Early Red Globe-a very fine and delicate onion-much sought after, and highly esteemed by epicures.

The red varieties are generally better growers and keepers than the white and yellow, but do not sell as readily, nor bring as high a price in the markets.

The Yellow Danvers-round, solid, a good keeper, and the next in production, if not the equal of the Weathersfield. It ripens about the beginning of September; is very compact and heavy, weighing more per bushel than any other; is more uniform in shape and size, and will yield a greater proportion of handsome, well-developed seed onions" than any other, according to Mr. Gregory, of Marblehead, Massachusetts.

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The Early Cracker-so called from its resemblance to the water-cracker— also a yellow onion, is thin, compact, honey-color, "in fineness of structure and delicacy of flavor is unsurpassed," and accordingly commands a higher price than other early sorts. It bruises easily, and, therefore, requires careful handling. Its diameter varies from two to three inches, and its thickness is about one inch from neck to root.

White Portugal or Silver Skin-an early variety, frequently planted for "sets." It is rather a poor keeper, but has a mild, sweet, delicious flavor. It is the principal variety grown in Buenos Ayres, where it grows much larger

than here.

The Potato onion grows from bulbs planted deep in the ground, the planted bulb growing to a large size, and producing from five to seven small bulbs around it for next year's planting. It is the earliest of the onion tribe, being fit for the table several weeks earlier than any grown from seed. And as it is planted deeper in the earth than common "sets" or "buttons," it may be put in place in the fall, (as it is easier to shelter from freezing by extra covering than the common onion,) so as to start at the first warmth of spring. The potato onion is mild in flavor, hard in flesh, and the small bulbs excellent for pickling. It is a poor keeper. Plant in rows 18 inches apart, and the bulbs from 6 to 8 inches apart in the row. The planted bulb will grow to about three inches in

diameter.

There is no doubt that the potato onion originated in some freak of the common kinds, as frequently a seed will produce several little onions instead of a large one; and sometimes a potato onion will send up a large single shoot and try to head, but seldom produces seed.

The Tree or Top onion produces sets instead of seed, like the garlic; but it is little esteemed except for pickles, and seldom grown. Planted and cultivated like the common onion when the latter is set out for seed.

Of the above kinds, the Weathersfield large red is the most prolific, in some instances over 900 bushels having been produced to the acre. Next, if not equal to it in productiveness, is the Yellow Danvers. In pecuniary profit the two are probably equal, except in particular localities, where market preferences may

make a difference.

The Department of Agriculture has imported and distributed widely seeds of several approved foreign varieties, which it is hoped may prove valuable accessions when properly cultivated and duly acclimated. Among these we will name the following, copying the descriptions given of them from Thompson's"Gardener's Assistant," a valuable and costly British work.

White Spanish or White Portugal.-"Very large, flat; skin loose, pale brown, falling off spontaneously, exhibiting the next coating, which i greenish white; flavor particularly mild. This sort is not a long keeper, bu is much esteemed for its quality, and is one of the best for early winter use."

White Lisbon or White Florence.-" Large, globular, neck rather thick; the skin thin, smooth, clear, and white. A late, but hardy sort."

Strasburg, Flanders, or Dutch-"Large, varying in shape from flat to globular or oval; outside coating brown, of firm texture; divested of this the color

is reddish brown tinged with green; flavor strong. Being a hardy sort and a good keeper, it is very generally cultivated."

White Globe." A sub-variety of the Strasburg, much approved of by the growers near London. It is rather large and firm; general form roundish, but inclining to taper abruptly towards the neck, and also to the root, which is an advantage, as the hard portion in connexion with the root is somewhat prominent, and can be cut off without entering deeply into the softer substance of the bulb. It is of excellent quality, and a good keeper."

French, or Dutch Blood Red.-" Middle-sized or large, rather flattish; skin dull red, the coating next below it glossy, and very dark red. The internal layers are palest at the base, and, except at the top, they are only colored on their outsides; each layer is paler than the one that surrounds it till the centre is reached, which is white. Of all others this is the strongest flavored; it keeps remarkably well."

