ONCIDIUM 



broaflly obovate; middle lobe broadly obovateor subreni- 

 form. lunUilate, iiotrlu^d iu front. Spring and summer. 

 Brazil. B..M.;i.}i;s. B.K. 23:1994; 28:-Has O. iOHffifoJium). 

 4'.1. triqu^trum, R.Br. (Cifmbldium triquetrttm, Swz. 

 J'Jjiiili'iitlriiw Inqiulrnin, Swz.). Pseudobulbs none: 

 Ivs. few, 4-ij ill. long, triquetrous and grooved: scape 

 about as long as the Ivs., purplish, bearing a raceme of 

 10-12 medium-sized fls. : sepals broadly lanceolate, the 

 lower pair united, purplish green; petals ovate, white, 

 tinged with green and spotted with purple; labellum 

 cordate-ovate, constricted near the middle, white spotted 

 with purple; crest orange. Autumn. Jamaica. B.M. 



A supplementary list of synonyms and imperfectly known 

 kinds advertised in Amerii-ii: O. ansiferum. Reichb (. Sepals 

 and petiils ohlong-oboviite, free, crisp; labellum with ligiibtte 

 lateral lobes and a reniform, emarginate middle lobe, gobleu 

 yellow, with 2 dark browa bars at the base, tiaccid. The sepals 

 and petals are greenisli, with yellow tips —O li'ihU'nttiitir, 

 Keiehb. f. ((). Balderramas, Reichb.f.). P.ii '. utir- I.isal 

 sepals rounded, clawed, crisp, yellowish . ' ' 'li a 



yellow border: lower sepals longer cKi ii_'. 



unicolored; petals oblong, short-rdawed. ipli 



oate. smaller than the sepals, yellow, wiili \'i' >i I . i Ins. 

 labellum hastate, ligulate, obluse. Sumnii-r. < ol.nnln.i — <>. 

 Bicliiiiieiise. Hort. e\-Lindl ^(Idontogli.ssuni Sp -(). Furster- 



Oardneri, Lindl. lO.' (iardneri.wum, Hurt I Resembles O. 

 <-nspnni aniH) Kurl..-sii FK I.mih'h >ellnw, spotted and barred 



will ii. r I i' ' t I [itl,, ., 1 i' n,l]i.t.ils: labellum broad, 

 \.' r I r I , i]| segments undulate. 



; 1 1 I ' I III- ml This is prob.ably 



" '" 'nniiin I \1, 1 -mill l^fii-lib. f.) A species 



Kolte. Pseudobulbs broadly obloug compres.sed, 3 in. long: Ivs. 

 elliptic-oblong, 4 in. long: panicle large, branching- tls. 2 in. 

 across, yellow, spotted with brown; dorsal sepal.-; spatuJ.ate; 

 lateral sepals lanceolate-oblong, united at base; petals obo- 

 vate. wider than the sepals: labellum pandurate. with small 

 spatulate lateral lobes and a broadly orbicular-ov.ite. undulate 

 middle lobe. Brazil. RB. 21:,J. G.C. 111. 11:631. Near O. 

 crispum —<). hastatum, Lindl. Sepals and petals yellow, 

 spotted with brown: labellum p;ile .m-IIow Me\, — O. (n drift- 

 /ii(;n, Lindl (O. sessile. Lindl A- I' if' T'-^-i-'nlmlbs ohbmg: 

 Ivs. shctrt. pale green: panii-le inn i In u I I unl bearing a 

 large number of tls.. seii;its an I i i ' i Inu-e. yellow, 



spotted with cinn;iini>ii-bro\\n ii uni hirge. of 



the same .-..Inr E.-ua.lor-o /n 1,, •' I , >,,;,c„nuim. 

 Rei.hli t =Br-issia Lawren.i.iii,. - (A ,„,i,,„ai„. Reichb f. 



t) uh, u^oi'n:: Ki 11 i.ti. f. & Warsc. 1? Is. gcdden yellow, spotted 

 withtnnwii 1m. 111. in a much-branched panicle. Peru. Said to 



yellow, spotted with brown. Peru. S:iiil ' 

 RusseUiinum. Lindl.= Miltonia Russ, lli 

 Lindl. Pseudobulbs subcylindrical. 3 in i i _ _ 

 lanceolate: panicle branched, many-tld . si. n.I. i 

 yellow, spotted with brown: sepals free, ,.b<.\.i 

 larger. clawed, obovate-spatnlate. repand: labelluin 

 serrate lateral lobes; middle lobe large, emarginate 

 Brazil. I H. 21:165. Near (>. ampliatum.-O ,SV/,; 

 Reichb. f. Trop Amer — O. Schllmn Lin.len 



'be. pale vellow. with a darker callus. 

 :itum.-0. Tiih'ox, Reichb. f. Venezuela.— 

 ii-hb f. Pseudobulbs rounded, compressed: 

 scape stout, with an 8-13-tld. panicle: fls, 

 spots and the middle of the labellum blood- 

 .mceohate. acute, crisp; lower pair oblong, 

 lellum, united ; petals oldong. much wider 

 Ills; labellum with auriculate lateral lobes 

 tid middle lobe. Colombia.-t). Weltoni. 

 irszewiczii. Heinrich Hasselbring. 



