December 16, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OP HOBTIOUIiTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



527 



not exposing the flesh. The inner coating remaining firm, 

 giving the Onion a very neat, clean appearance. Tlie flesh is 

 very firm and solid throughout, and of fine quality. A 

 splendid keeping variety. 



New German (Vcitch & Soasj.^Thia bears a close resem- 

 blance to Dauvers Tellow, but scarcely appears to keep so 

 well. 



6. Bkown Globe [sijii., James's Keeping] . — This is of the 

 same character as the White Globe, but having darker or 

 reddish brown skins ; some are pale-fleehed throughout ; 

 others, these being the darker-skinned, have a slight shading 

 of red as an outside coating of the various layers as in the 

 lied varieties. It is an excellent keeping variety and much 

 esteemed. The James's Keeping of some is more flattened 

 near the crown, forming a sort of shoulder to the stalk, and of 

 others again it is similar to the Pear-shaped. 



Mwjmim Bonum (A. Parsons) is a very fine selection of the 

 iBrowu Globe. 



Brown Intermediate. Bedfordshire Cliampion. — These are 

 mixed stocks of Brown and White Globe. 



7. Pear SHAPED [.?!/«., Pyriforme] . — This is allied to the Globe 

 section, and may be described as an elongated form of that 

 variety. The plant is of free growth, the great majority 

 producing very thick necks with very little bulb, ao that they 

 do not ripen off well. The true form is like that of a long 

 Pear tapering mostly towards the stalk from 7 to 8 inches in 

 circumference, and from 4 to 5 inches in depth or height. 

 The skin is of a dark reddish brown, and falls off readily. 

 The flesh is moderately firm and solid, but it is not a very 

 good keeping sort, and its shape does not recommend it. A 

 good selection of this is sometimes sent out as James's 

 Keeping. 



8. Deptfokd [sy(w.,BrownSp3nish, Improved Brown Spanish, 

 Strasburgh, Straaburgh Dutch, Pale Red Niorte, Light Red 

 Strasburgh] . — Plant of free growth and very hardy, forming a 

 small neck and ripening early. The bulbs are of medium size, 

 flattened or oblate, of pretty even and regular form. The 

 gkiu is of a dark reddish- brown colour. The flesh firm, solid, 

 tinged with red. An excellent keeping variety. 



9. French Strasbukg [at/n.. Pale Red St. IJrieux] . — This is 

 distinct from the Deptford or English Strasburg. The bulbs 

 are smaller, of very uneven shape, and frequently split open 

 into several crowns. They are of a dull reddish colour. Alto- 

 gether very inferior varieties of the Deptford class. 



10. Deep Blood Red. — Plant of free and hardy growth. 

 Bulbs of medmm or rather small size, flattened or oblate, and 

 generally of very even and regular form. The outer skin is of a 

 dull red colour ; the inner coating of a deep glossy red. The 

 flesh itself is pure white, it being only the outside coating of 

 the various layers that are coloured, and these become paler 

 towards the centre. It is very firm and soUd throughout. 

 This is the strongest-flavoured Onion, and the latest keeper. 

 On these accounts it is a valued variety. 



Blood Red. — This is simply a paler-skinned variety of the 

 preceding, and the most common. 



11. Wethebsfield Red (Hovey & Co., Carter & Co., Senary 

 and Son) — [si/n.. Bright Red Mezieres (Vilmorin)] . — Plant of 

 free and robust growth. The neck small, ripens off freely. 

 Bulbs large, flattened or oblate, very even and regularly formed, 

 about 12 inches in circumference and 2 inches in depth. The 

 outer skin is of a light dull red colour, and peels off freely ; 

 the inner coating being light purplish, shading greatly from 

 the crown to the base, where it is very pale. The flesh is pure 

 white, the outer surface of the coating only being coloured. 

 It is very firm, solid, and of mild and excellent quality, and 

 keeps well. A remarkably fine and handsome Onion from 

 America. The finest type of Red Onion. 



12. Eaelv Red (Hovey & Co.). — This is a rather early red 

 variety. The bulbs are of medium size, flat, of a very duU 

 red colour. The flesh is firm and solid, and of good quality. 

 It showed a tendency to the production of several crowns, 

 which burst and spoil the bulbs, and prevent them keeping. 



13. Two-bladed — This name is given to denote its peculi- 

 arity of only producing two blades or leaves. These form 

 email bulbs very early in the season, and soon ripen off. A 

 great majority, however, grow into larger bulbs, and these 

 haave the ordinary number of leaves. The true two-leaved 

 type has small roundish bulbs about an inch in diameter. 

 The ekin is of a dull-yellowish brown colour ; the flesh 

 greenish white and frequently a little coloured. They are very 

 firm and solid, and keep well. The small size makes it useful 

 for pickling purposes. 



