ONIONS. 



336 



ONION POTATO. 



used for pickling, are required, sow the i sound longer by this than by any other 

 Silver-skinned thickly early in May, upon method. 



the poorest soil, and in the driest situation 

 at command, and thin out very sparingly. 



After-management. The ground must 

 be kept dear of weeds by frequent hoeings, 

 and the plants thinned early, to from 6 to 

 '9 inches apart. In dry, warm situations, 

 strong manure water may be given freely 

 during the summer ; but where there is 



WHITE GLOlJli ONION. 



any danger of the crop running to "thick 

 necks," or not forming bulbs, watering 

 should not be practised, except when the 

 weather is very warm and dry, and then 

 not after July. Towards the end of 

 September the bulbs should be well 

 formed, and the tops show indications 

 of ripening ; where this is not the case, 

 go over the crops, bending or breaking 

 them down with the back of a wooden 

 rake, and repeat this as often as may be 

 necessary to check the growth of the tops 

 effectually. As soon as the bulbs seem to 

 be properly matured, which will be known 

 by the decay of the leaves, &c. , take them 

 up, spread them in an airy shed, or sunny 

 situation in the open air, until thoroughly 

 dried, and then store in a dry, cool place 

 till wanted for use. The Lancashire 

 method of wintering onions is, perhaps, 

 the best. There they tie up the bulbs in 

 what are called ropes, and hang them on 

 an outside wall, not facing the sun, and 

 protect them from wet by placing a board 

 against the wall overhead. They keep 



There are many varieties of the onion, 

 whose special names may be ascertained on 

 reference to the seedmen's price lists and 

 catalogues. The following, however, are 

 useful sorts and may be recommended : 



White Spanish, the mildest in flavour, and 



most useful for main crop. 

 Deptford, or Strasburgh, similar to the above, 



but brown ; a useful and good-keeping variety. 

 Brown Globe, a hardy useful kind. 

 New White Globe, -a mild-flavoured, good- 

 keeping variety. 

 Giant Madeira, grows to a great size, and 



particularly mild-flavoured. 

 Blood- Red, a very useful hardy kind. 

 James's Keeping, keeps longer than any other 



variety. 



Silver-skinned, the best for pickling. 

 Tripoli Italian Red, the best variety for 



autumn sowing. 

 Tripoli Large Globe, very fine for autumn 



sowing. 

 ^Vhite Lisbon, the variety sown in autumn by 



market gardeners for spring onions. 



Onion Fly (Anthomyia ceparum). 



A fly of a grey colour whose grub or 

 larva does much damage where it occurs 

 to the onion, causing the young plants to 

 turn yellow and the leaves to fall to the 

 ground. It affects onions from May to 

 September, and the best way to get rid of 



TRIPOLI LARGE GLOBE ONION. 



the pest is said to be found in sprinkling 

 gas lime plentifully on the earth between 

 the rows of onions. 



Onion, Potato. 



This onion, which, from its growth and 



