributing the seed with the thumb and
fingers at the same distances as stated for the machine, -
and much straighter and more evenly, but it isa tedious

EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS.

process. In either case it should be most carefully
-and regularly done, and on a still day, or the wind will
* seatter it beyond the drills. The straighter and nar-
rower the seed is sown in the drills, the narrower will
be the space left to weed after hoeing. Radishes or
Some qunick-growing seed may be sowed thinly, one or
two seeds to a foot, to direct in hoeing the first time,
as the onion tops are so fine they can scarcely be seen,
excepting when the dew is on. The radishes may be
» Suffered to grow, and be gathered for market.
_ Hoete.—The first hoeing should be commenced
when the rows can first be distinguished, with a hoe
eight inches long, made by cutting off the back of an
old grass-scythe, flattening the blade, and punching a
small hole within three fourths of an inch from each
end, without heating it, to which a forked brace with
goose-necks must be riveted through the goose-heads,
to attach it to a light, long handle, usually that of a
hay-rake. The beveled edge of the plate should be
down, and the heads of the rivets sunk. With this
hoe proceed to scrape once in the middle between the
Tows, with a reach of two feet or more, barely shaving
off the weeds without breaking through the crust,
carrying along one or more spaces. Keep the hoe in
good order by rubbing on a flat stone, or grinding, and
if it clogs, which it will do on new-ploughed ground
for two or three years from the sod, push it along on
the ground as you step forward, or clean with a stick.
_ The same process, which is light work, and quickly
done, may be repeated with advantage within a week,
but in a fortnight from first hoeing, or less, according
to the size of the weeds, hoe again, only breaking up
the crust, say about half an inch deep, loosening but
not moving the earth out of place, in the middle of the
spaces as before, or, which is better, with two strokes,
one close to each row, making nearly a double hoeing,
which, if the rows can be distinctly or readily seen, is
4 90 best manner for the first hoeing.
-- WEEDING.—The weeders, upon their hands and Ienees,
should follow close upon the last hoeing, with onion-
_ weeders, made from table knives by breaking off the
Soage to two or two and a half inches from the han-
~ les, and heating the end to bend it a little to one side,
80 as to fit it to the curve of the thumb, and cooling it
_ immediately, to return its temper. The back should
then be ground to an edge, and the corners rounded,
is to work it in either hand. The weeds should be
F below the crowns of their roots, say half an
under ground, or, which is better, loosen the
‘o inches deep on each side of the row; by
tnife or weeder, thrust into the ground to
ind turned a little sideways in the hand,
waarands and on one side of the row,
fro ‘edo then by changing hands,
DI a done, the ground will
scan easily be scraped or
‘pulled out with their then the earth should
rm the roots of the onions by the

AA
Seba ~~ Fi

a ’
=

i: ,
La wre

oh oe 8 © le ie

19

palms of the hands, to hold them firm, and to prevent
withering if they have been injured. The weeds will
cause much more injury to the crop if not eradicated,
than they will suffer from cutting off the 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 be
no hilling or hauling away of dirt, but the surface
should be kept level.

GATHERING.—When the tops die and fall, the crop
should be pulled and spread evenly over the ground to
dry or cure. The scallions (thick-necked or green
onions) with the weeds, ¢f any, should be thrown into
heaps or carried off. After three or four days’ drying,
turn them over carefully with the teeth of a wooden
rake, without bruising, and let them dry as many days
more; or instead, as they preserve a brighter color,
put them into heaps of two to four bushels, to sweat a
few days, when, if intended for early market, cut tho
dead tops off one ineh from the bulbs, and barrel to
send away; but if wished for storing, they may be
left in heaps some weeks, or carried under cover on a
floor with the tops on, and piled around the sides of a
barn floor, three feet high, or put into bins with slats
on the sides, and not close, like open horse-stalls, fill-
ing every other one, and putting strips of boards across
the ends and through them, or slanting them up so as
not to need supports, and leave all the doors open.
After a week or ten days’ drying as above, put them
under cover in any airy place, as a shed, but watch
and examine every few days to see if they are gather-
ing moisture, heating and growing; if so, open and
spread to dry again.

Srormve ror Wixter.—If the onions are to be
kept upon a barn or other floor, pile them one foot and
a half or two feet deep, leaving a space of one to two
feet all around. Cover them with one thickness of
sheets to keep out hay-seed, chaff, etc., and when hard
freezing weather sets in, cover one to two feet deep
with hay, straw, or any similar substance, filling all
the spaces around the heap. Do not disturb them if
frozen, until the frost is out, which may be hastened by
opening the doors and removing a portion of the cov-
ering each day for a week.

