ONION 



607 



ONOCLEA 



it will keep the beds free from weeds for six weeks longer, 

 when they must be hoed a second time, and thinned to 

 four inches apart ; and now, where they have failed, the 

 vacancies may be filled up by transplanting there some 

 of those thinned out. The best time for doing this is 

 in the evening, and water must be given for several 

 successive nights. In transplanting, the root only is to 

 be inserted, and no part of the stem buried. No plant 

 is more benefited by liquid-manure being given twice a 

 week. After the lapse of another month they must be 

 thoroughly gone over for the last time, and the plants 

 thinned to six inches asunder. After this they require 

 only occasionally the stirring of the surface, which the 

 hoe effects. In order to prevent their running too much 

 to blade, it is a good practice, in July, before the tips 

 change to a yellow hue, to bend the stems down flat 

 upon the bed, which not only prevents it, but causes 

 the bulbs to become much larger than they otherwise 

 would. The bend should be made about two inches up 

 the neck. 



Storing. About the close of August the onions will 

 have arrived at their full growth, which may be known 

 by the withering of the foliage, by the shrinking of the 

 necks, and by the ease with which they may be pulled 

 up. As soon as these symptoms appear, they must be 

 taken up, the bed being frequently looked over ; for if 

 the whole crop is waited for, the forwardest, especially 

 in moist situations or seasons, are apt again to strike root. 



Spread on mats in the sun, frequently turn, and remove 

 under shelter at night. In two or three weeks, when 

 the roots and blades are perfectly withered, and the 

 bulbs become firm, they are fit for storing, being housed 

 in dry weather, and carefully preserved from bruising. 

 Previously to doing this, all soil and refuse must be 

 removed from them ; for these are apt to induce decay ; 

 to prevent this as much as possible, all faulty ones should 

 be rejected. In the store-house they must be laid as 

 thin as may be, or hung up in ropes, and looked over at 

 least once a month. To preserve some from sprouting, 

 for late use, it is useful to sear the roots and the summits 

 with a hot iron, care being taken not to scorch the bulb. 



Additional Modes of Cultivation. For the winter- 

 standing crop the only additional directions necessary 

 are to tread in the seed regularly before raking, if the 

 soil, as it ought to be, is dry and light. They must be 

 kept constantly clear of weeds, as well as of the fallen 

 leaves of trees, but they need not be thinned. Early in 

 spring they are to be transplanted for bulbing. Sow in 

 May. Cultivate the plants as in the other crops ; and 

 in October the bulbs, being of the size of nuts, are to be 

 taken up, dried, and housed, as directed for the full- 

 grown bulbs. About the middle of the following March 

 they must be planted out in rows, six inches apart each 

 way, and cultivated the same as the other crops. If 

 sown earlier than May they run to seed when trans- 

 planted. Another mode, nearly as efficacious, is to sow 

 in the latter part of August, to stand the winter, and in 

 March, early or late, according to the forward growth of 

 the seedlings, to be planted out in rows at the before- 

 directed distance, and cultivated as usual. 



In Portugal they sow in a moderate hotbed during 

 November or December, in a warm situation, with a 

 few inches of mould upon it ; and the plants are pro- 

 tected from frost by hoops and mats. In April or May, 

 when of the size of a swan's quill, they are transplanted 

 into a light, rich loam, well manured with old-rotten 

 dung, to bulb. Transplanting alone is of great benefit. 



To save Seed, some old onions must be planted early 

 in March, the finest and firmest bulbs being selected, and 

 planted in rows ten inches apart each way, either in 

 drills or by a blunt-ended dibble, the soil to be rather 

 poorer, if it differs at all from that in which they are 

 cultivated for bulbing. They must be buried so deep 

 that the mould just covers the crown. If grown in large 

 quantities, a path must be left two feet wide between 

 every three or four rows, to allow the necessary cultiva- 

 tion. They must be kept thoroughly clear from weeds, 

 and, when in flower, have stakes driven at intervals of 

 five or six feet on each side of every two rows, to which 

 a string is to be fastened throughout the whole length, 

 a few inches below the heads, to serve as a support, and 

 prevent their being broken down. The seeds are ripe 

 in August, which is intimated by the husks becoming 

 brownish; the heads must then be immediately cut, 

 otherwise the receptacles will open and shed their con- 

 tents. Being spread on cloths in the sun, they soon 



become perfectly dry, when the seed may be rubbed out, 

 cleaned of the chaff, and, after remaining another day 

 or two, finally stored. It is of the utmost consequence 

 to employ seed of not more than one year old, otherwise 

 scarcely one in fifty will vegetate. The goodness of 

 seed may be easily discovered by forcing a little of it 

 in a hotbed or warm water a day before it is employed ; 

 a small white point will soon protrude if it is fertile. 



