By Mr. Charles Strachan. 



371 



1st. The Silver-skinned Onion. There seems to be no dif- 

 ference amongst cultivators, in the name of this kind. It is 

 the Ognon Blanc Gros of the French. Its shape is flat, its 

 size middling, and its colour a shining white ; the skin is very 

 thin, and as the bulb ripens in the bed, it splits, and shows 

 a fine veined green in the second skin. In this kind two bulbs 

 are often formed on the same root, which rarely happens in 

 others. In quality, it is mild, and if well ripened will keep 

 tolerably, though it is usually considered as an early Onion ; 

 but its chief use is for pickling. The seed of this Onion is 

 never saved well in England, it is therefore always imported 

 from Holland for the supply of the seedsmen. 



2nd. The early Silver-skinned Onion. This is a new sort, 

 which has been sent to us from France, under the name of 

 Ognon Blanc Hatif. Mr. Malcolm noticed this Onion as re- 

 markably fine, and abundant, in the market of Paris, in June 

 last. In shape and colour it resembles the former, but its 

 size is less ; it grows entirely on the surface of the ground, 

 having its fibres and leaves very slight ; it is fit for use full six 

 weeks before all the other sorts, which is its great excellence ; 

 for when kept, its flavour becomes stronger than that of the 

 common Silver-skinned Onion. 



3rd. The True Portugal Onion. This was raised from seeds 

 presented to the Society by James Warre, Esq. they had 

 been imported by himself from Lisbon. It is the Onion which 

 comes from Portugal, and is so abundant in the shops of the 

 fruiterers in London early in the winter. Amongst all the dif- 

 ferent kinds which were supplied for the garden last spring 

 by the seedsmen, there was none that exactly resembled this 

 Onion. I believe it has not been customary to import the 



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