i I 



ftriking fre{h root into the ground ; which they will 



fuddcnly do, efpecially in moift weather. 

 In about a fortnight's time your Onions will be dry 

 t;nough to houfc, which muft be performed in per- 

 fe6l dry weather •, in doing of this, you muft care- 

 fully rub off all the earth from the roots, and be fure 

 to mix no faulty ones amongft them, which will in 

 a fliort time decay, and fpoil all thofe that lie near 

 them-, nor fhould you lay them too thick in the 

 houfe, which would occadon their fweating, and 

 thereby rot them ; nor fliould they be put in a lower 

 room, or ground floor, but in a loft or garret; and 

 the clofer they are kept from the air, the better they 

 will keep. You fliould, at leaft, once a month, look 

 over them to fee if any of them are decayed ; which 

 if you find, muft be immediately taken away, other- 

 wife they will infeft all that lie near them. 

 But notwithftanding all the care you can poffibly take 

 in the drying and houfing of your Onions, many of 

 them will grow in the loft, efpecially in mild winters, 

 which are generally moift-, therefore thofe who would 

 preferve them late in thefeafon, fhould feleft a parcel 

 of the firmeft and moft likely to keep from the 

 others, and with a hot iron flightly finge their beards, 

 or roots, which will effeftually prevent their fprouting; 

 but in doing of this there muft be great caution ufed 

 not to fcorch the pulp of the Onions, for that will 

 caufe them to perilh foon after. ^-^ ■ ' 



The beft Onions for keeping are the Straft)urgh kind, 

 ■which is an oval-lhaped bulb; but this feldom grows 

 fo large as the Spanifh, which is flatter ; the white 

 fort is efteemed the fweeteft ; but thefe varieties are 

 not lafting ; for if you fave feeds of white Onions 

 only, you will have a mixture of the red ones amongft 

 them ; nor will the Straft^urgh Onion keep long to its 

 kind, but will by degrees grow flatter, as do the 

 large Portugal Onions, when planted in our climate, 

 which in a year or two will be fo far degenerated, 

 as not to be known they were from that race. 

 But in order to fave feeds, you muft in the fpring 

 make choice of fome of the firmeft, largcft, and 

 beft fliaped Onions (in quantity proportionable to the 

 feed you intend to fave ;) and having prepared a 

 piece of good ground (which Ihould be well dug, and 

 laid out in beds about three feet wide,) in the begmning 

 or middle of March you muft plant your Onions in 

 the following manner. Having ftraincd a line about 

 four inches within the fide of the bed, you muft, 

 with a fpade, throw out an opening about fix inches 

 deep, the length of the bed, into which you fliould 

 place the Onions, with their roots downward, at 

 about nine inches diftance from each other; then 

 with a rake draw the earth into the opening again 

 to cover the bulbs \ then proceed to remove the line 

 again about a foot farther back, where you muft 

 make an opening as before, and fo again till the whole 

 is hniflied ; fo that you will have four rows in each 

 bed, between which you muft allow a fpace of two 

 feet for an alley to go among them to clear them from 

 v/eeds, &c. In a month's time their leaves will ap- 

 pear above ground, and many of the roots will pro- 

 duce three or four ftalks each *, you muft therefore 

 keep them diligently cleared from Aveeds, and about 

 the beginning of June, when the heads of the flowers 

 begin to appear upon the tops of the ftalks, you 

 muft provide a parcel of ftakes about four feet long, 

 which fliould be driven into the ground, in the rows 

 of Onions, at about fix or eight feet apart ^ to which 

 you fliould fallen fome packthread, rope yarn, or 

 fmall cord, which flioukl be run on each fide the 

 ftems of the Onions, a little below their heads, to 

 fupport then"! from breaking down with tlie Vv'ind and 

 rain •, for when the feeds are formed, the heads will 

 be heavy, and fo arc very often broken down by 

 their own weight, where they are not v*'ell fecured ; 



and if the ftalks are broken before the feeds have 



arrived to maturity, they will not be near fo good, 

 nor keep fo long as thofe which are perfeilly ripened. 

