ALLIACEOUS PLANTS.— THE ONION. 



39 



place for them. There are several modes 

 of forcing onions, so as to have bulbs for 

 use between the time those wintered in the 

 store-room are finished, and that at which 

 they ripen in the open air ; but the trou- 

 ble and expense attending these methods 

 might, we think, easily be spared by adopt- 

 ing the best modes of keeping the previous 

 crop, and cultivating more largely that 

 excellent sort known as the potato or 

 underground onion (which see). 



Taking the crop, and subsequent preserva- 

 tion. — The season of ripening, like that of 

 all other crops, depends greatly on cir- 

 cumstances. This is first indicated by 

 the leaves turning yellow and beginning 

 to fade ; and in the smaller bulbs, by the 

 leaves dropping off altogether, which shows 

 them to be perfectly ripe. The larger 

 specimens, on account of their containing 

 a much greater amount of elaborated sap 

 thrown into them by their larger and 

 more numerous leaves, do not indicate 

 ripeness so soon, and a certain class, from 

 over excitement, and grossness of stem, 

 called thick necks, do not incline to ripen 

 at all. These latter should be marked 

 for immediate use, and left on the ground 

 till required ; or, if the ground is wanted 

 for another crop, they may be taken up and 

 laid in by the heels in some out-of-the-way 

 place, till used up. The process of laying 

 by the heels is thus performed : a trench 

 is opened, and the plants, as they are taken 

 up, are set in it pretty thickly, to econo- 

 mise space, but not so thickly as to cause 

 them to rot or sustain injury from want 

 of air. They are placed in a slanting di- 

 rection against the back of the trench, and 

 covered over as deep as they formerly 

 were in the ground, the earth being laid 

 over their roots and stems in the course 

 of digging the ground to prepare it for 

 another trench, which should be so far 

 apart from the last that the leaves of the 

 plants may not lie over those of the pre- 

 ceding row. The principal object, how- 

 ever, is to check vegetation and prevent 

 the plants running to seed, hence the 

 coldest situations should be chosen. The 

 others should be gone over, and their 

 stems bent gently over, or the strongest 

 of them may have their necks twisted ; 



this will check growth, and tend to their 

 ripening. The sooner theyare taken out of 

 the ground after their growth has nearly 



, ceased, the better ; for, if left in, they 



are often attacked by maggots. As they 

 are taken up, they should be placed in a 

 dry airy place, but not in the full sun, to 

 dry; and it will greatly facilitate that pro- 

 cess if, instead of being left lying on the 

 ground, they are spread thinly on board- 

 ing laid' upon a gravel or paved walk or 

 yard. As they dry, the roughest of the 

 decaying leaves should be removed ; and 

 they should then be carried to the root- 

 room or onion-loft, and spread thinly upon 

 the shelves, floor, &c., to dry more com- 

 j)letely. From this time until there is 

 danger of frost entering the onion-room, 

 the doors and windows should be kept con- 

 stantly open, to afford them all the venti- 

 lation possible. The remainder may be 

 removed into the house as fast as they dry 

 sufficiently, and all should be at once 

 taken up in the event of frost. After hous- 

 ing, they should be repeatedly examined, 

 all decaying bulbs removed, and the whole 

 frequently turned over. 



The future management of the bulbs 

 depends on the exclusion of frost ; yet a 

 low temperature must be preserved and 

 ample ventilation given. When time per- 

 mits, and wet days offer a good opportu- 

 nity, a general dressing should take place. 

 The smaller bulbs ought to be selected, 

 and kept by themselves, for pickling, 

 and many other uses which no being on 

 earth could think of but a French or 

 Italian cook. The next in size, which will 

 also be the next best maturely ripened, 

 should also be picked out : these are 

 likely to keep longest, and should there- 

 fore be kept by themselves on the higher 

 shelves, so as to be better out of the way. 

 Those having a portion of the dried leaves 

 still attached to them had better be strung 

 up, and suspended from the roof part of 

 the room. The process of stringing is 

 thus performed : Three or four onions, 

 having a portion of their tails still at- 

 tached to them, are taken in one hand, 

 while with the other a strand of matting or 

 twine is to be tied round them. After 

 placing three or four more bulbs, the twine 

 or matting is wound round them pretty 

 tightly — and so on, till the rope or bundle 

 has attained a yard or so in length, when 

 it is suspended by one end to the roof or 

 other convenient part of the root-room. 

 This is a good way of wintering onions, 

 and takes up little space. The imported 

 Portugal onions are secured in nearly the 



