hout
its aid, while to others it adds a zest that contributes alike to
enjoyment and health. Although there are but few difficulties to be
encountered in the cultivation of the Onion, there is a marked
difference between a well-grown crop and one under poor management.
There is, moreover, what may be termed a fine art department in Onion
culture, one result being special exhibitions, in which handsome bulbs
of great weight are brought forward in competition for the amusement and
edification of the sight-seeing public. Thus, when the first principles
have been mastered, there may be, for the earnest cultivator of this
useful root, many more things to be learned, and that may be worth
learning, alike for their interest and utility.

==Treatment of Soil.==--The Onion can be grown on any kind of soil, but
poor land must be assisted by liberal manuring. A soil that will not
produce large Onions may produce small ones, and the smallest are
acceptable when no others are to be had. But for handsome bulbs and a
heavy crop a deep rich loam of a somewhat light texture is required,
although an adhesive loam, or even a clay, may be improved for the
purpose; while on a sandy soil excellent results may be obtained by good
management, especially in a wet season. In any case the soil must be
well prepared by deep digging, breaking the lumps, and laying up in
ridges to be disintegrated by the weather, and if needful its texture
should be amended, as far as possible, at the same time. A coat of clay
may be spread over a piece of sand, to be thoroughly incorporated with
it; on the other hand, where the staple is clay, the addition of sand
will be advantageous. All such corrective measures yield an adequate
return if prudently carried out, because it is possible to grow Onions
from year to year on the same ground; and thus in places where the soil
is decidedly unsuitable a plot may be specially prepared for Onions, and
if the first crop does not fully pay the cost, those that follow will do
so. But the plant is not fastidious, and it is easy work almost anywhere
to grow useful Onions. The first step in preparing land is to make it
loose and fine throughout, and as far as possible to do this some time
before the seed is sown. For sowing in spring, the beds should be
prepared in the rough before winter, and when the time comes for
levelling down and finishing, the top crust will be found well
pulverised, and in a kindly state to receive the s