ONIONS. 



ONIONS. 



country, except on the banks of the river Sa- ' 

 vannah, where it is called Devil wood. 



"This tree grows in soils and exposures ex- 

 tremely different: on the sea-shore it springs 

 with the live-oak in the most barren and sultry 

 spots ; and in other places it is seen with the 

 big laurel, the umbrella tree, the sweet leaves, 

 &c., in cool, fertile, and shaded situations. 



" This tree, or, to speak more accurately, this 

 large shrub, is sometimes 30 or 35 feet high, 

 and 10 or 12 inches in diameter: but this size 

 is extraordinary; it commonly fructifies at the 

 height of 8, 10, or 12 feet, the leaves are 4 

 or 5 inches long, opposite and lanceolate, en- 

 tire at the edge, smooth and brilliant on the 

 upper surface, and of an agreeable light-green. 

 They are evergreen, or at least are partially 

 renewed only once in 4 or 5 years. The fer- 

 tile and barren flowers are on separate trees : 

 they are very small, strongly scented, of a pale 

 yeliow, and axillary, or situated between the 

 petiole of the leaves and the branches. The 

 season of flowering, in the neighbourhood of 

 Charleston, is about the end of April. The 

 fruit is round, and about twice as large as a 

 common pea. When ripe, it is of a purple 

 colour, approaching to blue, and consists of a 

 hard stone thinly coated with pulp. As it re- 

 mains attached to the branches during a part 

 of the winter, its colour forms, at this season, 

 an agreeable contrast with the foliage. 



"The bark which covers the trunk of the 

 devil wood is smooth and grayish. The wood 

 has a fine and compact grain, and, when per- 

 fectly dry, it is excessively hard and very diffi- 

 cult to cut or split; hence is derived the name 

 of devil wood. It is, notwithstanding, neglect- 

 ed in use. On laying bare the cellular integu- 

 ment of the bark, its natural yellow hue changes 

 instantaneously to a deep red, and the wood, 

 by contact with the air, assumes a rosy com- 

 plexion. Experiments should be made to de- 

 tect the nature of this active principle in the 

 bnrk, which causes it to change colour so sud- 

 denly by exposure to the air. 



" From the temperature of the native skies 

 of this tree, we may conclude that it is capable 

 of resisting a greater degree of cold than the 

 common olive: it becomes, then, on account 

 of its beautiful foliage, its odoriferous flowers, 

 and its showy fruit, a valuable acquisition." 



ONIONS (Jttlium cepa). Of thi.s genus, there 

 are eight individuals that demand the garden- 

 er's care. 



They all require a rich, friable soil, on a dry 

 substratum; a situation enjoying the full influ- 

 ence of the sun, and entirely free from trees, 

 which are very inimical to them, especially to 

 those which have to stand the winter. If the 

 soil be poor, or exhausted, abundance of dung 

 should be applied in the preceding autumn or 

 winter, and the ground thrown into ridges. By 

 these means it becomes well decomposed and 

 incorporated with the soil ; for rank, unreduced 

 dung is generally injurious, engendering de- 

 cay, and inducing maggots ; if, therefore, the 

 application of manure is neglected until the 

 spring, it should be taken from an old hotbed, 

 or other source whence it is to be had in a 

 thoroughly putrescent state, and turned in only ! 



to a moderate depth. Sea-sand, particularly 

 if the ground is at all tenacious, is advanta- 

 geously employed ; coal-ashes, and especially 

 soot, are applied with particular benefit. In 

 digging over the ground, small spits only should 

 be turned over at a time, that the texture may 

 be well broken and pulverized. A considera- 

 ble degree of attention is required from the 

 difficulty of giving the requisite degree of firm- 

 ness to light soils, which, if rich, are well suit- 

 ed to the growth of these vegetables. Old, soft, 

 or light, sandy soils, Mr. A. Gorrie, of Rait, re- 

 commends to be dug rough in October, and 

 about January to have a top-dressing of cow- 

 dung applied and left on, to have its fertilizing 

 matters washed in until the time of sowing, 

 then as much as can be is to be raked off, and, 

 without digging, the seed sown, trod in, and 

 covered with earth from the alleys. By this 

 management, soils will produce good crops 

 which before were annually destroyed by the 

 maggot. Onions for pickling, as well as those 

 to stand the winter, should be grown on light, 

 poor soils, which cause the first to be small in 

 the bulb, and the latter, not growing so luxu- 

 riantly, to withstand the winter better. 



There are 14 distinct varieties of this vege- 

 table, as appears from the description given by 

 Mr. C. Strachan, gardener to the Horticultural 

 Society of London. 



1. Silver-skinned onion. 2. Early silver- 

 skinned. 3. True Portugal. 4. Spanish. 5. 

 Strasburg. 6. Deptford. 7. Globe. 8. James's 

 keeping onion. 9. Pale-red. 10. Yellow. 11. 

 Blood-red. 12. Tripoli. 13. Two-bladed. 14. 

 Lisbon. 



In England the onion is raised from seed, 

 which may be sown for the first main crop to- 

 wards the close of February, if dry, open wea- 

 ther, otherwise only a small portion, in a warm, 

 dry situation. The principal crop, however, 

 must be sown during March, it being kept in 

 mind that the close of February is to be pre- 

 ferred, for the earlier the seed is inserted, the 

 finer will be the bulbs : main crops may even 

 be inserted as late as the beginning of April, 

 and, at its close, a small sowing to draw young 

 in summer, and for small bulbs to pickle ; 

 again in July and early in August for salads in 

 autumn; and, finally, in the last week of Au- 

 gust, or early in September, to stand the winter 

 for spring and beginning of summer. The seed 

 is sown thinly, broadcast, and regularly raked 

 in. An ounce of seed is abundantly sufficient 

 for a rood of ground, especially for the main 

 crops, as they should never be allowed to grow 

 to a size fit for salads without thinning. No 

 other seed ought to be sown with it; for the 

 practice of stealing a crop is detrimental to 

 both crops, without the slightest advantage to 

 compensate. The beds should be divided by 

 narrow alleys into portions about four feet 

 wide, for the convenience of cultivation. In 

 about six weeks after sowing, the plants will 

 be of sufficient size to allow the first thinning 

 and small hoeing, by which they are to be 

 set out about 2 inches apart; if this is per- 

 formed in dry weather, it will keep the beds 

 free of weeds for six weeks longer, when they 

 must be hoed a second time, and thinned to 

 4. inches apart; and now, where they have 



