94 THE ONION 
8. Pull off a piece of the paper skin close to the rough 
patch. You should see a neat little row of small 
white ‘ teeth.” Tf you tear off more paper skin, 
you will find that the “teeth” form a ring 
around the brown patch. What the “teeth” 
really are you will discover about « week after 
you have planted the onion. 
9. Examine the twisted end of the onion. Feel it and 
notice how brittle and dry it is. Pinch this end. 
In some onions (but not in all) you can feel a 
little hard point inside the “ paper twist.’ We 
are to discover what this twist is. 
Vertical Section 
10. Make a vertical section running exactly through the 
middle of the point and the center of the rough 
patch. Open out the halves. 
In the middle there lies a greenish yellow shoot. 
This is made by the leaves of the onion that are 
going to grow when the onion is planted. 
11. Notice that this shoot starts from a little round 
mass that looks something like a white cork, 
and that the roots grow out of this on its under 
side. 
12. Notice the layers or plates on each side of the shoot. 
