PAKSLEY. 89 



those planted will split up into several small ones in- 

 stead of making one large onion. 



THE TOP, OR TEEE ONION. 



When an ordinary onion is set ou in autumn or in 

 spring, it throws up a stalk with a large head of flowers, 

 followed by seed. A Top-onion grows in precisely the 

 same manner, but it throws up a stalk, on the top of 

 which, instead of seed, we have a bunch or cluster of 

 small onions. When these small bulbs are set out in the 

 fall or spring, they give us a crop of very early green 

 onions. The objection to the top onion is, that when 

 ripe it does not keep well, and should be used in the fall. 



PAESLEY. 



Parsley seed is very slow in germinating, and it is de- 

 sirable to sow it as early in the spring as possible. The 

 soil should be prepared in the fall, and the seed sown as 

 soon as the frost is out of the ground. Sow in rows fif- 

 teen inches apart, dropping three or four seeds to each 

 inch of row ; keep the ground hoed and entirely free from 

 weeds. Thin out the plants to two inches apart in the 

 row. There is a rapidly increasing demand for parsley, 

 not only for garnishing, but for flavoring soups, etc. The 

 best variety for the garden is the Extra Double- Curled. 

 In Europe, parsley is often sown with a mixture of grasses 

 and clover, as a pasture for sheep; for this purpose, the 

 common straight-leaved variety is the best. The seed is 

 cheaper and the yield larger. Sheep are very fond of 

 parsley, and it is supposed to give an agreeable flavor to 

 the mutton. Parsley is biennial; if sown this spring it 

 makes only leaves, but the next year it runs up to seed. 

 During the winter and spring, previous to its going to 