A wagon or wood-house tightly boarded, floored,
and fitted up with a bin or bins as follows, is undoubt-
edly the best place, and such as one of our oldest
onion-cultivators, after long and sad experience, has
adopted and used for some years with perfect success.
Set up scantlings for a stall or bin, of three to five
feet wide ; on these nail two or three tiers of ten-inch
boards two or three inches apart, and as far above the
floor, leaving a wide space, two to four feet at each
end, to pass round, and for free circulation of air. Then
place every three to four feet, before the onions fill up,
on each board, cross-boards eight or ten inches wido,

20

resting on each tier of side-boards, with cléets 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
thus on each tier of side-boards as they are filled,
using 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 effectu-
ally ventilate and prevent heating. The onions should
be well dried and have their tops left on, and when
first frozen be covered with one or more thicknesses of
carpets or old garments, and have them hung around
their sides. Freezing does them no apparent injury, if
they are thawed 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.

No.

HOW TO RAISE ONIONS.

To Raisr SrEp.—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
ereat deal of moisture. Clean it by stirring it in water;
the good seed will sink in a few minutes; all the rest
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.

LVL. L DIDI

XI,

BY H. WADE, FLOYD CO., IOWA.

First select the best and brightest-looking onions | for what is left. Rake them in lightly, lengthwise the

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 deep with a good four-
toothed fork. (When I raised them in fields I used a
cultivator for this part of the work.) I then let it lie a
few days to dry, and then dragged perfectly, until four
inches of the surface was all quite fine. I havea 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 he taken not to sow too thick, unless
you are near a market where you can sell green onions;
then it does not signify, as thinning loosens the soil

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-rake,
head nine inches long, teeth one and a half inches
apart, handle six feet long. It is better than a hoe, as
you can loosen the soil close to the rows without cut-
ting the roots, and if you made a good seed-bed, a
man will do as much again with a rake as a hoe.
Rake over every week if the weather permits, as soon
as it is dry enough after a hard rain to keep the top
from crusting. Attend to this at first well, and you
will not regret it.

Abbut June, as soon as the onions are up enough,
thin out to about four inches in the row, pulling out at
the same time what few weeds are growing with them,
and 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

\

EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 21

and press them all gently down with a rake-head, or
something of that sort, and as soon as the roots let go
of the soil, I use a wooden-toothed rake and turn them
over, if it is likely to be fine a day or two, and then
pick them up and carry them to a shed or barn-floor,
and lay them out thin, till perfectly dry. After this, a
good dry cellar I believe is the best place to keep them.

They told me in 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 begun to grow
them in the field yet, as we have no market for them.
They pay well if you have a market, if you manure
well, and care for them as you should.

DDL DPP PLB IFAW

se] No, 11.

BY J. B. WAKEMAN, FAIRFIELD CO., CT.

Ir is over twenty-five years since I raised my first
crop of onions. I commenced with two rods of ground,
and have increased to eight acres. There is but one
place in the United States where more onions are

a deep soil, free from stones. But I have raised them
successfully on gravelly soil and quite stony. I pre-
fer, however, & deep loamy soil. I would plant the
ground with corn or potatoes—I prefer corn—one or

raised than here; that is in Danvers, Mass., where it|two years. It should be highly manured, and not a

has been stated shay raise more than 200,000 bushels| single weed allowed to go to seed. When the corn-

a year. But New-York market is mostly supplied

crop is gathered, prepare the ground in the fall Tor the

from this section. It would be rather a low estimate | next year’s crop of onions, by putting on twenty cart-
to place the yield of this town at 140,000 bushels a ) loads of well-rotted manure, fifty bushels to the load, per
year. Great crops were formerly raised in Wethers-|acre. It should be free from weed-seed, and ploughed

field, butof an inferior quality, rather small, and sent
to market in bunches.
I think I can say, from the time that I first com-
menced raising onions, up to the present time, I
have raised more bushels to the acre than any other
person about here. The first and most important item
is the seed. It is very important to know what kind
of onions it was raised from. In other crops we can
generally tell by the looks of the seed, whether it is
good or not. Not so with onions. It is impossible to
tell by the looks of the seed whether it will raise
scallions, or the flat onion, or the round deep onion,
which is mostly raised in this section. There was a
great deal of seed bought in New-York last year, by
the farmers near here, which raised mostly scallions
without bottoms. It has been estimated by many that
it was a loss to them of frém ten to twelve thousand
dollars. It would be some satisfaction to know from
what kind of onions it was raised. I think it must be
BY onions that were grown on a poor soil, and were not fit
a for market, but left until the next year for seed.
“ee I raised the flat onion when I first commenced the
i