ONION 



1135 



Hort -Ml 



ONCOBA (Arabian, onkob ; name of a North African 

 species). Bixdcefe. Shrubs or small trees of tropical 

 and subtropical Africa, sometimes spiny. Lvs. alternate, 

 without stipules : fls. terminal, solitary, white, large 

 for this order, bisexual; sepals and petals ,'5; stamens 

 very numerous, inserted, in many rows on a fleshy wing 

 beneath the ovary; filaments filiform; anthers linear, 

 2-ceIled, attached to the base, erect, opening at the sides; 

 stigma dilated, notched: ovary free, 1-celled; style cylin- 

 drical: berry leathery, pulpy within; seeds 

 used as ornaments by the natives. 



Kraussiilna, Planch. A branching shrub without 

 thorns, the older branches having a rough ash-colored 

 bark: lvs. elliptic-oblong, obtuse or subacute, entire, 2 

 in. long, with midrib, pinnate and netted veins, some- 

 what pale on under side : peduncles terminal or opposite 

 the lvs., 2-3 in. long; fls. erect, solitary, more than an 

 in. across, whit,- ; s.-pais rounilish and very concave; 

 petals UM, ,. :i^ lull-. s|iir:i.liiig, with narrow claws, 

 cuneiit.' Ill liiis,., l.r.iinlly ..b.i\ :ife, with Scattered, woolly 

 hairs; aiiflnrs juiiiitlfss ; sTii^nia 5-6-rayed : ovary hairy. 

 Procurable iu .s. Calif. — This makes a very fine pot- 

 plant in a greenhouse temperature, flowering in spring. 

 It is also useful for subtropical bedding. Prop, from 

 ripewood cuttings, also from seeds. Give the plant a 

 sunny position, and plenty of water while new growth 

 is making. jj. B. CotTLSTON and H. A. Siebrecht. 



ONCOSPfiKMA (Greek, tumor-shaped seed). Pnl- 

 jHcicefP. Stoloniferous palms, with low. very spiny 

 trunks: lvs. equally pinnate; Ifts. ensiforni aiiiiiiiiiate. 

 entire, equidistant or somewhat clustert-.l, the v.ins 

 scaly beneath; rachis convex on the back, with a blunt 

 keel above: fr. small. Oncosperma differs fnun Eu- 

 terpe in the small, acute sepals: stamens B-12. the an- 

 thers erect; albumen ruminate. Species 6. Trop. Asia. 



fascicolikttun, Thwaites. Caudex at length 30-40 ft. 

 high, 5-6 in. in diara. : lvs. 18 ft. long; pinna! fascicled, 

 12-18 in. long, 1-2 in. wide, lanceolate, long-acuminate, 

 the tips drooping; sheath 2K ft., armed and scurfy: fr. 

 globose, black-purple, % in. in diam. Ceylon. 



Jared G. Smith. 



ONION. Plate XXII. All the Onions of common or 

 general cultivation are forms of one variable species, 

 Allhitii Cepa. This plant is probably native to south- 

 western Asia, but it has been domesticated so long and 

 has varied so much that its aboriginal form is not 

 well understood. It was grown by the ancient Egyp- 

 tians. It is grown primarily for its bulbs, but the 

 leaves are sometimes used as seasoning and in stews 

 Under long-continued cultivation and selection, the 

 bulbs have developed into large and shapely organs. 

 Now and then the bulb does not develop and the neck 

 (or stalk just above the bulb) remains relatively thick: 

 such onions are "scullions." Seeds from poorly selected 

 or deteriorated stock may be the cause of scullions: 

 they are to be considered as reverted or run-down 

 forms. Sometimes scullions result from very wet soil, 

 whereby the plants grow too much to top. Seeds grown 

 in the South or in a long-season climate tend to pro- 

 duce plants in short-season regions that do not "bot- 

 tom " before caught by frost. 



The Onion is one of the hardiest of vegetable garden 



winter crop. In the ii..rtlirrn st:,r,.s mi, I CiuKidathe 

 seeds are sown ..r th.- Inillis ]i|;iiit,'.l us s....ii as the 

 ground can lie tiiti'd in the sprint;. It is ulways be.-st, if 

 possible, to prepare the gr"Ulid in tin' tall in .irderthat 

 the seeds may be sown on the first approach of warm 

 weather. When Onions are grown from seeds, it is 

 essential that the ground be fine and loose, and all sur- 

 face stones and litter removed. The seeds are small and 

 do not germinate quickly. The yminir |. hints ate surface 

 feeders. If the seed is sown hit. .r if tin- :,'r.iund is 

 droughty, the plants will eitln r |.. ri-li ..r make no 

 headway. Land which is foul with w. e.is sinmld not be 

 planted to Onions, for the youiiK Uiib.ii plants cannot 

 withstand such competition. In the old-fashioned 

 gardens, it was the custom to plant Onions in short 

 rows crosswise of raised beds, as in Fig. 1528. This 

 entailed an endless amount of small hand labor and 

 usually resulted in the expenditure of more time and 

 effort than the Onions were worth. The better method 

 is to grow the plants in long rows which are far enough 

 apart to admit of the use of a wheel hoe. Fig. 1529. 

 Even when a small quantity of Onions is desired, it 

 is better to place them all in one row than to have 

 many short rows. With the best of land and manage- 

 ment, and with the use of wheel hoes, more or less 

 finger work will be necessary in order to bring the crop 

 to full perfection. The seed may be sown thick in the 

 home garden, and as the young plants begin to crowd, they 

 should be thinned. The plants taken out in the second 



