CHAPTER XIX. 



ONIONS, PUMPKINS, TOBACCO, CASTOR-OIL BEAN, 

 LIQUORICE, UNCOMMON PLANTS. 



550. THE ONION (Allium Cepa,) though usually ranked 

 among roots (bulbous roots) is in reality a bud, formed at or 

 underneath the ground, and whose scales are thick and fleshy. 

 It is a biennial. 



There are several species known in garden culture as Garlic, (AUivm 

 Sativum); Rucambo .e,(A.Scorodoprasum); Chive, (A.Schoenoprasum );* 

 Leek, (A. Porrum); Shallot, (A. Ascaloniwn); and several varieties of 

 the first (A. Cepa}, as the Top onion (A. Viviparum,} bearing perfect 

 bulbs or buds in place of seed ; the Potato onion, producing by the for 

 mation of young bulbs on the parent root, an ample crop below the 

 ground ; red, white, yellow onions, &c., &c. There are five species 

 indigenous to the northern United States, (Gray,) which sometimes 

 become very troublesome weeds in pastures, in consequence of being 

 eaten by cows, and flavoring the milk. The medical plant Squills be 

 longs to the same family. 



551. The native country of this esculent is unknown, but it 

 has been cultivated from a very remote antiquity ; as we find 

 it in its different species the common food of the Egyptians 

 in the time of the Pharaohs, before the Exodus of the Israelites. 

 It is now cultivated in all parts of the world. In Hindoostan it 

 is considered sacred, and not eaten. In Europe, the Portugal 

 onions are the finest. In the United States, the field culture of 

 the onion is chiefly confined to limited districts of Connecticut, 

 Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York, certain towns 



Found growing wild on Lake Superior, by Prof. Agassiz. Also a native of th 

 Alps, to the height of 7000 feet. (Agamii L. Superior, p. 166.) 