)
Poe ye Mame

business. They will not yield one third as much as
is _ the round onion; so we can not judge what the result
will be if we do not know what kind of onions our
seed was raised from. We have, by selecting the

oe edad oan deep onion from year to year, improved
eee our quality and quantity, so that we raise six to nine
cap hundred bushels where we once raised not more than
three to five hundred bushels. We select the most
- solid, largest, deepest, and brightest for seed. Seed-
onions should be kept from freezing. A light freezing

will sometimes injure the chit or germ.

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 the work to
prepare ground for the seed, that was ploughed in the
fall, and the yield is as good, if not better. Hog-
manure is the best, but any kind of strong manure
will do. All manure should be free from seed.
Manure, either fine or coarse, should be ploughed
in deep. If ashes are to be had, put on one to
two hundred bushels to the acre. The crop of onions —
will pay for them the first year, and they will last from
five to eight years. Bone dust is a fine manure. The
ground in the spring should be prepared for the seed
as soon as it is dry, by harrowing with tooth and brush,
until the ground is level. It will not do to have the
ground too mellow. It should be rather hard to have
the onions bottom well. It needs to be very mellow,
about an inch deep, and raked off level. It requires
from three to four pounds of seed to the acre. I sow
them by a machine made very simple, and costing 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. The first row must be
perfectly straight, which will be a guide to the second,
and so on. To cover them up, I take a hoe that stands
in well, and push it along over the line where the seed
is. When they get up so that I can see the rows, I°
commence hoeing them, and as soon as there are any
weeds to be seen, weed them; and continue to hoe
and weed as long as there is a weed to be seen, It
will not pay to sow a piece of onions if they are not
taken care of, and no crop pays better if well tended.
There are some farmers that lose one third or more of

phar cc them is level land with’ their crop by not taking proper care of them, and let-

22

ting uhe 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. Jf 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

“A>

HOW TO RAISE ONIONS.

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. J 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 farmers have to com-
plain of, and that is, it costs us so much before the
onions get into the consumers’ hands. It costs us
about twenty cents a barrel to send them to New-York,
and they are sold to wholesale dealers, who make
from twenty-five to fifty cents a barrel, and so it costs
us from 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, Erc.—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
middle of October for this latitude, earlier further
north, and later as you go south. Select a situation
gently sloping to the south, a rich, dry, loamy soil,
highly manured with well-rotted 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, as 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
ofa line, which 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 drillin 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 top 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

reason that it could be spaded up easier.

EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS.

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 cultivation applies to sets as
well as to the grown onions. The sets should be
taken up and treated in the same manner as the large
onions. If they are not planted in the fall, they
should be planted in the spring as early as the ground
will bear working, observing the same directions as in
fall planting ; omitting the covering of them. In the

23

dry dirt—that is, when they are not planted in the
fall.

Rep Onrons 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 mode of
cultivation is to be observed with these, as laid down
for the potato onion.

SHALLOTS are a small variety, which grow in large
bunches. The roots resemble garlic, but are much

northern and middle parts of thé United States, sets, | larger. They have nearly gone out of use in this

and other onions designed for planting, should be kept | region. Their cultivation is about the same as already

in a warm and dry cellar, boxed up and mixed with | laid down for the other varieties. ‘
No. XIV. .

BY R. IL, PLYMOUTH CO., MASS.

Wrra the onion-grower, soil and position are the first
and by no means the least important. You can make
them grow on almost any soil under favorable circum-
stances, but to cultivate successfully, which is the
great object, it is necessary that the soil should partake
largely of vegetable deposit, be mellow, free from small
stones, and lie as near levgl as 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 the spot has been selected, put in your plough
a foot to sixteen inches deep, in the fall, giving the
frost an opportunity to operate for you in pulverizing
or fining up your soil, which is very necessary, as 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—
putim the plough not over four or five inches deep,
haul on your dressing, and harrow in until it is fully
mixed with the soil.