Tripoli or Besagnina.—“Very large, tapering sometimes abruptly from the middle to the neck, and almost equally so to the root; color light reddish brown, beneath the skin pale brownish red tinged with green. It is of a soft nature, and does not keep long, but while it lasts it is much esteemed on account of its mild quality."

Welsh or Cyboule.- "This is the Allium fistulosum, L., an herbaceous pe rennial, a native of Siberia, and consequently very hardy. The French have two varieties, the white and the red. It is quite distinct from the common onion, inasmuch as it never forms a bulb; its roots are long and tapering, with strong fibres, and its stems and leaves are hollow. Its principal use is for sowing in the end of July or beginning of August, to furnish young onions for salads early in the spring. Being very hardy, some of it should be grown for a supply in case the common onion should be cut off by a severe winter."

COST AND FROFIT OF A CROP.

Both depend, of course, on many circumstances-kind of culture, success, prices of materials, labor, onions, &c. But that the inexperienced may form some estimate of probabilities the prominent items of expense per acre are named: 1st, interest on value of land; 2d, twenty loads of manure; 3d, hauling, spreading, and ploughing, or cultivating in the same, so, as to mix it thoroughly with the soil; 4th, fall and spring ploughing and harrowing; 5th, raking off clods and stones, and levelling the ground for planting; 6th, 100 bushels of ashes, or their equivalent in lime, plaster, or other fertilizers and remedies; 7th, four to six pounds of seed; 8th, planting; 9th, hoeing not less than four or five times-say six days; 10th, weeding not less than four or five times say thirty days of boy labor; 11th, pulling and piling ten to twelve days; 12th, topping, drawing home with team, and putting up crop for market. The total of these expenses in Connecticut and Massachusetts (where the cost is probably greatest) would be covered by from $130 to $150. The market price of onions in the large cities, at the proper selling season, rarely is less than fifty cents per bushel, or more than $2. Estimating an average yield to be 500 bushels, it will readily be seen that with but moderate care and success onionraising is a paying crop, and in some sections may be made a profitable one.

MISCELLANEOUS.

The new beginner should remember that skill is only acquired by experience, combined with persistent industry, close observation, and all the knowledge he can obtain from others. A beginning should, therefore, be made on a moderate scale. The second requisite is a deeply-cultivated, rich, friable soil, as free from weeds as possible. The third is good and abundant manuring. The fourth is good seed of the best kinds of onions. And the fifth (which is fully

as important as any) is, never allow the weeds to get the start of you. The land also should be as nearly level as possible, and fully exposed to the sun. Guano, superphosphates, and bone-dust or bone-flour, are all recommended for special manures to stimulate the growth, and the first named to keep off the fly; and where manure of hogs or fowls is scarce or dear, they answer an excellent purpose. The mixture of soot, fresh air-slaked lime, plaster, charcoal dust, ashes, salt, (omitting the last two if the land is heavy clay or too wet,) will be found a good preventive, and a stimulant also, and is highly recommended for the latter purpose. They should always be sowed when the plants are wet. If the soil is very sandy, and has been well limed, the lime may be omitted.

Some tramp the soil around the bulbs, or run a very light roller (or a barrel) over the rows, when the plants show no disposition to "bottom" or form bulbs. The effect is the same as in bending down and twisting the tops, as already mentioned.

Earlier crops can be secured of this plant, as of others, by careful selection of the finest early ripening onions, and of the earliest ripening seed from them. But some growers deem it necessary to " 'change seed" frequently; in which case, correspondents should be selected who can be relied on to pursue the same measures for improvement, with whom to exchange seed. A free exchange of "experience," to accompany exchanges of seed, will add to the profits of both parties.

And in this, as in the culture of all other products, the grower must enrich his soil not only with "the sweat of his brow," but with the best use of his brains, if he would attain the greatest success in his vocation.

MARKET GARDENING IN THE VICINITY OF NEW YORK.