ONION-FLY. See ANTHOMTIA CEPARUM and Eu- 



MERUS .SNEUS. 



ONI'SCUS. O.asSllus.O.armadi'llo. Woodlice. The 

 first is most easily distinguished from the second by its 

 not rolling up in a globular form when at rest. They 

 are found in old, dry dunghills, cucumber-frames, &c., 

 and they are injurious to many plants, fruits, &c., by 

 gnawing off the outer skin. Gas-lime will expel them 

 from their haunts, and two boards or tiles kept one-eighth 

 of an inch apart form an excellent trap. 



ONOBRO'MA. (From onos, the ass, and broma, food. 

 Nat. ord. Composites [Composite]. Linn. ig-Syngenesia, 

 i-&qualis. Now referred to Carduncellus and Carthamus. ) 

 0. arbore'scens (tree-like). See CARTHAMUS ARBORESCENS. 



cceru'leum (blue). See CARDUNCELLUS CSRULEUS. 



,, cynaroi des (Cynara-like). See COUSINIA CYNAROIDES. 



,, glau'cum (glaucous). See CARTHAMUS GLAUCUS. 



leucocau'lon (white-stemmed). See CARTHAMUS LEU- 



COCAULOS. 



ONO'BRYCfflS. Hen's-bill. (From onos, the ass, and 

 bruko, to tgnaw ; favourite food of the ass. Nat. ord. 

 Leguminous Plants [Leguminosae]. Linn. ij-Diadelphia, 

 4-Decandria. Allied to Hedysarum.) 



Best by seeds in spring, where they are to remain 

 and bloom, as all move badly. Sandy, deep loam. 



HARDY ANNUAL. 



0. Ca'put-ga'lli (cock's-head). ij. Flesh. July. Medi- 

 terranean region. 1731. 



HARDY HERBACEOUS. 



0. arena'ria (sand), x. Red. July. Siberia. 1818. 

 carpa'tica (Carpathian), i. Purple. July. Car- 



pathia. 1818. 



confSrta (crowded). See O. GRACILIS. 

 cornu'ta (horned), i. Red. July. Asia Minor. 



1816. Evergreen. 



crini'ta (haired). Lilac. June. Levant. 1837. 

 echina'ta (hedgehog). Flesh. June. Calabria. 1831. 

 Fontane'sii (Fontaine's). See HEDYSARUM HUMILE, 

 gla'bra (smooth). See O. VICI^FOLIA. 

 gra'cilis (slender), i. Pale red. July. Greece; 



Asia Minor. 1817. 

 laco'nica (Lacedasmonian). Bright pink. Greece ; 



Servia. 1892. 



lasiosta'chya (woolly-spiked). Asia Minor. 

 Michau'xii (Michaux's). Pale red. July. Levant. 



1820. 



monta'na (mountain). See O. VICIJBFOLIA. 

 Palla'sii (Pallas's). i. Pale yellow. Iberia. 1820. 

 , petrafa (rock), i. White, red. Caucasus. 1818. 

 , pilo'sa (thinly-hairy). See O. TOURNEFORTII. 

 , procu'mbens (lying-down). See O. VICI.SFOLIA. 

 , ptolema'ica (Ptolemais). i. Yellow. Egypt. 1816. 

 , radia'ta (rayed), i$. Pale yellow. Iberia. 1818. 

 , sati'va (cultivated). See O. VICI^FOLIA. 

 , saxa'tilis (rock), i. Lilac, yellow. S. Europe. 1790. 

 , supi'na (supine). $. Pale red. Switzerland. 1819. 

 , tanai'tica (Tanais). See O. VICLSFOLIA. 

 , Tournefo'rtii (Tpurnefort's). Asia Minor, &c. 

 , vicicefo'lia (Vicia-leaved). 1-2$. Rose, with red 

 veins. Europe (England), &c. " Sainfoin." 



ONOCLE'A. (Onocleia was the Greek name of a plant. 

 Nat. ord. Ferns [Filices]. Linn. z\-Cryptogamia t i- 

 Filices.) 



Hardy Ferns. See FERNS. 



0. germa'nica (German). 2-3. July. Northern Hemi- 

 sphere. 1760. 



obtusiloba' ta (blunt-lobed). See O. SENSIBILIS. 

 orienta'lis (oriental). 1-2. Sikkim ; Assam ; Japan. 



1869. 



pennsylva'nica (Pennsylvanian). See O. GERMANICA. 

 sensi'bilis (sensitive), if. Brown. August. Virginia. 

 1799- 