I will here insert a bit of my experience, At the
outset of my onion-cultivation, I had a man in my
employ whose father owned the farm previous to my
coming into possession. He was positive I could not
raise 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
I had two
‘tons of stones loaded upon a wide-felloed cart, and

Po over the piece until it was thoroughly packed

Me ede 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 anda half rods of ground, or at the rate of a thou-
sand bushels per acre. If you plough or work your soil
deep, the roots will consequently strike deep, and hold
on so as to afford you a bountiful crop of bull-necks, or
scallions, as my boys call them. I think this the
cause of the failure of most persons who are not sue-
cessful. I have found in cases of mildew that have
come under my observation, that those portions of the
field were the most affected where the soil was the
most mellow.

The quality of dressing used is quite important, and
the experience of those who have beer in the business
is of some value. For the region round Naragansett
Bay, R. I., the cultivators of onions prefer a compost
of strong hog-pen manure to any other. It should be
well pulverized in the field, where it is necessary to
have it incorporated with the soil in as fine a state as
possible, which will save much after-labor. Do the
best you can, you will find enough refuse stuff to rake
off. You need not fear doing this part of the job too
well. Some apply good fine sea-weed in the fall, and
plough in; others use fish, but these, as a general
thing, are not obtainable, however valuable. If your
soil is rich, a yearly application of fifteen cords of hog-
pen manure per acre will keep your piece producing
indefinitely, as onions, unlike most other crops, im-
prove or increase in product by replanting the same
spot continuous years. There seems to be something
valuable in the tops, leaves, roots, etc., left after a crop
is taken off, that is of service to the growth of a suc-
ceeding one.

A few years since, I used four hundred pounds of

24

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 11x52 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
bagreling, or selling by the bushel. The same is the
case if you wish to obtain large-sized tubers, without
so much regard for quantity. Fora 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 11x54 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 ina
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, asit 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 tho
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 so strong as the red. A serious objection to these
is their liability to decay, and the necessity, of course,

HOW TO RAISE ONIONS.

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. S

The time of gathering the crop is important, and re-
quires good judgment as well asexperience. 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 Jay 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 nave 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:

Oi) 10,0 GRR uOr aC. uO en UOnLEAG
Pret hs part, MaRS ay ean
so that when you commence topping, you take the
onion in your left hand, which will bring the top in
place for the knife or sheep-shears, (which are often
used,) and the onion dropped in the space between
the two rows, thus bringing six rows or drills into
one. If any weeds are on the ground previous to
topping, hoe them up in spaces where your onions are
to lay, rake all 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 nota ready sale for your crop,
and find you must store them for atime, 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.

EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 25

During the cold winter of 1856-57, I kept two| the one planted. I have had marvelous increase from

hundred bushels of onions in a wood-house, that was
covered with matched boards. On the inside of stud-
ding I tacked up some old boards, and 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 them to market as sound as when put in, not
losing more than a bushel. Never allow them to be
stirred until you are sure the frost is out, for it will
surely ruin them. Neither uncover in the least, until
they are entirely free from frost.

I may as well suggest here the propriety of every
onion-grower raising his own seed—as 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 flat or oval-shaped.
Onions are required by law to weigh fifty-six pounds
to the bushel, and flat saucer-shaped ones will not
come up to the standard.

If you wish to have early onions for marketing, sow
in September, cover the bed, when the frost first hard-
ens the ground, with sea-weed, or any other non-con-
ductor, to prevent thawing in winter, uncover in
spring, as soon as you find the frost out, and you have
onions with two months the start of those put in, in
the spring.

There is a variety called Potato Onion, that is early
and mueh used by market-gardeners. They grow
from planting the tuber, attaching themselves around

this variety.

As it may not be uninteresting to a beginner, I will
state the result of my experience in cultivating onions
for successive years. In 1836, I took up a piece for
onions containing an acre and six rods. Soil good,
some weeds, and some small 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 11x54 inches.
These crops were unusually large. I also kept an ac-
count of expenses on crop up to time of sale. In this
account I charged the crops with every item of ex-
pense, interest on land, dressing, labor, tools, etc., etc.,
and found that I could raise onions for about 17 cents
per bushel. Some seasons they cost me more, others
less, according to yield of crop, or extra amount of
labor to keep clean in wet seasons. They never cost
me over twenty, nor under thirteen cents per bushel.
As to price obtained, Iam not so well able to state,
as I often sold in different places, and at different
times, and account of sales going in with otker 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 berrel.—From the above
statement, the conclusion is reached, that I have found
the cultivation of onions profitable, and that any one
may do the same under favorable circumstances.

