316 The Principles of Vegetable- Gardening 



AA. Plant practically annual or biennial — 

 B. Leaves cylindrical , hollow — 



Welsh onion, Allium fistulosum. Not producing 

 large or evident bulbs. Siberia. 



Shallot, Allium Ascalonicum. Producing pointed 

 oblong bulbs in clusters; leaves small. Syria. 



Onion, Allium Cepa. Producing bulbs of many 

 sizes, shapes and colors. Native to southwest- 

 ern Asia. Top onion, var. hulbellifera. Multiplier 

 onion, var. multiplicans. 

 BB. Leaves flattish, not holloio — 



Leek, Allium Porrum, Strong-growing, with a 

 single bulb which is little thicker than the neck. 

 Native to Europe. 



Garlic, Allium sativum. Bulbs small, dividing into 

 bulbels or cloves. Native to Europe. 



ONION 



Cool^ rather moist and level land, soil ivith the best 

 possible surface tilth and containing much guicMy avail- 

 able plant-food, careful attention to the selection of seed, 

 the most perfect surface tillage, are some of the essentials 

 in the growing of a good crop of onions. 



Onion crops are of two general kinds: the main- or 

 late -season crop, and the early spring crop. In the 

 main-season crop, the onions are sold in their dry state 

 and are a staple product in market quotations. In the 

 early -season crop, the onions are sold in their immature 

 or green state and mostly tied in bunches. 



The main -season onion crop is grown from seeds, 

 and these are sown directly in the field where the crop 

 is to grow. (Fig. 90.) The early spring crop is grown 

 from either seeds or bulbs, usually from bulbs. These 