BY PETER HENDERSON, SOUTH BERGEN, NEW JERSEY.

To supply a population of a million inhabitants daily, throughout the year, with fresh vegetables would, it might be supposed, require an immense tract of land. Such, however, is not the case. I doubt if there are more than 4,000 acres devoted to the raising of green vegetables, three-fourths of that extent being occupied with the bulkier articles of corn, peas, and beans. The finer crops of early vegetables-such as asparagus, beet, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, lettuce, onion, radish, rhubarb, tomato, and turnip-being confined to an extent of possibly not more than 1,000 acres. This area is occupied by the market gardeners in portions of from five to fifty acres, the average being about ten acres to each. I will briefly detail our manner of cultivating the above as practiced in this vicinity, premising that, for the cultivation of all kinds of vegetables for profit, the soil should be of the best quality-loam of at least ten inches deep, with a porous subsoil.

Asparagus being a crop that will produce for twenty years without renewal, extra preparation is giyen to the bed in which it is planted. This is done by thoroughly pulverizing the soil, trenching it two feet deep, incorporating it throughout with at least six inches of well-rotted manure. When thus prepared, the beds are lined out six feet wide, four rows being planted in each bed, and in length to suit the convenience of the planter. The plants are set nine inches apart in the rows. We usually take a full crop the second year after

planting. The market value of asparagus is much varied, ranging from $500 to $1,000 per acre. But when once planted, it is profitable even at the minimum rate, as there is no expense attending it, except giving it a top-dressing of manure each fall, which is dug in in the spring, and in keeping the crop clear of weeds.

The beet used for the first crop is the "bassano," which is followed by the "short-top round." These are sown about the first week in April, in rows eighteen inches apart, and are thinned out, as soon as they get about an inch high, to five or six inches apart, and thoroughly hoed with the prong hoe twice, or until the leaves cover the soil. This crop is marketable with this treatment about the middle of June, and is sold clear off in two or three weeks at a price varying from $400 to $800 per acre. This, it will be understood, is a first crop, to be followed by celery or other vegetables as a second crop, as will be described hereafter.

Early cabbage or cauliflower are our most profitable, and hence most important, of all crops. The seed for these (for their culture is the same in all respects) is sown in the open ground from the 15th to the 20th of September, and a month later the plants are planted out in "cold frames," at a distance of about two to three inches apart. These frames are covered with sashes as the cold weather advances; not usually, however, before the middle of November. Care must be taken to expose them to the air on all occasions in mild days all throughout the winter. We plant them out where they are to head, usually from the middle to the end of March, in rows two feet apart, by sixteen inches between the plants. Between the rows of cabbage or cauliflower we plant lettuce plants, which have been sown and wintered over in the same manner as the plants of cauliflower and cabbage. The lettuce is ready for market by the middle of May, and is cut out and sold before the plants of cabbage or cauliflower have grown to injure it. Thus two crops grow on the same ground at the same time. The crop of cabbage and cauliflower is sold from the middle of June until the middle of July, never later. This, also, is succeeded by the second or fall crop. The value of this double crop is rarely less than $650: thus, 15,000 lettuce at $10 per 1,000 is $150, and 12,000 cabbage at $50 per 1,000 is $500-$650.

This may be taken as a low average, for, by extra manuring and cultivation, it is not at all unusual to double these amounts.

Cauliflower commands a much higher price than cabbage, usually $25 per one hundred, but the crop is by no means so certain, as we rarely make good crops two years in succession. The variety of cabbage used is the early Wakefield exclusively. It somewhat resembles the Winnigstadt, but is at least two weeks earlier. The varieties of cauliflower, are the dwarf Erfurt and Early Paris.

Onions are raised from "sets" or small bulbs that have been grown from seed sown thickly the previous year on very poor soil, so as to render them as small as possible. These are planted out as early as the ground is fit to work in spring, in beds, rows nine inches apart, the sets two inches apart in the rows. Great care is required in this crop to have the ground hoed, just as soon as the onions start to grow, and to have the soil broken between the plants with the fingers, so as to destroy the embryo weeds before they start, as the crop may be stifled if the weeds get headway.