No. XV.

BY SAMUEL BOUTON, FAIRFIELD C0., CT.

VanRieties.—Onions will grow on almost any soil
that is not too dry. 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 the best, as they are very solid
and firm, and their keeping qualities can not be sur-

If for a fall market, that variety known as
the Wethersfield Red is better, as the yield will be some-
what greater, and they will be ripe a few days earlier,
If for an early market, potato onions should be raised.

‘The advantages of the potato onion over the other
_ kind, are, first, an early market and the use of the

_ ground for some other crop, after they are off; and
_ second, a high price, and one third less labor in their
cultivation, The disadvantages are, first, a great out-

lay is required for seed; and second, it is difficult to
keep the seed during the winter. I would not recom-
mend them for field cultivation, unless on a small
scale. As the mode of cultivation for these different
kinds is essentially the same, one description will
answer for the whole.

Srep.—The seed should be procured of some
reliable seed-grower, if possible out of the immediate
neighborhood, as seed brought from a distance will do
better than that which is grown on the ground, where
the crop is to be raised. If this can not be done, the
seed may be raised on the spot. Sound, firm roots
should be selected for seed. They should be put in
the ground as soon as the frost is out. They should be
set in rows, twelve inches apart one way, by about
six the other. Light poles or twine may be run

26

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 sufficient to cover it,
when the blasted, if any, will swim. These should be
thrown away; the remainder may be carefully dried
and put up for use.

Care should be taken in selecting seed, to procure
a good article, as this is the rock on which the hopes
of the cultivator are frequently shipwrecked. If the
seed be shrunk, scallions may be the only product.
Old seed is not so likely to grow as new, but if it
must be planted, it should be soaked a few hours in
water. They should be planted as soon as the ground
is sufficiently dry. The middle or latter part of April
isin 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, acrop of
scallions may be the only product.

MaAnureE.—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,
tliree or four inches thick, spread on the ground, then
a coat of muck, about the same thickness, and proceed
in this way, till the whole is finished. The heat aris-
ing from the manure will rapidly decompose the muck,
while the muck will retain the ammonia arising from
the 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 be fit for use.
If it should be shoveled over once or twice, it will be
improved: forty loads will be sufficient for an acre. If
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. The manure should bespread
evenly over the ground, and ploughed immediately in,
six or eight inches deep. The subsoil plough should
be run in eyery furrow, sixteen or eighteen inches
deep. The ground should now be ploughed with a
surface-plough, ten or twelve inches deep. If two
hundred pounds of the best Peruvian guano be now
sowed on and harrowed in, it will give the plants a

HOW TO RAISE ONIONS.

fine start. The ground should be raked with a garden-
take, 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 hills, four inches apart in the rows, and three or
four seeds in a place. This will be found more conve-
nient for hoeing than a continuous drill, and the yield
will be as good. The seed should be covered about
half an inch deep, either 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 stirred around the roots
of, the plants. A small hoe, with four prongs on one
side, and a narrow edge on the other, will be found
very convenient. These are made of malleable iron,
and are sold at six cents each. If the ground is free
from weeds, four hoeings may be sufficient. If the
crop appear sluggish in the early stages of its growth,
a liquid manure may be prepared by dissolving one
hundred pounds of Peruvian Guano in water, and
sprinkling it on with a watering-pot. This will be
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 cultiyating
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 this way with no other
trouble than sowing the seed and harvesting the crop.

HARVESTING AND SToRING.—The onions, when ripe,
may be turned out of the ground by passing a hoe
under the rows. If intended for winter, they should
be left on the ground till perfectly dry. If the weather
is dry, three or four days will answer. The husks will
then peel off, and they will assume a bright-red color,
which makes them more salable. They should be
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 be 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 noharm. 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,

EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS,

27

No. XVI.

BY THOMAS FULTON, WAYNE CO., PA.

Quatities oF LAND.—To raise a good crop of onions,
the land is required to be, 1st. New, that is, lately
brought in from rich sod, and then there will be but
few weeds to contend with in the culture; 2a. [ich
on the top : the land can not be made too rich for onions,
but the richness should be on the top of the land, as
the onion roots will not descend into’the ground more
than an inch or an inch and a half at furthest ; and
3d. The land should be well setiled, as, if the land be
rich and soft, the onions will grow to tops, or what are
called (in Europe) “ scallions,” but if the land has been
well settled, they will grow to roots, or what is called
onions.

