CHAPTER XII 

 VEGETABLES WITH EDIBLE BULBS 



THE plants herein discussed all belong to the genus 

 Allium, of the lily family. They are the onion tribes, 

 comprising, aside from onions, the leek, shallot, chive, 

 and garlic. They are hardy plants, withstanding consid- 

 erable frost although growing well in subtropical regions. 

 The seed is mostly slow to germinate. 



ONION 



Varieties of onion, especially the Bermuda onion, are 

 grown in subtropical and tropical lands during the cool 

 season. The onion requires a dry period to ripen its bulbs, 

 and this dry period comes, north of the equatorial belt, at 

 the beginning of the year. Onions in hot countries grow 

 best from acclimated seed, the seed of the famous Ber- 

 muda onion being chiefly grown in the tropical island of 

 Teneriffe. In tropical India, large onions are grown from 

 acclimated seed around Calcutta. In the West India 

 islands, Bermuda onions are grown to some extent ; and 

 there are many acres of this variety in Texas and Cali- 

 fornia. Of all the crops grown, there is none that requires 

 more attention to the preparation of the land previous to 

 planting than does the onion. 

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