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The amount sold per acre has always been with me greater than other, although requiring more labor to produce it. It has never sold for less than $500 per acre, and on one occasion as high as $2,100. The onions are sold in bunches (of eight or ten in each) in the green state. If dried they come in competition with those raised from the seed, and thus do not sell at anything like s high a rate. This, also, is a first crop, cleared off in July, and followed by celery, &c., as second crops.

Early radishes-the first of all vegetables from the open ground-are of very simple culture. The ground being thoroughly pulverized by ploughing and harrowing, the seed is sown regularly "broadcast," then lightly run over again with the harrow, which completes the labor until the crop is fit to gather, usually by the middle of May, or in six weeks after sowing. But although the labor of preparing the ground is very little, the preparation of the radishes for market is very expensive, all requiring to be tied in bunches, and cleanly washed before they can be sold. The prices in the New York market average about $10 per 1,000 bunches. An experienced tier averages only about that number per day; another hand is required to gather, and still another to wash. So it will be seen that the great labor in this crop leaves but a small margin of profit; the gross receipts not being more than $300 per acre. The radish crop is usually succeeded by carrots, parsnips, or long blood beets for winter use.

Rhubarb, like asparagus, being a perennial plant, requires special preparation of the soil to produce profitable crops. The variety we find most profitable is the Victoria, though by no means so high flavored as the Linnæus; but the quality of vegetables, as regards flavor, seems to be of only secondary importance in a large market like that of New York; size being everything in an article like rhubarb. It is increased by division of the roots, planted in rows four feet apart by two and a half or three feet between the plants, and is fit to be gathered the second year after planting. The preparation of the soil is similar to that used for asparagus beds, copious dressings of well-rotted manure should be dug in close around the roots in early spring. It is a clean, convenient, and safe crop, averaging a sale of $600 per acre.

The tomato is a vegetable requiring a peculiar soil and location to be produced early. I have often seen a difference of two weeks in the ripening of this fruit from the same sized plants, planted the same day, in situations only half a mile apart, but on entirely different soils; those on the light sandy soil, selling, by their earliness, at $4 per bushel; those on the stiff clayey soil, two weeks later, a drug at one-fourth of that price. The tomato, in a country like ours, will only be profitable in warm, southerly portions of the country, where there are rapid facilities to get them to the northern markets.

Thus the crop raised in the vicinity of Baltimore will always be supplanted by that, at least ten days earlier, raised in the vicinity of Norfolk. The Baltimore crop again, in turn, supplanting that of New York. It would be difficult to determine the value of the tomato crop per acre, owing to its condition of earliness and productiveness being so varied. I have discontinued growing it for some years, being convinced that it was far from profitable in this section, although there is no doubt that, in warmer latitudes, within transporting distance (say sixty hours) of our large cities, it must be highly so.

Turnip-"Early purple top strap-leaved" is the variety most valued for market here. Its cultivation and returns are very similar to that of early turnip or Bassano beet, already described. The ground is usually cleared of this crop by the middle of June, enabling it to be followed by a second crop of sweet corn, bush beans, or celery, as may be desired. These varieties are the leading sorts that are used as a first crop. Our second consists of spinach, horseradish, celery, thyme, and other sweet herbs.

Spinach. The only variety we use is the winter or prickly, sown from the 1st to the 15th of September, in rows one foot apart, hoed and kept clear of weeds until the growth ceases in the fall. It is best preserved during winter by a coating of two or three inches of straw or salt meadow hay. It begins to be sold often as early as March, and is usually cut off entirely in time to be followed by a summer crop of cabbage, onion, or beet. It usually sells for about $500 per acre, but it is only a moderately profitable crop, as it entails great expense in the labor of picking and preparing for market.

Horseradish.-The culture is very simple, and, so far, very profitable.