PREPARATION OF GROUND.— To obtain the above
results, the land should be prepared the previous year.
In Europe, especially in the north of Ireland, where
onions are extensively raised as a paying crop for
market, the land (generally rich sod) is ploughed early
in spring, neatly and light, into narrow ridges, say five
feet ridge and furrow, and about the middle of May,
the land is harrowed, and the manure (good barnyard)
put on; the ridges are lined out four feet wide, and the
manure spread evenly and broken fine. It is then
planted with potatoes. The seed is dropped in rows
across the ridge, about eight inches apart in the row,
and the rows about a foot from each other. The pota-
toes are then covered about an inch deep out of the
furrow, the mould spread evenly and broken fine.
They remain so until the potato plants begin to appear,
or when the “buds” are bursting the top of the land.
Then the furrows 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, after which they require no more labor
(except weeding, which should not be neglected, lest
' the seeds of the weeds remain and give trouble in the
ensuing crop) until the fall, when the potatoes are fit
for digging up. This is done with a spade: the ridge
_ is all dug over evenly, the potatoes picked up, care
a Posing taken to keep the rich mould on the top of the
ze 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
‘ n seed is then sown, and covered by raking it in;
it is then clapped over with the back of a spade, or by
bs ‘passing a hand-roller over it; this is called sowing on
- the “winter face,” and 1 have nevef seen this fail to
produce sa good crop of onions. I have seen acres pre-
pared and raised in this way.
? _ The objection to the above mode of preparing the
~ land toriecaactite 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 when the buckwheat is cut and
taken off, plough the land neatly and light into narrow
ridges, five feet ridge and furrow; let it remain for
some time to settle and rot any weeds, then harrow
well and puton the manure. Mark or line out the
ridges four feet wide, leaving one foot for a furrow;
spread the manure evenly, and break it fine. Trench
up the furrows and cover the manure evenly, let the
land remain until sowing time in spring, and prepare
and put in the onion seed on the ‘winter face,” as
above. I have not tried this, but I believe it will be
found to produce a good crop.

Tutrp MetHop.—To prepare the land the fall pre-
vious to sowing the onion seed, for small quantities.

Dig the patch (intended for onions) with a spade, a
foot deep, turn the top down, cover all grass or weeds,
and break it fine. Then mark out the ridges four feet
wide, leaving a foot for a furrow between the ridges,
Then take a hoe, and draw the mould evenly about an
inch and a half deep from half-way across the ridges on
either side, to the place marked out for the farrow;
spread the manure on the ridge (thus hollowed) evenly,
and break it fine; shovel the mould collected on the
furrow, and cover the manure, leave it so until sowing-
time the ensuing spring; then rake it well, and sow
the onion seed, cover with the rake, and clap it over
with the back of a spade.

Fourth Mrtuop.—vTo prepare the land at the time
of sowing the onion seed: dig it a foot deep, inark out
the ridges as in third method, and spread on the manure,
which should be well-rotted cow-dung. , Horse-dung 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 it,
and sow the seed ; cover with the rake, and clap it
well all over with a spade, to settle and close the land.
I have raised good crops of onions in both these ways,
and the Jargest 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 itis new seed, it is softer, and tastes stronger
of the onion than if it is old seed. White globe or
white flat, mixed with a little red, say one third red, will
do well.

TIME OF SOWING THE SEED.—In this country we

28

can not fix a certain time. In some places and some
seasons the Jand 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 ONnrons.—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 smull, than if they are allowed to grow large:
then they are liable to injure the roots of the onions in
pulling them, and ifallowed 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
haye got up to be pretty large in the tops, (in Europe, )
those of them which do not show a disposition to make
a head, but grow up with a luxuriant top, (these they
call “‘seallions,”) 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, pull those that are thus
withered off, and dry them on cloths until they are

as

HOW TO RAISE ONIONS.

thoroughly dried. Those whose tops are not fully
withered, leave remaining some time longer, and twist
the tops 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
fally withered off, and with 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.

Norers.—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.

DSLLLLLLLDDY YOO —wnr""

No. XVII.

BY STILLMAN MORGAN, ADDISON CO, VT.

Ir a man has only a small piece of ground that he
can call his own, perhaps there is no crop more profit-
able than the onion crop. The writer has raised this
vegetable each year for thirty years. His success is
owing to experiments tried and varied until the best is
found.

