Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1877-05-18
Onion Raising.

Farmers who are we'll situated in regard
to market, and who are we'll provided with
help for light work, cannot ordinarily raise
more profitable crop than onions. To sue
ceed with this crop, however, it is necessary
to commence operations very early in the
spring. II is useless to SOW onion seed late
in the season unless one wants to raise a
crop of scalions. A crop OF onions may be
raised with the least expenditure Of time
and money on an old pasture sod, especially
one that has long been pastured by sheep.
First-cluss plowing will be required SO that
tho furrows shall be straight. The harrow
ing must be done lengthwise of the burrows,
and Immediately before the seed is sown.
The object of sowing onion seed on rich
soil is to avoid weeds and render cultivation
easy. As large a crop cannot be expected
as when the seed is sown on well pulver-
lied soil that has been recently mauured,
but the labor of cultivation will be very
greatly reduced.
Onions will ordinarily succeed on any
land that will produce a good crop Of corn,
providing it is dry enough to pillow very
early in the spring. A dark, sandy soil, If
highly manured, will generally produce a
good crop Of onions Of excellent flavor. Bot.
tom lands that are naturally rich are favor.
able to onions, as there are likely to be very
few weeds to interfere with their growth.
The only trouble with this sort of land is its
liability to be wet early in the season. A
rich soil is of the first necessity for this crop.
A good amount Of manure will give the
young plants good start in the spring and
will help produce large crop. The manure
applied should be free from foul seeds. 1t
should not be green and rank, as it would
have tendency to produce maggots, and
might have tendency to interfere with the
termination of the feed. Old hog manure,
the droppngs of fowls and sheep, are the
best, though well rotted barn.yard manure is
very good. Whatever kind of manure is
used should be well puverizod and narrowed
IN. a top dressing of wood ashes is excel
lent both as means of preventing the work.
ing OF the maggots and of insuring a large
crop of onions. A top dressing of well pul.
verized air-slaked lime is also of advantage.
Commercial manures are preferable to farm
yard manures, as they contain no seeds of
weeds.
Next in Importance to your soil is good
seed. 1t should be plump and of the last
years growth. Many prefer to use two
kinds of seed, as the red Weathers6eld and
Yellow Danvers, so if one kind fails there
will be hope for the other. About FIVE
pounds Of seed are required for an acre
The drills should be about six inches apart
and the hills six inches from each other
From six to eight seed should be placed in
each hill. If the seed is soaked for week
In tepid water before planting, it will come
up quicker. For convenience in planting it
should be mixed with dry land plaster. The
rows should be straight for convenience of
working. As soon as the seed is up so the
row can be seen, the soil should be shaved
with hoe. In fact, this is the only work.
ing required during the entire summer. 1t
is better not to dig the ground but simply to
keep it clear Of weeds
The greatest labor required in raising this
crop is, the hand wedding that must be done
when the plants become well established.
At this time the number should be reduced
to four or five in a hill. They appear to
grow about as well in clusters as singy. In
ordinary seasons the soil should be scraped
over once in two weeks. As the onions ri
pen the tops fall over. They are then ready
to harvest, though they may remain where
they grew until the approach of cold weather.
In harvesting they should be pulled and al.
lowed to remain on the ground for week to
dry The tops should then be cut off, and
the onions placed in cool aud dry place.
Five hundred bushels to the acre is not an
unusual crop. The prices of onions vary
greatly in different years, but it is unusual
for them to be drug in the market. Dur
ing the war onion raising was exceedingly
proftable.-Chicago TtmeS.