92 The Garden. 



To have sea kale without forcmg, cover the plants earlj in 

 the spring with eight or ten inches of sand, or fine, light soil. 

 They will produce strong shoots, which, on clearing the ground 

 around them, will be found to be of a clear white color ; or 

 they may be blanched by covering them deeply with oat-straw. 

 They are useless unless well blanched. The shoots are cooked 

 in the same way as asparagus. 



VI.— ESCULENT BULBS. 



1. The OisnoN — Allium Cepa. 



The onion is supposed to be a native of Asia. Its culture 

 is of "inscrutable antiquity." The most useful varieties are 

 the following: Eed Dutch, Portugal, Strasburg, and Silver 

 Skinned. The first two varieties named are very hardy and 

 keep "well, but are of too strong a flavor to suit a delicate 

 taste ; the last two are mild-flavored, but are not good keepers. 

 The Silver Skinned is much used for piclding. For winter use 

 we should choose the Strasburg. 



The onion requires a light and friable, but rich and some- 

 what moist soil. The manure used should be well decomposed. 

 It need not be deeply mixed with the soil, as the roots of the 

 plant do not extend far below the surface. The whole must 

 be thoroughly pulverized. The onion may be sowed so soon 

 as the ground is in a condition to be worked in the spring. 

 Sow in drills half an inch deep and nine or ten inches apart. 

 After sowing, press the soil down firmly with a board. Keep 

 the bed free from weeds, and stir the soil frequently, but not 

 deeply. The onion should not be earthed up at all. It is bet- 

 ter that the bulb should be formed entirely above the surface. 

 They should be thinned out to two inches apart. This we con- 

 sider the best mode of culture for the main crop. 



For an early crop, sow the seed thickly in drills early in 

 April ; and when the bulbs have grown to the size of peas, lift 

 them, and put away in an airy loft, to keep till the next spring, 

 when set them in shallow drills, covering very lightly, if at all. 

 They will be ripe in June or July. Soap-suds will not be 



