For instance, we had in our
garden plenty of onions three inches in diameter from these little
sets, while the seed, sown at the same time, will not yield good
bulbs before August. There is but little need of raising these
sets, for it is rather difficult to keep them in good condition
over the winter. Any seedsman will furnish them, and they are
usually on sale at country stores. Three or four quarts, if in
good condition, will supply a family abundantly, and leave many to
be used dry during the autumn. Insist on plump little bulbs. If
you plant them early, as you should, you will be more apt to get
good sets. Many neglect the planting till the sets are half dried
up, or so badly sprouted as to be wellnigh worthless. They usually
come in the form of white and yellow sets, and I plant an equal
number of each.
The chief insect enemies are onion maggots, the larvae of the
onion fly. These bore through the outer leaf and down into the
bulb, which they soon destroy. I know of no remedy but to pull up
the yellow and sickly plants, and burn them and the pests
together. The free use of salt in the fall, and a light top-
dressing of wood-ashes at the time of planting, tend to subdue
these insects; but the best course is prevention by deeply
cultivating and thoroughly enriching in the fall, leaving the
ground rough and uneven for the deep action of frost, and by
sowing the seed VERY early in spring.
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