36 KITCHEN GARDEN. 
vickling, The Nocera, introduced by Mr. Lawson, in 
1843, is not only of good quality, but possesses the advan- 
tage of not being so apt to send up flower-stalks as the 
other kinds. 
The onion affects a light, rich, well-worked soil, which 
has not been recently manured. The principal crop may 
be sown in the course of the month of March, according to 
the state of the weather and the dryness of the ground. 
Onions are cultivated in beds, four or five feet in width, 
and are regularly thinned, hoed, and kept free from weeds. 
About the beginning of September the crop is ripe or ready 
for lifting, which is known by the withering of the leaves; 
the roots are taken up, and, after being well dried in the 
open air, are stored in a garret or loft, where they may be 
perfectly secured from damp. 
Towards the end of August a secondary crop is sown, to 
afford a supply of young onions, or scallions, as they are 
called, in the spring months. The Strasburg and White 
Portugal may be used for this purpose. Those which are 
not required for the kitchen may be allowed to stand, and 
if the flower-bud be picked out on its first appearance, and 
the earth be stirred about them, they will frequently pro- 
duce bulbs equal in size and quality to the large ones that 
are imported from the Continent. 
Some eminent horticulturists have strongly recommend- 
ed the transplanting of onions. Mr. Knight recommends 
- sowing the White Portugal onion in May under the shade 
of a tree, where the plants remain of a diminutive size, 
during the autumn and winter, and are planted out in the 
succeeding spring. Other cultivators collect all the minute 
bulbs of the ordinary crop, and use them in the same way. 
Mr. Macdonald, Dalkeith Park, was in the practice of con- 
fining his operations to one summer. He sowed in Feb- 
