ODDS AND ENDS. 97 



History. 



Little enough is to be said about the early history of the 

 onion, although the fragrant bulb has been known and 

 cultivated as an article of food from olden times. Prob- 

 ably the plant came originally from the East. It is men- 

 tioned in the Scriptures as one of the things for which the 

 Israelites longed when in the wilderness. These people 

 seemed to have become quite fond of the "leeks, onions, 

 and garlics " of Egypt, and their love for these vegetables 

 is almost proverbial to this day. Herodotus, long before 

 the Christian era, tells of an inscription on the great 

 pyramid stating that a certain sum (1600 talents) had been 

 paid for the onions, radishes, and garlic consumed by the 

 workmen during the erection of that massive, awkward, 

 but famous, stone heap. 



The present production of the onion in the United 

 States has reached enormous proportions, and yet hundreds 

 of thousands of bushels are annually imported. These 

 come mostly from Bermuda (the old crop) during January, 

 from Cuba (new crop) during the same month ; from 

 France and Spain, during February and March. It seems 

 to me that California and some of our southern States can 

 grow just as good onions as any of the countries named, 

 and they should try to catch a little of this trade in mild 

 foreign sorts. 



Varieties. 

 Botanically the onion is known as Allium ,cepa. The 

 generic name is of Celtic origin ('' ^//" meaning hot, or 

 burning). The plant belongs to the Natural Order 

 LiliacecE. 



Hundreds of garden varieties have been introduced, but 

 we have little positive knowledge concerning their origin. 

 7 



