March 26, 1898. 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



197 



Vegetables for Exhibition. 



ONIONS. 



Thi onion [Allium cepa) is one of the most useful and largely cultivated 

 vegetables in this country. At the same time it is not nearly so exten- 

 sively irrown as it should be, and when one 



annually imported from Spain and other countries, it is indeed stir 

 prising that market gardeners and farmers at home do not turn their 

 attention to the production of these bulbs on a larger scale. Almost any 

 kind of land, when properly prepared, will grow onions well, but un- 

 questionably the most suitable soil is a deep light loam, which will only 

 require enriching and preparing during the winter months. When, how- 

 ever one has to deal with less favourable mediums, such as stiff clay, or 

 ' and gravelly soil, more attention and care will have to be 



The onion is a 



chalky 

 bestowed 



gravelly soil, 

 to produce satisfactory results. 



deep- 



rooted plant, consequently merely digging over the ground and working 

 in a little manure is not sufficient. In all cases the land ought to be 

 thoroughly trenched, and heavily manured during the winter months. 

 Onions require a long season of growth, and the sowing made early in 

 the season gives by far the best results, as the bulbs may be properly 

 matured and ripened before the summer is too far advanced. One often 

 hears of onions keeping badly, and this is in nearly all cases due to 

 bad harvesting. For ordinary summer crops the site should be selected 

 during the autumn. Many people make their onion bed on the ground 

 previously occupied by spring cabbage, a very good practice which I 

 generally adopt myself. If alternated each year, that is onions follow- 

 ing cabbage, and cabbage following onions, good results will ensue. On 

 the first favourable occasion in early autumn, wheel on a thorough dress- 

 ing of good farmyard manure (it is scarcely possible to give too much), 

 and as soon as the ground is in a moderately dry state, the trenching 

 should be done to a depth of not less than two feet six inches, breaking 

 up the bottom thoroughly with a fork. Begin with a layer of the 

 longest of the manure, and on this should be thrown the top spit, then a 

 layer of the shortest of the manure should be added. No attempt should be 

 made to break the soil to pieces, but the whole ought to be left in as 



4 _ * 



rough and lumpy a state as possible, 



Leave 



penetrate it 

 before stated, 



thoroughly, 

 the seed 



should 



in 

 be 



25 to not later than the end of the 

 sible. 



so that the frost and winds may 

 this wav till early spring-. As 



way 



sown early, say, 

 second week in 



spring, 

 from February 

 March, if pos- 



At this season we are very much at the mercy of the weather, 

 owing sometimes to prolonged frost and much wet, either of which may 

 prevent the operation, especially so on heavy soil, but no chance ought to 

 be missed after the first-mentioned date. A mixture of soot, wood 

 ashes, and lime in equal proportions should be strewn over the bed ; and 

 on heavy soil, m addition to this, a thorough coating of road-grit will 

 prove of much value. Fork over the bed to a depth of eight inches, 

 breaking up the lumps as fine as possible, and leave it for three or four 

 clays ; then proceed to prepare for seed sowing. 



A short-toothed wooden rake should be used to make the bed as level 



rj )0 i?;7?, n 1 draw , off an y lar # e stones or rubbis h ; next mark out the 

 menVin a 7i '"i from , te t n to twelve inches apart, a distance I recom- 

 rhSld he i^ R ?und the outside of the bed an eighteen-inch alley 



The driU, S^k*"? ° nC ° f fifteen inches at ever y ei S ht fee < °f ™dth y 

 venlv rf be drawn very shallow, after which sow fairly thick and 



pressL, downX i ? ^ mth ** walkin S down each row and 



be trodden a* 0 ? *? ml ? ° U b ° th sideS ' after which the b eds should 



The wood' ? rrA mI lf thC - ° PP ° site directi ™> walking across the beds, 

 after Ihkh finkh ^ d agam De - brOU ^ ht into use °™ the whole bed, 



even ^nd fine S it " 7 an "J* 1 one - The beds should be left a * 

 De Passed down *? P osslble *° them, and a small rake may also 



onio P n bed and w^f :? ^ G u°° d & ardeners P" d * themselves on their 



rr-ust be ^ncour^d ?° kS When Pr ° pe / ly done ' A <* uick free S rowth 

 young plams Te !^ l ° ensure a good crop, so that immediately the 



hoe should bet- ^ - thG gr ° und and the rows can be seen, the Dutch 



dSs tL shoJld^ T !*£ and l , he SOi ! Stirred carefu »y between the 

 lightly dus ed with fZ 1°*° ^quently, and the young plants should be 



mence y Sing and tnT* t SS °° n aS large enou ^ h com ' 



severely the first tt™ i weeding. It is a great mistake to thin 



more eas lv obtain^ 1 les * extra lar ^ e bulb * are wanted, and these are 



a rule, fa r a n o din ,S an ,° ther meth ° d ' which wil1 be set fortb later. As 

