The Newtown bee., 1896-06-12
'u&p>uAwINE TESTS WITH uNIu>s

ar"s, r'r tfau~planring method pr, @ duc"~ mature bulbs in t}r course If ere
 seasou with only the initial expense ot sash for the ho5-bpt Transp3unting might therefore, with increasing profit, l -upersede the use nf sets. Finally, f for any reason 1t becomes necessary rnr a grower to use smutty land for onions. or if smut has recently made it's appear ancn in piece of onion lard, the land so
 jofestcd can be set with seedlings which
 will produce a clean crop, thus not only m@kin& smuICy land once mere avail able for onions, but lesseniug the daugcI
 of spreading the disease,
 Although considerations regarding tho comparative value of dfcre0t methods .of cultivation are rather horticultural .lhan mycoloejcal, it seems advisable to
 note certain facts which ,his and that
 other similar experiments have made ap-
 parent.
 The general opinion seems to be thal the large foreign yarjt ties of onions show greater gain from transplantng
 than the native varieties which arc main
 y used in Connecticut. It ia net unusu- al for such varieties as White Tripoli
 Bocca, Pompeii and White Victoria to
 show gaiu of from 100 per cent to BOO per cent, by this method of growing :;
 Mir Greiner's striking results were se- cured with the variety known as Prize taker, grown from American seed In the experiment at Southport, IS well as one undertaken simultaneously at tbis Station, Wethcr8fieId Red was used, t:le object being 10 make the test with var i1ry very largely grown in this State.
 When the onions were harvested the total weight and bulk of the crop from -eeG and If that from lra0splanted seed hngs was a7ccrtained; fifty bulbs ee- lectcd at raud0m from each were then measured to find the average circum- ference, and finally ten of the largest bulbs in each lot were selected for pho tographing. Plate l, Fig, l, shows the comparative size of.the bulbs. One-half Jf the seeded rows at the Station were thinned out when the plants were about eight inches high, so that the remaining plants were about three inches apart, thus corresponding to the transplantcd seedlings. The smaller size of the bulbs grown at the Station was due to the fact that the soil was not swell suited to on- ions.
 1t will be observed that in the South port experiment. there was a gain in favor of the transpanted onions of 8I per cent, in weight, and in 6 per cent. in the average size. of the bulbg. The advantage of the transplanting to avoid smut has already been commented on.
 The results obtained at the Station ex- hibit still greater contrasts; in fact the crop obtained from seed was fit for noth. | ing but picking, whereas thes5ransplant- ed seedlings gave full yield of fair sized bulbs. When the plants from seed l were about three inches high they were attacked by cut-worms. It was im- possible to determine accurately the damage from the cause, but q moderate would place the loss at D per eent.; these were counted as ''missing." )n the rransplanted rows the onions were almost | onth in advance of the others and practically escaped injury. The advantage gained by thinning out he seed-rows was only that might have leen expected.
 After the completion of these experi- nents it was learned Chat T.. c. Beecher 'f Woodbridge, had tried the same meth d, and through Mir Beecher's kindness
 am enabled to publish his resu'fs are of the greater interest in tha5 he seed used was Of the variety Priza- aker, so highly recommended for trans. llanting U
 The seed was sown in aets About