Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1890-06-27
MAKING AN ONION BED.
Story of How 1t Is Done by the DarIies In
Sunny bermuda.


Story of How 1t Is Done by the Darlsies In
Sunny Bermuda.
The making OF Bermuda onion bed
is a work that requires a vast amount OF
time and calculation. There was lot
about two hundred feet square on the
outskirts of Hamilton, enclosed with
high wall, so near the hotel | saw it ev-
cry day and had an excellent chance to
watch the operation of cultivating it. The
soil was dark and rich, smooth and fria-
Bile, as most of the tillable soil in Ber-
muda is Three men, all colored, went
to work at that lot the last week in Jan,
uary and began the preliminary work
toward making an onion bed. They
paced it off from north to south, east to
west; measured it with poles, paced it
off again, then lay down under a tree to
rest. This measuring and resting took
several days. When they were sure of
the exact size they brought in horse
and pillow and began to turn over the
soil, one man driving the horse, another
holding the pillow, while the third rested
under tree. After two or three burrows
were made there was evidently differ
ence of opinion as to whether the lot
should be plowed up and down or across.
There WAS an earnest conversation, a
vast amount of pointing and gesticula-
ting, and the horse and pillow were taken
away. The next day the blowing began
ooair off I.- e rl,at L..
Bermuda is called labor, the lot
was plowed. Such exertion of course
demanded period Of rest, and
after the lapse of one day the three men
reappeared armed with hoes and rakes,
and began to Smooth down" the soil.
This is work that the Bermuda darby
must delight in. He must first deter
mine where to begin, and that requires
some hours of deliberation. Then, hav-
ing made up his mind, he attacks one
corner with hoe, and strikes several
effective blows. A carriage drives past,
and he stops and leans upon the hoe
handle till it is out of sight. Two or
three more blows, and he goes slowly off
to distant part of the lot for drink of
water. On his return to work he breaks
two or three more clods, finds stone or
bit of broken glass that attracts his at
tention, picks it up and carries it to one
of his fellow-workmen to get his opinion
of it. Returns to work, breaks few
more clods, and by this time is SO
fatigued that he has to stretch out under
tree and rest. 1t is only, of course,
While he is under the boss eye that he
exerts himself in this way. When the
boss is absent the darby is asleep under
tree. He gets four English shillings
day for this business, and does not
earn one. Although the Bermuda darby
is better educated and generally more
civilized than his brother in the West
Indies, he is just as lazy and just as
thoroughly worthless.
AT the end of two weeks the lot was
plowed and raked down to q proper
smoothness. Then followed period of
inactivity, perhaps to let the soil recov-
err from its unwonted exertion. After a
lapse of three or four days the men APP
peared again and repeated their former
pacing off and measuring, alternating
this with siestas under the tree, and
heated arguments about whether the
beds should run lengthwise or across.
This important matter took days of de-
liberation, and at length the beds were
marked out. Then came putting out
the ''sets," for in Bermuda tho onion
seed is sown in the open ground and al
lowed to grow until the bulbs are as
large as the end of a small finger, tho
plants being then transplanted to
long beds of six straight rows
each, with narrow walks between.
1t took more than week to put out
the sets, and February was almost gone
before the garden was plan ted. Those
three men were at work at it for three
weeks, doing what one good American
gardener would have done in four days.
This was good example of cheap
colored labor: Three men at 81 day
each; twenty-four days, S72; an Ameri
can gardener at 50 day, days, IS. The
owner of that lot would be frightened
to pay laborer SO day, but he was
really paying his men at the rate Of
$40 day each, considering the work
they did. But when the men went home
to rest after their arduous toll nature be
gan her work-and it is good thing fol
Bermuda that nature is not as lazy as
the darkies. For two or three days the
tops of the little onions were wiltet
and brown, and it was hard to see thai
any thing was planted at all. But they
began to pick up. There came warn
rain and sunshine, and more warn
showers, and at the end of the week thu
onion beds were as green as they woult
be with US in month.-Cor. N. Y
Times.