 will be n ,itri"'"' niirycU mar yP ur P oses buIb s from the main sowine 



attack of he onion fl Ug ' n nd , When , hard thinnin & is Poetised an 



to hi t 7 wllI J °f ten P^y sad havoc with the crop 

 to oe too crowded, and all ' ' y 



If thought 



^!SoSto O^Sr* ? tet ^ Peri0d • Whc " luc weatnens snowery, 



Messing of some f° 0t ' which is a ca P ital stimulant, a light 



*ith the Dutch hof I ^ ,nan c re S° uld be S iven and stirred in 



man„r. <•„„ :, - noe - 1 have found Smvth's fertilise a « nn A ™a cn c* 



is going well, another 



manure for *w,e ' X. ow^uis lerunser a grood 



'^Kth of t m e eiv P e U ?° S ^ Sh e uW thG Weather continue* dry 

 from the se w H7.!,?° 0d drenchin & s of wat <*> using if possible ti 



1 f* — -w ^ i » v,ii UUU JUL I 111 



have found Smyth's fertiliser a good and safe 



CAM 



at Waltham Cross 



for 



from the se^g^an^ b'fkmiiiar are "Wrongly represented. 



top should be carefully laid dZfi ttftf T b appear . s to be complete the iS for their disdnctness and beauty, mention must be made of, as especially 

 ' n a neat and busing il~ 1 ^ hands, turning them all one way desirable in collections : Alba plena, pure white ; Auguste Delfosse, red-crimson ; 



broom, as is freauontlv % ^u" " 0t knockin & them down with a Baron de Vriere, peach colour ; Beali, crimson ; Benneyi, bright red ; Chandleri, 



oeprecated. asth« „. ".. y i. e *. lhis latter practice is much to be crimson, very free ; C. M. Hovey, scarlet-crimson, very fine ; Conspicua, rose, 



i-double, very free and desirable ; Dionisia Poniatowski, white, very fine ; 



It is not exactly pleasant to reflect that the most beautiful of the flowering plants 

 should be subject to the caprice of fashion, and that in consequence of a change in 

 the trend of public taste that the camellias, with their wondrous beauty of leafage 

 and flowers, should have for so long a period been relegated to the cold shade of 

 neglect. Once the most popular of the hard-wooded plants that thrive in the con- 

 servatory, they so steadily declined in public favour that they have been practically 

 banished from many trade collections, and their cultivation materially reduced in 

 private gardens. Why there should have been so continuous an ebb in public 

 favour is not ea^y to explain, or, indeed, to understand. The enormous increase 

 in the cultivation of the chrysanthemum during the past twenty years has un- 

 doubtedly been one of the contributing causes, and it may be assumed that the 

 winter-flowering carnations have proved formidable competitors for public favour 

 If the camellias were of use only for the production of flowers for personal adorn- 

 ment and home decoration in a cut state, their decline in popularity could be readily 

 understood ; but having regard to the fact that their value consists in their useful- 

 ness in enhancing the attractions of the conservatory and winter garden early in 

 the year, it is surprising that these handsome shrubs should have suffered so severely 

 from the competition to which they have been subjected. 



Happily, the neglect of camellias has reached the bottom, and that once more 

 the tide of public taste has begun to flow in their favour. We have full justifica- 

 tion for the opinion we hold upon this point in the fact that there is a steadily 

 increasing demand for camellias, and more particularly for large specimens. This 

 we mention with considerable pleasure, not because we hold their shapely blooms 

 and exquisite colouring in high estimation, but from our knowledge that we have 

 no shrubs at home in the conservatory that can compare with them in attractive- 

 ness at this season of the year. As so well known to those who have kept them- 

 selves well acquainted with the various phases of horticulture, Messrs. William 

 Paul and Son have throughout maintained their magnificent collection in its com- 

 pleteness, and unless we are much mistaken they are now obtaining an adequate 

 reward and devotion to these beautiful shrubs. We have been acquainted with 

 this collection for many years, but at no time have we heard any complaint as to 

 the difficulty in disposing of the immense number of plants raised annually, but 

 now we learn that the demand has of late so materially increased as to necessitate 

 renewed activity in the maintenance of stock. The extent of the collection, and 

 its richness in splendidly developed specimens has, no doubt, been an important 

 factor, but we are disposed to attach greater importance to the fact that the whole 

 of the stock is of home growth. Long before the decline in the popularity of the 

 camellia, Messrs. W. Paul and Son recognised the superiority of home-raised 

 plants over those of continental origin, and the practice which was then initiated 

 has been continued until the present day, and with highly satisfactory results. 



