The morning call., 1890-06-16
RAISING ONIONS IN BERMUDA.
How the Natives Proceed to Get Their
Small Feds Intn Rrime Cnnd ition.

How the Natives Proceed to Get Their
Small Beds Into Prime Condition..
The making of Bermuda onion-bed is a
work that requires vast amount of time
and calculation, says correspondent of
the New York Times. There was a lot
about 200 feet square on the outskirts Of
Hamilton, inclosed with high stone wall,
SO near the hotel that / saw it every day
and had an excellent chance to watch the
operation of cultiyating it. The soil was
dark and rich. smooth and friable, as most
of the tillable soil in Bermuda is. Three
men, all colored, went to work at that lot
the last week in January 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 IL of again, then lay
down under tree 10 rest. This measuring
and resting took several days. When they
were sure of the exact size they brought in
horse and plow and began to turn over
the soil, one man driving the horse, an
other holding the pillow. while the third
rested under tree. After two or three
burrows were made there was evidently a
difference of opinion as to whether the lot
should be plOwed up and down OF across.
There was an earnest conversation, a vast
amount of pointing and gesticulating and
the horse and pillow were taken away. The
next day the blowing began again. and after
labor. the LOT was plowed. Such exertion
Of course demanded period of rest, and
after the lapse of one day the three men re-
appeared, 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 determine where to begin,
and that requires some hours of delibera-
ton. Then, having made up his min d, he
attacks one corner with a hoe, and strikes
several effective blows: A carriage drives
past and he stops and leans upon the hoe
handle till 1t Is out of sight. Two
or three more blows and he goes
slowly off to a distant part of the
lot for drink of water. On his re-
turn to work he breaks two or three more
clods, finds a little stone or bit of broken
glass that attracts his attention, picks it up
and carries it to one of his fellow-workmen
to get his opinion of it. Returns to work,
breaks a 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 ex-
erts himself in this way. When the boss
is absent the darky is asleep under the
tree. He gets English Shillings a day for
this business, and does not earn one.
Although the Bermuda darby is better edu-
Gated and generally more civilized than his
brotherain 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 proper Doth
ness. Then followed q period OF inactivity,
perhaps to let the soil recover from its un-
w0nted eXertion. After Il lapse of three or
four days the men api cared again and re-
peated their former pacing OFF and measur-
ing, alternating this with siestas under the
tree, and heated arguments about whether
the beds should run leDgthwise or across.
This important matter took days of
deliberation, and at length the beds
were marked out. Then came putting
out the sets" for in Bermuda
the onion seed is sown in the
open ground and allowed to grow until the
bulbs are as large as the end of small
fin ger, the plants then being transplanted
to long beds of six straight rows each, with
narrow walks between. 1t took more than
a week to put cut the sets, aud February
was almost gone before the garden was
planted. Those three men were at work at
it for four weeks, doing what one good
American gardener would have done in four
days. This was good example of cheap"
cOlOIed labor. Three men at 81 a day
each, twenty-four days, S72; an American
gardener at 81 day, four days, So. The
owner of that lot would be frightened
to pay laborer 81 day, but be was
really paying his men at the rate of nearly
$40 DAY each, considering the Work they
did. But when the men went home to rest
after their arduous toll, nature began her
work-and it is good thing for Bermuda
that nature is not as lazy as the darkies.
For two or three days the tops OF the little
onions were wilted and brown, and it was
hard to see that anything was planted at
all. But they began TO pick up. There
came a warm raiu and sunshine, and more
warm showers, and at the end of week
the onion beds were as green as they could
be with US in month. All the weeds that
show themselves are carefully pulled out
by hand, frequently by women and chill
dren, and the soil is loosened with narrow
spading-forks with long handles. The Ber-
muda onions never looked better in March
than they do now, and there is every pros
pect of an abundant crop.