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JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



however, variations, as some flat Onions have very flat or almost 

 concave bases— such as is seen in Rousham Park Hero, a large 

 form of the White Spanish — whilst others have deep or convex 

 bases, adding materially to thickness and weight. Both these 

 forms may be found in the Onions to-day exhibited. Then there 

 are the globular or round forms, which again have distinc- 

 tions, as whilst some are roundish, others are almost egg-shaped, 

 or spherical, whilst others have almost pear shapes. These forms 

 practically include all that are in commerce. But these distinctions 

 are trifling where so many so-called sorts are concerned, and we 

 have to fall back, so far as relates to many of them, upon colour 

 of skin or coating in which the bulbs are encased. These colours 

 are white, or the silver- skinned, as found in the little pickling 

 Silver- skin of gardens, the precocious Queen and Early White 

 Nocera, the White Lisbon, White Tripoli, and White Globe. It 

 is worthy of note that none of the white-skinned varieties are 

 keepers, excepting, perhaps, the globular White Portugal, a variety 

 not much known in this country, but which has thicker skin than 

 is usually found in these Onions — hence is a better keeper. The 

 Queen Onion, the very earliest of all to bulb from seed, is yet very 

 hardy. I have had it when, owing to a wet, cold summer, it failed 

 to ripen fully, to stand the winter, and then throw up seed-heads 

 the following year, and then — to verify what M. Vilmorin says in 

 his book as to Onions sometimes becoming other than biennial — 

 have found some bulbs to clove, or divide, remain green all the 

 winter, and then carry a second crop of seed the following year. 

 M. Vilmorin describes nine that seem to be to him diverse 

 varieties that have white or silver skins. One of the most 

 striking additions to this class is the Southport or Silver Globe, 

 a beautiful bulb, but a poor keeper. 



Next we have the so-called White Spanish, or really brownish 

 white-skinned forms, of which the old White Spanish is the type. 

 The report of the Vegetable Conference classes under this section 

 no less than nineteen named sorts, many of which bear un- 

 questionably singular resemblance to each other. I will not 

 recapitulate the names, as they may be found in the Journal of 

 the Society, vol. xii., Part I., 1890, p. 84. These are all of 

 the flat section, but have since received several notable ad- 

 ditions. Of the globular varieties there are twelve, to which section 

 also others have been added, and of these very perfect examples 



