CHAPTEK VII. 



HOW TO GET EARLY AND LARGE ONIONS. 



FEW people are aware how the fine Portugal Onion 

 is produced. The Onion, I well know, requires heat ; 

 too much heat can scarcely be given to it ; therefore 

 plant or sow it in the best and most favourable spot for 

 the sunshine that you can find. To get the finest 

 Onions, choose some of the large-growing sorts, such as 

 Globe Tripoli, Giant Rocca, or Giant Madeira. Sow 

 the seed thickly on some poor ground exposed to the 

 full influence of the sun about the middle of August ; 

 or it may be sown in cold frames quite thick, and 

 induced to form small bulbs, which should, however, 

 be ripened, when they may be pulled up and well 

 dried, as for picklers ; but they should be kept in a 

 cold room till March or April when some thoroughly 

 rich ground should be prepared for them in the 

 hottest place you can find ; but the ground must be 

 thoroughly good. To make it so, rough-dig it first 

 in the month of February, mark it out into four-feet 

 beds, and then put the contents of the common sewer 

 on the top of them, all over, as a good thick dress- 

 ing, and let it remain exposed to the full influence of 

 the air. If this is done in January or the beginning 

 of February, the manure will get completely pulver- 

 ised, and lose its injurious qualities. 



