ONION. 19 



Gerard says, " The onion being eaten, 

 yea, though it be boiled, causeth head-ach ; 

 hurteth the eies, and maketh a man dim- 

 sighted, dulleth the sences, engendereth 

 windiness, and prouoketh ouermuch sleepe, 

 especially being eaten rawe." He adds, 

 " being rawe they nourish not at all, and but 

 a little though they be boiled. 



Dean Swift says, 



" This is every cook's opinion, 

 No savoury dish without an onion : 

 But lest your kissing should be spoil'd, 

 Your onions must be thoroughly boil'd." 



Their property of drawing tears has been 

 noticed by our immortal Bard : 



" If the boy have not a woman's gift, 

 To rain a shower of commanded tears, 

 An onion will do well." 



We learn from Bradley, who wrote in 

 17 18, how much this pungent vegetable was 

 then esteemed. After having stated that 

 the potatoe was thought a root of little note, 

 he says, " I now come to treat of the onion, 

 a root more generally used in the kitchen 

 than any other. Of this there are two kinds 

 worth the gardener's care : the first is the 

 Spanish onion, which affords a large sweet- 



c 2 



