THE ONION 97 
Each of the hollow balls is a hind of leaf. The out- 
side one is just like paper; the inner ones have a 
paper top which makes the twist. These leaves 
do not grow any farther, and it is only the yellow 
ones in the center that shoot upward and turn 
green. 
Home Work 
Do you think you can find: out what happens at each 
end of the onion? Ask your teacher for a small piece 
of pasteboard a little larger than the top of a jelly 
glass. In the center of the pasteboard cut a round 
hole not quite so wide as the widest part of the onion. 
This is to be put on top of a jelly glass filled with 
water. Set an onion in the hole so that the brown 
patch is in the water. In a few days or a week some- 
thing ought to happen. 
Can you find out anything about the row of “teeth’’? 
How long is it before the sprout shows its head ? 
Watch the onion for several weeks and find out every- 
thing that occurs. 
This work should be done at home, as it takes several 
weeks for the onion to grow. Do not let the water dry 
up in the glass, or get lower than the tips of the roots, 
or the onion will die, 
NATURE STUDY — 7 
