150 THE AMERICAN GARPENKR. [Chap. 



237. NASTURTIUM. An annual plant, with 

 a half-red half-yellow flower, which has an oflfen* 

 eive smell ; but, it bears a seed enveloped in a fleshy 

 pod, and that pod, taken before the seed becomes 

 ripe, is used as a thing to pickle. The seeds should 

 be sown in the fall, or very early in the spring. 

 The plants should have pretty long bushy sticks 

 put to them ; and four or five of them will bear a 

 great quantity of pods. They will grow in almost 

 any ground ; but, the better the ground the fewer 

 of them are necessary. 



238. ONION. This is one of the main vegeta- 

 bles. Its uses are many, and they are all well 

 known. The modes of cultivation for crop are 

 various. Three I shall mention, and by either a 

 good crop may be raised. Sow in the fall (See Pa- 

 ragraph 159,) or early in the Spring. Let the 

 ground be rich, but not from fresh dung. Make 

 the ground very fine; make the rows a foot apart, 

 and scatter the seed thinly along a drill two inches 

 deep. Then fill in the drills ; and then press the 

 earth down upon the seed by treading the ground 

 all over. Then give the ground a very slight 

 smoothing over with a rake. When the plants get 

 to be three inches high, thin them to four inches, 

 or to eight inches if you wish to have very large 

 onions. Keep the ground clear of weeds by hoeing,' 

 but, do not hoe deep, nor raise earth about the 

 plants ; for these make them run to neck and not to 

 bulk. When the tips of the leaves begin to be 

 brown, bend down the necks, so that the leaves lie 

 flat with the ground. When the leaves are nearlv 

 dead, pull up the onions, and lay them to dry, in 

 order to be put away for winter use. Some per- 

 sons, instead of sowing the onions all along the 

 drill drop four or five seeds at every six or seve 



