196 KITCHEN GARDEN. 



pickling. The Nocera, introduced by Mr. Lawson, in 

 1843, is not only of good quality, but possesses the advan- 

 tage of not being so apt to send up flower-stalks as the 

 other kinds. 



The onion affects a light, rich, well-worked soil, which 

 has not been recently manured. The principal crop may 

 be sown in the course of the month of March, according to 

 the state of the weather and the dryness of the ground. 

 Onions are cultivated in beds, four or five feet in width, 

 and are regularly thinned, hoed, and kept free from weeds. 

 About the beginning of September the crop is ripe or ready 

 for lifting, which is known by the withering of the leaves ; 

 the roots are taken up, and, after being well dried in the 

 open air, are stored in a garret or loft, where they may be 

 perfectly secured from damp. 



Towards the end of August a secondary crop is sown, to 

 afford a supply of young onions, or scallions, as they are 

 called, in the spring months. The Strasburg and White 

 Portugal may be used for this purpose. Those which are 

 not required for the kitchen may be allowed to stand, and 

 if the flower-bud be picked out on its first appearance, and 

 the earth be stirred about them, they will frequently pro- 

 duce bulbs equal in size and quality to the large ones that 

 are imported from the Continent. 



Some eminent horticulturists have strongly recommend- 

 ed the transplanting of onions. Mr. Knight recommends 

 sowing the White Portugal onion in May under the shade 

 of a tree, where the plants remain of a diminutive size, 

 during the autumn and winter, and are planted out in the 

 succeeding spring. Other cultivators collect all the minute 

 bulbs of the ordinary crop, and use them in the same way. 

 Mr. Macdonald, Dalkeith Park, was in the practice of con- 

 fining his operations to one summer. He sowed in Feb- 