 About the end of Auguft the Onion feed will be 

 ripe, which may be known by its changing brown, 



N 



t 



and the cells in which the feeds are contained openincr; 



'^fo that if it be not cut in a fliort time, the feeds will 

 fall to the ground : v/hen you cut off* the heads, they 

 fliould be fpread abroad upon coarfe cloths in the 

 fun, obferving to keep it vinder flicker in the night, 



. as alfo in wet weather ; and when the heads are quite 

 dry, you muft beat out the feeds, which are very 

 eafily difcharged from their cells ; then having cleared 

 it from all the huflc, &c. after having expofed it one 

 day to' the fun to dry, you muft put it up in bacrs 

 to preferve it for ufe. 



The diredions here given is for the general crop of 

 winter Onions ; but there are two other crops of this 

 common fort of Onion, cuhivated in the gardens 

 about London to fupply the market, one of which is 

 commonly called Michaelmas Onions. Thefe are 

 fown in beds pretty clofe, the middle of Auguft, 



. and muft be well weeded when they come up. In 

 the fpring of the year, after the winter Onions are 

 over, they are tied up in bunches to fupply the 



■ markets ; but from the thinning of thefe they carry 

 to market young green Onions in March, for fal- 

 lads, &c. 



And in the fpring they fow more beds in the fame 

 manner, to draw up young for fallads, after the Mi- 

 chaelmas Onions are grown too large for that purpofe; 

 and where a fupply of thefe are required, there may 

 be three different fowings, at about three weeks 

 diftance from each other, which will be fufficient for 



the feafon, ' '' t-j : 



There are alfo the following forts of Onions cultivated 



in the kitchen-gardens. 



The Shallot, or Efchalottes, which is the Cepa Af- 



calonica. Matth. S5^- 



The Ciboule, or Cepafiflilis. Matth. Lugd. 1539- 



The Gives, or Cepa feftilis juncifoliaperennis. Mor, 

 Hift. 2. 383. 



— ■ ■ 



The Welch Onion I fuppofe to be the fame with the 

 Ciboule, although they pafs under different appella- 

 tions ; for I have feveral times received the Ciboule 

 from abroad, which, when planted, prove to be what 

 is generally known here b)^ the title of Weigh Onions. 

 There is alfo a great affinity between the Efchalottes 

 and thefe, fo that they are not well diftinguiflied yet ; 

 for although they are generally cultivated in the gar- 

 dens, yet they are not well known to the botanifts, 

 fome of whom have fuppofed a greater variety than 

 is in nature; while others have joined them together, 

 making but two fpecies. 



TheScallion, or Efcallion, is a fort of Onion which 

 never forms any bulbs at the roots, and is chiefly ufed 

 in the fpring for green Onions, before the other forts, 

 fown in July, are big enough;' but this fort of 

 Onion, how much foever in ufe formerly, is now fo 

 fcarce as to be known to few people, and is rarely 

 to be met with, except in curious bdtanic gardens : 

 the gardeners near London fubftitute another fort for 

 this, which are thofe Onions which decay and fprout 

 in the houfe : thefe they plant in a bed early in the 

 fpring, which in a fliort time will grow large enough 

 for ufe ; when they draw them up, and after pulling 

 off* all the outer coat of the root, they tie them up 



in bunches, and fell them in the market for Seal- 

 lions. 



The true Scallion is eafily propagated by parting die 

 roots, either in fpring or autumn ; but the latter feafon 

 is preferable, becaufe of their being rendered more 

 fit for ufe in the fpring : thefe roots fliould be planted 

 three or four in a hole, at about fix inches diftance 

 every way, in beds or borders three feet wide, which 

 in a fliort time will multiply exceedingly, and will 

 grow upon almoft any foil and in any fituation ; and 

 their being fo hardy as to refift the fevereft of our 

 winters, and being green, and fit for ufe fo early in 

 the fpring, renders them worthy of a place in all 

 good kitchen-gardens. 



The Gives are a very fmall fort of Onion, which 

 never produce any bulbs, and feldom grow above fix 

 inches high in the blade, which is alfo very fmall and 

 flender, and are in round bunches like the former; 



this 



