474 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF GARDENING. 



Onions. -Although classed with edible roots, Onions 

 are not only Hue bulbs but are really distended stems, 

 swollen out into huge dimensions in some cases, and 

 produced on the surface of the soil. In their wild state — 

 and that was long since, for Onions have been cultivated 

 several thousands of years — no doubt the rounded or 

 swollen stem was of small size. Selection and cultivation, 

 however, have changed the nature of the plant so much, 

 that rarely are large stems seen now, the energies of the 

 plant being devoted to the production of hue bul I is. 

 These differ more or less in si/e, form, and colour, 

 exhibits very little distinct- 

 considerably in shape. ( Ine 

 is quite long and narrow, 

 ends. The majority of the 

 ripe are brown in colour, 

 the brown skin a reddish 



but the growing plant 

 ness. The bulbs differ 

 variety, the cocoa-nut, 

 pointed at both 

 of all shapes when 

 however, having on 



being 

 bulb', 

 some, 



){ yellow 

 pale, s 



The ground colour 

 rate dark. There are 

 varieties, the < Md blood 

 ie. There are several white - 

 the little Silver Skin, the 

 White Tripoli. All these 



tinge, others a shade 

 also varies, some bein 

 two deep red - coloured 

 Red and the Crimson Glc 

 skinned varieties, such a 

 Oueen, White Lisbon, c 

 are of a very soft, watery nature, and decay rapidly 

 when once ripe. The brown or shaded brown skinned 

 varieties are those 

 most generally grown, 

 and first-rate stocks 

 are Banbury Cross, 

 Main Crop, Sutton's 

 Ai, Lord Keeper, 

 Giant Zittau, and 

 Anglo - Spanish 

 rounds ; whilst fine 

 oval or globular stocks 

 are Ailsa Craig, the 

 finest uf all varieties, 

 the Wroxton, Cran- 

 ston's Excelsior, 

 Sutton*s Globe, Car- 

 ter's Record, and 

 D o b b i e ' s Golden 

 Globe. Older varie- 

 ties, such as Bedford- 

 shire Champion and 

 | a in e s ' s Keeping, 



whilst still g I, do 



not give such fine- 

 bulbs as newer varie- 

 ties. ( )nion seed is 

 habitually sown at 

 three diverse periods 



or seasons — outdoors in August, usually about the 20th, to 

 secure fine bulbs in the following summer, chiefly for exhi- 

 bition, or in the spring, at the end of March or during 

 April, for the production of fine ripe bulbs in the autumn, 

 for storing through the winter; then sowings are commonly 

 made now at midwinter in pans filled with sandy soil, and 

 placed in a frame or greenhouse where there is a gentle 

 warmth oi from 5odeg. to 6odeg. Such raised plants 

 put out thinly into soil specially prepared by deep working 

 and manuring produce quite large bulbs in the autumn, 

 that fine variety Ailsa Craig often giving produce of 

 the weight of 3II1. and over. Whilst any variety so 

 raised and treated produces fine bulbs, the best are 

 from such superior stocks as have been previously 

 named. Autumn sowings are always made of the large 

 but soft bulbed Tripolisor Roccas. These, however, very 

 soon decay after ripening, and are then often worthless 

 before they can be used. It is now proved that, if autumn 

 sowings be made of the best brown-skinned varieties, 

 whether round or globular, not only are very fine 

 bulbs produced in the following summer, but also that 

 they keep better, and are therefore far more valuable. 

 Still farther, if in thinning the rows of plants in March 

 or April some be lifted with special care to preserve the 

 roots, and be dibbled out 6in. apart in good ground, 

 they will also produce exceedingly fine bulbs. In all cases 



ONION, LONG-KEEPING. 



of open-air-sown Onions the rows should he fu((y fain, 

 apart. Spring-soWn seed should be got in early if the 

 season be open and the .soil fairly dry and in good con- 

 dition. As in sowing much treading is needful, it is 

 obvious that to do so whilst the ground is wet would be 

 productive of evil. Generally early sowing not only 

 results in giving strong plants to stand the summer heat, 

 but also in making the plants strong and hardy 

 early, enabling them to withstand the attacks 

 ol the Onion fly, a pest that never troubles autumn 

 sowings or those plants raised under glass and planted 

 out when strong. Freely dusting the rows with soot 

 when the plants are damp, and washing it in with liberal 

 waterings the next morning, is good practice, as the soot 

 renders the plants nauseous to the insects, and when washed 

 into the ground promotes quick growth. Through the 

 summer, after proper thinning has been performed, the 

 chief need with spring-sown Onions is to keep the surface 

 well stirred with a hoe, as such practice checks evapora- 

 tion and retains moisture. .V thin dressing of sulphate of 

 ammonia applied twice during the summer, and good 

 weeding, are also helpful to bulb production. 

 Winter-sown Onions under glass need much more 

 care and attention than do outdoor - raised plants. 

 Sowings of seed should be made in pans filled with light 



sandy soil at the end 

 of December or early 

 in January. The>e 

 pans should be stoc d 

 near the glass, and in 

 gentle warmth. When 

 the plants are some 

 ;in. high they need 

 to be lifted very care- 

 full.y and pricked 

 out 2in. apart into 

 shallow boxes filled 

 with good fine soil, 

 and be still kept in 

 warmth until bin. in 

 height, then placed 

 in a frame looking 

 th, where they can 

 more air, and 

 be by greater 

 exposure well har- 

 dened off, ready for 

 planting outdoors in 

 April. Such plants 

 should be quite stout 

 and firm, also erect, 

 and fully Sin. in 

 height. Transplanting should fie done with great care, lift- 

 ing each plant with a good ball of soil and roots, and replant- 

 ing carefully without disturbing the roots, and not deeply. 

 Commonly when very fine bulbs are desired the rows of 

 such plants are 2oin. apart ; a very useful breadth is l6in., 

 the plants being I2in. apart in the rows. This form of 

 Onion culture, however, necessitates high - class soil 

 preparation, the ground being trenched Irom 2oin. to 3oin. 

 deep, and the deeper the better, ample dressings of 

 good animal manure being buried and mixed with 

 the several layeis or spits of soil, whilst that on the 

 surface should have forked in, some time before the 

 planting takes place, a good dressing of well-decayed 

 manure that is short and does not create coarseness. 

 Onions are very deep rooters, and where so much 

 worked soil is lurnished, and ample manure is added, 

 roots strike deep in search of it, thus finding good 

 as well as ample moisture when the surface soil is dry. 

 After plants have become well established, a mulching of 

 short manure on the surface not only serves to check 

 evaporation, but also furnishes plant food. When water 

 is given, which may in prolonged drought be needful, it 

 should be in the form of a heavy soaking, as driblets 

 do more harm than good. With such treatment 

 quite wonderful bulbs will be produced in the autumn. 

 Outdoor-sown Onions need deeply-worked and well- 



havs 

 finally 