THE GARDENER.—You wish only to cultivate from
one bushel to five. Find the “potato onion.” But
if you can not find that kind, get the “top onion, ”
which is nearest to it. The reason I recommend these
varieties to the gardener is, that the crop is sure, and
always grows clear of maggots. If you have plenty
of them, take great and small, and use them all for seed.

For THe Fretp.—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 yielders,

PREPARATION OF GROUND.—Select interval, made
land, that seems to have been brought 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
light soil. But if your ground is light loam on sandy
soil, cart on clay quite abundantly. But if your land
is a naked rock, and nobody will let you into their
field for materials to make land of, then go into the
highway ; find a “sag” or low place, that has received
wash from roads or buildings or any where else. Cart
it to the place desired. And then you have an onion-
bed for a hundred years—don’t change places often.

When the soil is to your mind, then cart on any kind
of rich manure; do this early, and have the ground
ploughed early in September. Then there will be time
for all foul seeds to grow, but not having time to mature,
you will loose your weeds.

Then in the spring, as early as possible, plough again ;
that will leave the manure well mixed and near the
top. Now put on your harrow or muck-rake, and
pulverize as fine as possible. Strike out your ground

EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS,

in handsome form. Then if you have enough ground
to pay, get a professional seed-sower. He will come
with a little machine, and sow three or four rows at a
time as fast as he can walk. Gauge your machine so
as to have the onions, when grown, so near-as to touch
each other. But have the rows so far apart, that a
common hoe will pass between. Do not be afraid of
tramping your ground, especially if the soil is light.

Weepixe.—As the roots of onions, many of them,
grow near the surface, do not chop down deep with
your hoe to cut them off; many a good bed of onions
has been spoiled by late weeding, by disturbing the
ground too deeply. I like to have my onions hoed in
the morning, while the dew is on. If you are going to
Taise onions indeed, don’t be afraid of soiling your
knees. Do not cover up the onion too deep, nor leave
it so as to fall this way and that, by taking away too
much dirt from it. ,

“Top Oxtons” or “Potato.”"—When your ground

1s ready, have a sort of furrowing instrument. It is a
home-made thing. Make a thing just like arake, with
no teeth in it; then put in as many teeth as you wish
to mark rows with, once going across the bed. Or
instead of teeth, nail on rockers. Then push the rake
so made, before you. And when you return, place the
end-rocker in the outside furrow; thus do until your
Tows are all marked.
. Sowrnea.—Take your onions or seed in a basket by
your side, go down on your knees, and put in one at a
time. But be sure you put it right end up, or the
onion will grow heels over head. Cover the seed just
ont of sight.

SaLt.—When you have done planting or sowing your
onions, whatever kind they are, sow on salt, common
salt. Sow as thick as peas. I would do this again,
perhaps in June, not so much the last time. Whether
field or garden onions, go out in the morning while the
dew is on, or after a shower, take dry unleached ashes,
and with a shingle throw them up into the air, and let
them fall in a cloud of dust on the onions. Repeat
this two or three times while the onions are growing.
And I had forgotten to say that coal-dust, taken from

old coal-pits or from forges, with leached ashes coated

on, and well mixed in the ground before ploughing, will

29

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
off the maggot-fly.

Go into store-cellars, where they have sold fish 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 them in a dry place until
well seasoned, then hang them in the cellar-way for
all winter.

If you have any to sell, take a fair specimen of them;
then go and show them where you wish to sell. But
by all means do not let them remain long on your
hands. If you keep them long in heaps, they will rot.
And then you had better have any thing else. Let
them slide at the then present prices. You can well
afford them for fifty cents a bushel, but you will
oftener get a dollar. For your seed potato-onions, you
should have from two dollars to two and a half per
bushel. The seed of the top-onions I have usually
sold for from four to five dollars per bushel. I have
sent out barrels of this seed to distant States, though
I have none now to sell.

Of the top-onions, I have raised at the rate of seven
hundred bushels per acre. And one of my neighbors,
who followed my directions, raised at the rate of eight
hundred 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 ont any
kind of an old onion, and when the top begins to form
as if to go to seed, cut off the main stalk, and it will
bottom. But these bottoms will never winter, but
rot. Eat them green, or supply the market.

If you want good, new, fresh onions in May, go to
the woods, and search in low places, and there gather
leeks. Or if you prefer it, raise cives, which are the
lowest species of the onion. >

30 HOW TO RAISE ONIONS.

THE ONION FLY.—Anthomyia Ceparum.