As we have explained in previous references to the camellias at Waltham 

 Cross, the collection occupies a span-roof structure about one hundred and thirty 

 feet in length and thirty feet in width, and includes an immense number of buxom 

 bushes, ranging from five feet to over twenty feet in height. We have also 

 spoken in high terms of the remarkable skill that is brought to bear upon the 

 plants, and of their robust condition and the abundant production of flowers that 

 have resulted from the practice adopted. But in no season in which we have 

 have had an opportunity of seeing them have they presented a more satisfactory 

 appearance, or gave a greater wealth of flowers, than the one through which we 

 are now passing. The collection is unique, and of much value for the 

 object lessons it affords upon points of practice and in the selection of varieties ; 

 and, with regard to the latter, it may be said that nowhere in the United Kingdom 

 is so large a number of distinct and beautiful forms to be met with. Special 

 attention has been devoted by the firm to the raising and introduction of new 

 varieties, as well as to the growth of old ones, and the novelties now form a large 

 and important group. Chief among the varieties raised at Waltham Cross are 

 Beauty of Waltham, a distinct and beautiful variety, with good habit and finely- 

 formed flowers of a pleasing flesh colour. Duchess of York, a charming camellia 

 with bold rose cerise flowers and excellent foliage. Exquisite, a fine variety with 

 large, handsome, rose-red flowers and good foliage, and The Duchess, a distinct 

 variety, distinguished by the beauty of its rose-pink flowers and handsome foliage. 

 Messrs. W. Paul and Son have also been successful in introducing a considerable 

 number of beautiful camellias from Portugal, which not only have flowers of 

 uperb form, but foliage surpassing that of the majority of those of Italian origin. 

 Bold, deeply-coloured leaves are hardly less necessary in a camellia than are 

 handsome flowers, and those who are acquainted with the beautiful variety known 

 as the Marchioness of Exeter will be gratified to learn that the Portuguese camellias in 

 the collection are not less satisfactory in this respect. The eight varieties enumerated 

 in the catalogue of the firm are all so good as to occasion some difficulty in deter- 

 mining their relative merits, with one exception, and that marks so decided an 

 advance as to at once place it in premier position. This is Jose Marques 

 Loureiro, which has the habit and the ample dark foliage of 

 Marchioness of Exeter, and pure white flowers posssessing the characteristics 

 of those of the Double White, but with rather more boldness. It is believed that 

 it will eventually supersede the Double White, and there is full justification for the 

 belief. Other Portuguese camellias of special value are Barao de Mogofores, 

 bright rose, in the way of Reine des Fleurs, but of a softer shade of rose ; Camillo 

 Aureliano/ rose-pink splashed with white; Duarte d'Oliverro, rich rose, very 

 distinct ; Horto Loureiro, flesh pink flaked with rose and crimsom Several of 

 the Portuguese varieties were received through the Marquise Fronteira, Benifica, 

 near Lisbon, who, when visiting the Waltham Cross Nurseries, was so charmed 

 with the collection that he sent the firm a selection of the finest grown in Portu- 

 guese gardens. 



The collection of older varieties contains many of remarkable beauty that are 

 comparatively little known, while all the varieties with which the English cultivator 



— 1 ~~~t-A Of the self-coloured varieties that are re- 



Seated, as the 4 SI ♦ ThlS ^V* practice is much to be 

 5 nd any in^^^J^ necessarily be damaged by bruising, 



^forafoAn^^ the keeping qualities. In about ten 



finally rin^ . ? , e whole should be Dulled im 



semi 



beautiful of t 

 rb form : La 



whole should be pulled up and laid in beds to 



w "en the weather [sd^ y i t be t ? rned over about every third day 

 feady f 0r takine i nJ E? ? ab ? Ut . nme or ten da X s ^ey ought to be 

 turning once o" ^fw" ce befo?^' P ^ thinl y in an ^ * hed and 



Silili! tK Und than ^Ping S them g and hzwlrl^ZJ 0 * ^ ee P in & p n [ OI \ s by "reason oftheir" attractiveness and high quality, Were: Adelina Benvenuti, 

 aL I*' ay thinl >' °n shelves nan & ,n S th em up in a cool shed. fl £ sh flaked cr i m son, exceedingly beautiful ; Countess of Derby, white, flaked 



j \-M uiiiaumv. mmmwj — w r> ~ J 1 ' ~ ' 



rose- pink, large, fine shape ; Marchioness of Exeter, glowing rose, fine habit, and 

 large handsome flowers ; Malhotiana, deep crimson, large and effective ; Rafia, 

 dark crimson ; Rose de la Reine, rose-crimson ; and Souvenir d'Emile Defresne, 

 bright red. Conspicuous among the varieties with striped and blotched flowers 



House Garden 



E. Beckett 



iiw^AA imixvu viiuiwvMj w — — 0 j w — — —7 — — J 9 W 



rose ; Donckelaari, crimson, flaked v hite ; Countess of Orkney, white, flaked 



" ? -'~ ' v # A %m ' m * * Ambroise Ver- 



