SO THE FLOEIST AND POMOLOGIST. [February, 



North-West Pyrenees ; whilst for beauty it is difficult to conceive anything more 

 sparkling, and at the same time delicate, than the rose-coloured, white-eyed 

 blossoms. The tendency of the plant is to form a hemispherical mass." The 

 generic names of Petrocoptis and Silenopsis have been applied to it. M. 



ONIONS AND LEEKS FOR EXHIBITION. 



G|m HE vicinity of Manchester has of late become famous for the growth of large 



Vs&J) Onions. Last season, at Ashton-under-Lyne, several bulbs were exhibited 



w~T which weighed over 21b. each, the finest English-grown onions I ever 



^~g saw. A short account of the method adopted in growing them may prove- 



interesting to many of your readers, and may induce others to try it in localities 



better adapted for the purpose. 



The general system is to sow the seed in pans or boxes early in February, to 

 place them in a gentle heat, to transplant them as soon as they will permit 

 separately into small pots, and to get them fairly established and hardened off by 

 the latter end of April, or early in May. Previous to this, a bed is prepared to 

 receive the young plants ; it is composed of good old manure, and coarse 

 sand and soil incorporated, and is about 18 in. deep. Into this the plants are 

 carefully turned out of the pots, at regular intervals of 8 or 10 in. apart. Great 

 care is taken during their growth to prevent the tops from being broken, 

 for which purpose they are guarded by soft cords and stakes, placed at regular 

 intervals, so as to keep every leaf in an upright position. In some instances, 

 each plant is separately staked, the leaves being made to assume the form of a 

 fan. The onions so treated grow to an enormous size. I lately saw sis red ones, 

 which weighed considerably over lib. each. 



The growers are very particular in saving their own seed, and do not depend 

 upon seedsmen for it. They easily dispose of it at Is. per head; and such 

 is the anxiety to obtain it, that a friend in Scotland, to whom I sent a pinch 

 last season, wrote the other day that he would willingly pay 2s. for a quarter of 

 an ounce, — he having grown from that sent him six onions to the weight of 

 91b. In this locality, where in general we have such a humid atmosphere, it 

 is a difficult matter to raise seed in the open air. The general method adopted 

 is to plant in large pots in February or March, and after the heads have bloomed 

 to place them in greenhouses or to cover with hand-glasses. During September 

 many exhibitions take place, and a committee is appointed to go round and 

 examine the onions before they are taken up. They are brought to the 

 exhibition table, washed, with tops and roots on, and one man is appointed 

 to cut the tops by rule to the length of 4£ in. : they are then transferred 

 to the scale, and the heaviest wins, regardless of form. The Tripoli first (these 

 are sown in August), then the Reds, and, thirdly, the Whites. The prizes in 

 general amount to several pounds. It is interesting to watch the proceedings, 

 the excitement being greater than is generally seen at Cottagers' Shows. Dahlias, 



