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HARDWICKE'S SCIEN C E-GO S S I P. 



We leani from Bradley, -wbo' wrote ia 1718, how 

 mucli this pungent vegetable was then esteemed. 

 After liaving stated that the potato was thought a 

 root of little note, he says : " I now come to treat 

 of the onion, a root more generally used in the 

 iitchen than any other. Of this there are two 

 kinds worth the gardener's care. The first is the 

 Spanish onion, which affords a large, sweet-tasted 

 (root, and the other the Strasburg onion, which is 

 more biting, and lasts good much longer than the 

 former." 



Sir Francis Bacon, in the fifth century of his 

 *' Natural History," declares that "onions wax. 

 greater if they be taken out of tlie earth, and laid 

 a-drying twenty days, and then set again ; and yet 

 more if the outermost peel be taken off all over." 

 He was of opinion that their growth was influenced 

 by the state of the moon. "Take," he says, 

 " some seeds or roots of onions, and set some of 

 them immediately after the change, and others of 

 the same kind immediately after the full: let them 

 <be as like as can be, the earth also the same as 

 near as may be, and then see bow they differ." 

 He adds : " For the increase of moisture the 

 •opinion received is, that seeds will grow soonest, 

 and hedges and herbs cut will grow soonest if they 

 be set or cut in the increase of the moon." 



The medicinal qualities of the onion have been 

 «the subject of disputes with physicians, both in 

 ■ancient and modern times. 



Asclepiades, a physician of Bitliynia, who wrote 

 ii.bout ninety years before the Christian era, and 

 all his followers, affirmed that onions were whole- 

 some, caused strength, and cleared the complexion. 

 Pliny states that, in his day, the medical fraternity 

 held a different opinion, and considered that they 

 were hurtful to the parts about the heart and other 

 vital members, that they hindered digestion, &c. ; 

 still he admits that they have some good qualities, 

 for he says : " Those onions which are sown in 

 gardens I am sure will, with their smell only, cause 

 the eyes to shed tears, and by that means clarify 

 the sight ; but if they be anointed with the juice 

 they will mundify the better." 



In warm climates the onion grows to a large 

 size, and is milder and more succulent than those 

 of our country. In the south of France, Spain, 

 and Portugal, it is often eaten like an apple, with 

 a piece of bread, by the labouring classes for their 

 dinner. 



In Egypt, as of old, it is still greatly esteemed. 

 The traveller Hasselquist remarks on the exquisite 

 flavour of the Egyptian onion, and says " that it 

 is no wonder the Israelites should have regretted 

 the loss of this delicacy, for whoever lias tasted of 

 the onions of Egypt must acknowledge that none 

 can be better in any part of tlie universe. There," 

 says he, " they are mild and pleasant to the palate ; 

 in other countries they are strong and nauseous. 



There they are soft and yielding, but in the 

 countries to the north they are hard, and their 

 coats so compact as to render them less easy of 

 digestion." The Egyptians divide them into four 

 parts, and eat them roasted together with pieces of 

 meat, which preparation they consider so delicious 

 that they devoutly wish it may form one of the 

 viands of Paradise. A soup made of these onions 

 was pronounced by the learned traveller to be cer- 

 tainly one of the best dishes of which he ever 

 partook. This savoury bulb is known and esteemed 

 iu the countries beyond the Nile. Major Denham 

 states that on his route south from Bornou, he saw 

 numerous gardens, but the only vegetables produced 

 iu them appeared to be onions and beans. 



The many culinary purposes to which this vege- 

 table is applied are known to every one, and it has 

 been stated that the onion and mushroom make 

 the foundation of every sauce both in ancient and 

 modern times. It constitutes one of the luxuries 

 of the poor, and finds its way in various forms to 

 the tables of the wealthy; indeed, as Dean Swift 

 says : — 



" This is every cook's opinion, 

 Ko savoury dish without an onion." 



And, according to the witty Sydney Smith, no salad 

 would be perfect without them, for in his poetic 

 recipe for making one, which he wrote some years 

 ago at Castle Howard, the following lines occur : — 



" Let onion atoms lurk within the bowl, 

 And scarce suspected animate the whole." 



Next to the potato, perhaps the consumption of 

 onions among the poor and labouring classes of this 

 kingdom is greater than any other vegetable. 



In that amusing and interesting work " London 

 Labour and London Poor," it is stated that £99,900 

 are being annually devoted to the purchase of this 

 article by the poor, and that from eight hundred 

 to one thousand persons are engaged in this trade 

 iu the great metropolis. 



The onion is still sold about the streets of London 

 as of old, in ropes made of straw, into which the 

 roots are firmly plaited, principally by the Irish 

 poor. There are several varieties of the onion in 

 cultivation; the Strasburg, Spanish, and Portu- 

 guese are most esteemed. Some are "of a milder 

 flavour than others, but it has been observed, the 

 further north this vegetable is grown the stronger 

 the flavour becomes. 



The imports of onions are very considerable ; iu 

 1867 they amounted to 815,214 bushels. 



How TO AERATE Aquauia.— I shall be glad if 

 any of your readers who are skilled in the manage- 

 ment of aquaria can tell me the best means of 

 effectually aerating a marine aquarium containing 

 1,500 gallons of water.— £". A. Butler. 



