ONION. 



219 



be thinned, to remain for early bulbing in June and July; 

 but, as they will soon after shoot up in stalk, they are chief- 

 ly for present use, not being eligible as keeping-onions." 



To preserve onions through the winter, they may be tied 

 together, forming wdiat are called ropes or bunches of on- 

 ions, and ke]>i in a dry and cool cellar. Moisture rots, and 

 warmth causes them to vegetate. A considerable degree 

 of cold w^iil not injure them, for they resist frost in conse- 

 quence of a spirituous substance of wdiich they are in part 

 composed. Searing their fibrous roots with a hot iron will 

 prevent them from sprouting. 



To obtain seed from onions, they should be planted early 

 in beds, about nine inches apart. The largest and soundest 

 are best. They should be kept free from weeds; and, 

 when the heads of the flowers begin to appear, each plant 

 must have a stake about four feet long, and its stems be 

 loosely tied to the stake by a soft string. Or the stems 

 may be supported by stakes, six or eight feet apart, and 

 pack-thread or rope-yarn fastened from one to the other, 

 a little below the heads. When ripe, the heads are to be 

 cut (or the seed will shed) and spread in the sun, on coarse 

 cloths, to dry; being, however, taken under shelter at night, 

 and in rain. When the seed is beaten out, it is to be dried 

 one day in the sun, and then put in bags to preserve for 

 sowing. 



Dr. Deane, and Mr. Nicholson, author of the Farmer^s 

 Assistant^ condemn the practice of beating or breaking 

 down the tops of onions in order to increase the size of the 

 root. Mr. Nicholson observed, " The practice is undoubt- 

 edly injurious, as we have seen confirmed by experiment." 



" Culture of the potato onion. — This variety, erroneously 

 supposed to have been brought from Egypt by the British 

 army about 1805, w^as grown in Driver's nursery, in 1796, 

 and has been known in Devonshire for upwards of twenty 

 years. It is thus cultivated at Arundel Castle, by Maher : — 

 Having thoroughly prepared the ground, and formed it into 

 beds four feet v/ide, ' I draw lines the whole length, three 

 to each bed, and, wdth the end of the rake-handle, make a 

 mark (not a drill) on the surface; on this mark I place the 

 oiiions, ten inclies apart; I then cover them with leaf- 

 mould, rotten dung, or any other light com.post, just so that 

 the crowns appear exposed. Notliing more is necessary 

 to be done until they shoot up their tops ; then, on a dry 

 day, they are earthed up, like potatoes, and kept free from 

 weeds, until they are taken up. In the west of England, 



