NEW ZEALAND GARDENING. 37 



early in February, for salads in Autumn ; and finally in 

 February to stand the Winter, for Spring and beginning of 

 Summer. Sow in drills, twelve inches apart. As soon as 

 the young plants appear above ground, run the hoe between 

 the drills to kill seedling weeds. If the seed come up 

 thickly and large bulbs are required, thinning will be 

 necessary in about six weeks after sowing, thin out to four 

 inches apart ; if large bulbs are not desired thinning need 

 not be resorted to; in which case the result will be that a sufficient 

 number of large bulbs will be secured, the balance being 

 small will be useful for pickling. When the crop has nearly 

 finished growing, it is a good plan to bend down the stems 

 flat on the ground with the foot. This operation has the effect 

 of causing the bulbs to grow larger, it also prevents any of 

 them from running to seed. As soon as the crop is ripe let it 

 be taken up at once, if left in the ground afterwards they 

 will soon start to grow which completely destroys their keep- 

 ing qualities." To grow onions successfully the ground must 

 be deeply trenched and well manured. Before sowing the 

 seed, however, the ground should be firmly tramped to a firm 

 surface, and again tramped after sowing the seed. James' 

 Keeping and Brown Spanish onions are the best for storing 

 for Winter purposes. 



Silverskin is the proper variety for pickling, they should 

 be sown thickly on rather poor land and should not be 

 thinned. One ounce will sow a row of seventy feet. The 

 Silverskin should be sown thicker. 



Onion Potato or Underground. This plant is 

 not much cultivated in this colony ; it is however worth a 

 place in the garden. It produces a cluster of bulbs or 

 offsets. It is propagated by offsets of the root of moderate 

 size ; plant in September. They should be inserted in 

 drills twelve inches apart each way, not buried entirely, 

 but the top of the offset just level with the surface. As soon 

 as the leaves have attained their full size, and begin to be 

 brown at the top, let the earth be cleared away down to the 

 ring from whence the roots spring, so that a kind of basin is 

 formed round the bulb. They attain their full growth 

 towards the end of January. For immediate use they may 

 be taken up as they ripen, but for keeping, a little before 

 they attain perfect maturity. 