14. Teneriffe (Benary a- Son). — This greatly resembled in 

 appearance the smaller types of the Two-bladed. 



1.5. SiLVER-SKiN (Nutting & Son) — [syns., Silver-skin Pick- 

 ling (Veitoh), Early White Silver-skinned (Benary & Son), 

 White Round Early Hard Dutch (Vilmorin et Cie.)].— The 

 bulbs are of medium size, roundish oblate; a great many are 

 apt to split open. The outer skin is pure white or sUvery, 

 peeling off freely and exposing the next coating, which ia 

 white with green veinings. The flesh is pure white, exceed- 

 ingly firm and solid. Keeps remarkably well, and is useful to 

 those who prefer very white Onions. This is quite distinct 

 from the Paris Silver-skin, which does not keep well. 



16. Qo^EEN [syns., New Queen, Piccirillo's New Queen]. — 

 This is a very small and very early variety of the Silver- 

 skinned section. It forms bulbs almost as quickly as a Radish, 

 and has rarely more than two or three leaves. They were 

 fully grown last season by the 1st of June, about fifteen days 

 earlier than the White Italian Tripoli, which variety in the late 

 trial it most nearly resembled. Many large and later-growing 

 examples were observed in each sample, which, if the seed 

 was not mixed, implies a tendency to deterioration. In this, 

 as in other respects, it exactly resembles the Nocera as intro- 

 duced from Italy about thirty years ago, and the Florence 

 White of earlier date. 



N.B. — All the section of Silver-skinned Onions, including 

 the Queen, White Italian Tripoli, Marzajola, Nocera, Paris 

 Silver-skin, Early White Naples, and White Lisbon, also the 

 Giant Tripoli section, including the Giant Rooca, Red Sallow, 

 Madeira, etc., which are found valueless as spring-sown varie- 

 ties, will form the subject of a separate report when their re- 

 spective merits have been tested as autumn or winter-sown 

 Onions. 



17. Potato Onion [.■.-j/n.. Underground Onion] . — This is not 

 propagated by seeds. The small bulbs are planted in the 

 ground liko Shallots, and around these a number of new bulbs 

 are produced. These bulbs are of average size, of somewhat 

 irregular shape. The skin reddish brown, hanging very loosely. 

 The flesh is tolerably firm and solid, and of fair quality. It 

 does not keep well, but is useful for procuring an early supply 

 of Onions. 



18. Egyptian [syns., Egyptian Bulbiferous, Tree Onion, 

 Garden Rocambole] . — This variety when planted throws up 

 a stem on which, instead of flowers, small bulbs are produced 

 of above the size of small marbles, which are very excellent 

 for pickling. It is propagated by planting these bulbules (the 

 largest of which will bear bulbs the same season), or by the 

 bulbs which are formed in the ground, and which have not 

 formed stems. 



19. American Perennial Tree, or Top Onion (Carter& Co.). 

 — This produces small bulbules in the same manner as the 

 Egyptian Bulbiferous, but of a much smaller and inferior 

 character. No bulbs are formed in the ground. The plant is 

 perennial ; the roots are long and fibrous. 



20. Welsh. — Of this there are two varieties, the Red and 

 the Green. The plant is an herbaceous perennial, and forms 

 no bulbs ; the roots are long and fibrous. The green tops or 

 leaves only are used. It may be propagated by seed or by 

 division of the roots. — A. F. Barron. 



GREENHOUSE HEATING FROM A KITCHEN 

 BOILER. 



SojiE weeks since it was attempted to be shown in our 

 Journal that greenhouse heating from kitchen boilers is im- 

 practicable, if not positively dangerous. Having had an appa- 

 ratus working perfectly for eighteen months I will endeavour 

 to describe it for the information of your readers, and recom- 

 mend it as being au economical arrangement. 



In a yard next an underground kitchen is a Fern stove ; in 

 the opposite corner, distant 30 feet, is a bath room, both ot 

 which are heated by hot water without any extra coat or labour. 

 From the top of the boiler which is fixed in the back of the 

 kitchen fireplace, but with a flue under and up behind, a 2-inch 

 metal pipe is carried to the stove, round which the water cir- 

 culates in a double coil of 4-inch pipes, thence across the yard 

 in 2-inoh, round the bath room in 4-iuch, recrosses the yard 

 in 2-inch direct to the boiler, which it enters about a foot from 

 the top. A leaden pipe leads from the boiler to the bath; 

 from this pipe a short branch supplies the wash-basins. 



The cold water is supplied by a 1-inch pipe from the w.c. 

 cistern above the bath room ; into this cistern a blow-off pipe 