In travelling through the county of Hssex, N. Y., a
short time since, particularly along the beautiful plains
in the vicivity of the Au-Sable River, I had my atten-
tion repeatedly attracted to the withered and sickly
appearance of nearly all the fields of onions, through
which I passed. Upon inquiring the cause, T was in-
variably told that it was the effects of a worm, and
that it was extremely doubtful if a single tuber in a
healthful condition would be obtained in a hundred
plants. This excited my curiosity, and on raising the
bulbs from the earth, I had little difficulty in recogniz-
ing the larva of a Dipterous (two-winged) insect, be-
longing to a species which in England, as well as in
mauy other parts of Europe, for the last twenty years,
have almost entirely destroyed the onion crops, upon
the cultivation of which so considerable an amount of
labor and experience have been expended. To sucha
degree have their ravages extended in those countries,

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.

Moch uncertainty still seems to prevail among ento-
mologists respecting the peculiar habits and instincts
of this little depredator, and we greatly fear that they
will long remain in ignorance, unless some interested
and intelligent individual, residing on the spot, and
having daiiy 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 certainty be able to suggest any reasonable method
for effectually removing them. If it be not done
speedily, a knowledge of the prolific manner of their
increase, makes it probable that they will, in the course
of but a few years, spread over the whole country, and
almost, if not entirely, obliterate this highly useful
vegetable from our gardens.

This insect depredator is, I think, undoubtedly the
Anthomyia ceparum, of Meigen, or a species so closely
allied, as to differ but little from it in any of its
habits.

It is shown at ¢, 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, ¢ being the natural
size, and d maguilied. It belongs to the second gen-
eral division of the J/uscides, that of the Anthomyzides,
which is composed of species, all of whom have greatly
the appearance of common flies.

The larva of this insect, a in fig. 2, is about 4 of an
inch in length, fleshy, and of a wlnte color. It is of a
conical form, with a smooth aud shining surface, and
entirely free from any external superiicial appendages.
The incisions are finely granulate, and the last aud
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 8, 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 few
days become hatched, the larvee immeédiately penetrat-
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 PRACTICAL GROWERS. 31

at maturity, and change to the pupa state, fig 5, and
in from fifteen or twenty days more emerge the perfect
fly, fully prepared to accomplish their depredations by
depositing their eggs upon the more healthy plants.
As many as from one to five of the larva were fre-
quently to be met with on a single plant.

The perfect insect is about half the size of the com-
mon house-fly, with a few thinly scattered hairs cover-
ing the surface of the body. It is of an ash-gray color,
the males being distinguished by a series of dark stripes
upon the back. The head is marked with a brownish
spot upon its apex. The wings are exceedingly trans-

parent, exhibiting beautiful iridescent reflections from
their surfaces, the shoulders of which are of an ochery-
brown color, and the veins of brownish yellow.

This fly may not unfrequently be met with in the
spring of the year, basking in the sunshine about the
windows of the neighboring dwellings. And from the
circumstance of finding their larvz in the greatest pro-
fusion, committing their depredations in the middle and
latter parts of August, we are inclined to believe that
they pass through several generations in a season, and
that they probably make use of the seed of the plant,
on which to deposit the egg for the larve of the en-
suing spring. If this be so, steeping the seeds in
brine, before sowing, we should suppose would be the
proper remedy; if otherwise, the process will not mate-
rially affect 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 difficult 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 only be thrown over about two thirds of
the bed, so as to leave a portion of the plants for them
to resort to on being brought to the perfect state, and
driven from their original resting-place. When they
have been converted to the larva state and commenced
their depredations, these plants should be pulled up
and consumed by fire.

It has been recommended to prepare the beds as
early in the 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 burn them over; after which, plant
the seeds for the ensuing crop immediately. This pro-
cess, it # stated, has proved perfectly successful in
driving away the insects and insuring good crops, and
in addition to this, has furnished a capital top-dressing
to the soil. Onion-beds prepared from the hearths
upon which charcoal has been burned, have likewise
been mentioned as producing the perfect vegetable,
entirely free from the attacks of the fly.

Should the charcoal method here mentioned, be uni-
versally adopted, we have little doubt but that this
insect depredator will in a short time become greatly
reduced in number if not entirely destroyed, and afford
a much better chance for a more healthful crop of tho
onion plants hereafter. J. E.

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VOL. 18. a9

THE %

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