46o 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



Early White Valence Onion ( natural size). 



Italian varieties, which, when grown in the climate of Paris, exhibit 



a tendency to become identical with this variety. 



Early White Valence Onion. Bulb not so broad as that of 



the preceding kind, but thicker and larger, being less than 3 in. in 



diameter, and from if to 

 2 in. thick ; leaves rather 

 numerous, of a yellow- 

 green colour. This variety 

 is rather early and pro- 

 ductive, and the bulbs are 

 tender, but do not keep 

 well. It is more suitable 

 for the southern than for 

 the northern parts of 

 France. As regards its 

 origin, it is more likely 

 that it is a smaller and 

 earlier form of the White 



Lisbon Onion than that it has sprung from any of the kinds which 



have been previously described. 



White Round Dutch Onion. Bulb a dull white, medium-sized, 



very firm, with thick tough coats, and varying from 2 to nearly 3 in. 



in diameter, and from ij to if in. in thickness. It is not so much 



flattened as that of either the Early White Nocera or the Early 



Paris Silver-skinned Onion, and is also somewhat later than these 



varieties, but, on the other hand, it 



keeps remarkably well. In this re- 

 spect it will bear comparison with 



the good yellow or red varieties of 



Onions. It is distinguished from the 



white varieties hitherto described by 



the outer coats of the bulb being 



firm and tough, instead of being of 



a delicate, brittle, and almost trans- 

 parent texture. In consequence of 



this peculiarity the bulbs keep better, 



and are never disfigured by the 



greenish tinge which exposure to 



the sun often produces on the bulbs 



of the very early white varieties 



of Onions. The American White 



Portugal, or American Silver-skin, 



Onion is so much like the White Round Hard Dutch Onion that 



some consider the two to be identical. The White Portugal, 



however, has generally the bulbs larger and more regular, though 



not so firm as the Dutch variety. 



White Round Dutch Onion 

 natural size. 



