CLASS I. NUTRITIOUS ROOTS. 361 



The Tree onion is a perennial, producing bulbs on the summit of 

 its stalks, which are valuable for pickling or other uses; it is propa- 

 gated from the bulba of its tops or roots. $oXr the seeds of onions, 

 from the tenth of April to the first of May, in rows a foot asunder, 

 the plants finally to be thinned to two inches apart, the seeds to be 

 covered one fourth of an inch, and the ground rolled. For an early 

 crop, sow early in autumn, and protect during winter by a covering 

 of litter. Another is the mode recommended by Mr. Knight for 

 producing very large and early crops ; it consists in sowing the 

 seeds very thick, upon poor ground, and beneath the shade of trees. 

 These grow only to the size of peas the first season, when they are 

 taken up and dried, and planted the following spring. The Potato 

 onion is very hardy, mild, productive, and exceedingly early. It is 

 raised only by planting the bulbs. Plant the bulbs, early in April, 

 in rows a foot asunder, and eight inches apart in the row, an inch 

 deep. Earth them up as they grow ; they reproduce in large clus- 

 ters. Onions should be garnered as early in autumn as the tops 

 decay, and dried and preserved in a dry place, secure from frost. 



In the valley of the Columbia River, a new species of onion has 

 been discovered, which produces a beautiful red flower ; it some- 

 times grows on volcanic scoria, where no other vegetable is found. 



15. OXALIS CRENATA. London. 



An ornamental plant, a perennial, a native of Chili, and there 

 lately discovered by Douglas. The flowers are beautiful, of a yel- 

 low color, and in umbels ; the stalks and leaves are succulent, of 

 an acid taste, and useful as salads; the roots or tubers are pro- 

 duced in clusters; their taste, when boiled, somewhat resembles a 

 chestnut. They are raised from the tubers, and are extraordinary 

 productive, and as easy to cultivate as the potato, and decidedly su- 

 perior in flavor. They require a rich soil, and, like the potato, they 

 are stored during winter in cellars. 



16. PARSNIP. Pastinaca saliva. 



1. Guernsey Parsnip. 2. Common Parsnip. 



The parsnip is a biennial plant ; the root is very long and conical ; 

 a delicious and sweet food when boiled for the table. A superior 

 food for cattle. Cows fed on parsnips yield milk in great abundance, 

 and of extra quality. 



The Guernsey is an improved variety. Sow the seeds in April, in 

 rows a foot asunder, and thin the plants to three inches' distance in 

 the row. On rich lands 1,000 bushels per acre have been pro- 

 duced. 



S. S. 17. PEE-TSEE. Ed. Enc. 



A species of Water chestnut, which grows only in the southern 

 provinces of China, in shallow rivers and ponds, with leaves like a 

 bulrush, and hollow like the stalk of an onion; its fruit in the cap- 

 sule of its root, like the husk of a chestnut 



18. POTATO. Solarium tubcrosum. 



A perennial plant, a native of South America. The varieties are 

 innumerable. Where great crops are desired, plant the potatoes in 

 shallow furrows, three feet asunder. Or, in ploughing, plant in 

 rows, in every alternate furrow. Choose the most productive and 



31 



