808 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 17, 1895 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Autumn Sown Onions 
The value of Onions as a vegetable is too well 
known to need a lengthy notice. It must suffice to 
say that there are very few gardens however small 
in which a portion of space is not devoted to their 
culture. Furthermore, from the “profit and loss ” 
point of view, we question very much if there is 
another vegetable which gives better returns for 
labour expended and which pays better to grow 
than the Onion. Not only is it a valuable flavour¬ 
ing agent in soups, stews, &c., and an exceedingly 
useful medicine when the invariable " code in the 
head " attacks members of the household, but it is 
also a tasty and welcome vegetable when cooked 
whole and served in the ordinary way. As the 
practice of sowing seed in autumn has a good deal 
to be said in its favour, a hint may be given that 
where it is proposed to do this the present is the 
time to see about it. It is not advisable to delay 
the sowing for too long, as it is necessary to allow 
time for the plants to reach a fair size, so that they 
shall be able to withstand the winter without fear of 
injury. As the autumn advances they will grow 
very slowly indeed, and once the frosts make their 
appearance they will apparently be at a standstill 
until the spring, unless, of course, an exceptionally 
mild and open autumn is experienced, as for 
instance like that of 1894. Another advantage 
obtained by sowing early is that a supply of young 
material for salading is forthcoming until spring¬ 
time, the young plants being pulled as required. 
Preparation of the Ground. 
Although it is not at all necessary to take nearly 
as much trouble with the ground upon which 
autumn sowings are to be made, as it is when getting 
the ground ready for sowing in spring-time, a little 
time in digging, levelling, &c , will be well spent. 
The best position to choose is a warm south or 
south-west border, from which early Potatos have 
been dug. A nice dressing of soot and a little 
sprinkling of lime may be given, forking it well in, 
breaking up and levelling the soil nicely. As in the 
case of spring sown Onions so with those sown at 
this time of the year it is necessary that the ground 
should be made firm before the seed is sown. 
Choose a dry day, therefore, and tread the bed well 
all over, going over it repeatedly until the requisite 
degree of firmness has been attained. 
Sowing the Seed. 
After the ground has been prepared in the manner 
suggested the drills may be drawn to receive the 
seed. Care must be taken not to make these too 
deep, for of all evils too deep sowing must be 
studiously avoided, as nothing tends so much to the 
production of a large number of the unsightly 
thick necks," the presence of which causes so 
many cultivators to grumble both long and loudly. 
From ten inches to a foot is quite sufficient room to 
allow between the rows. The seed may be sown 
very much more thickly than is usually done in the 
case of spring sowings, for as has been previously 
intimated, directly the young plants are a few inches 
in height, they may be drawn as occasion requires 
for the plenishing of the salad bowl. After the 
drills have been filled in, and the seed properly 
covered, the firming process must be gone through 
once more, and lastly the surface may be put 
straight, and in workmanlike order by means of a 
small toothed iron rake. It may be observed here 
that in using this tool more than ordinary caution 
must be observed, for it is not every would-be 
gardener who has thoroughly mastered the way to 
use a rake properly, and unless some caution is 
exercised the novice will find that the teeth of the 
rake have a knack of digging rather more deeply 
into the soil than he intended them to do, or indeed, 
than is necessary or advisable. 
It may also be useful to mention that where two 
or three sorts are grown, a label bearing the name 
and the date of sowing should be placed to each, for 
if memory alone is trusted to, some mistake or other 
may be made as to the correct name of a varietv, 
and the cultivator on making out his order to his 
seedsman accordingly, may be disappointed to find 
after a while that he has not got what he wanted 
although perhaps what he ordered. There are a 
good many varieties on the market, but their merits 
vary considerably with the locality in which they 
are grown, and thus nothing but experience can tell 
the cultivator what particular sorts are best suited to 
his soil and situation. 
This brings us to the consideration of varieties, 
and we propose to mention a few that may be con¬ 
fidently relied on to give every satisfaction under 
ordinary circumstances. Ailsa Craig has bulbs 
almost globular in shape that grow to an enormous 
size, and are very suitable for growing for exhibition 
purposes. Sutton's Giant Blood Red Rocca is a 
fine deep coloured sort, and should be given a trial 
whilst Sutton’s Giant Lemon Rocca is of very mild 
flavour, good size, and what is also very important, 
an excellent keeper. The Giant Tripoli likewise 
reaches a large size, and is highly thought of in 
many quarters. At least three varieties should be 
grown, especially where fairly large sowings are 
made, and from the sorts mentioned a splendid 
selection can be obtained. 
Subsequent Cultivation. 
As in the case of all growing crops an occasional 
application of the Dutch hoe is of great service in 
beds of autumn sown Onions, both in keeping down 
the incroaching weeds, and assisting the plants to 
grow freely. This, therefore, should receive atten¬ 
tion during the autumn months. Weeds which 
make their appearance in the rows themselves, must 
be removed by hand without disturbing the plants in 
the vicinity any more than is unavoidable. Apart 
from this, but little trouble will be given until it is 
time to transplant the seedlings to their permanent 
quarters—usually some time from the beginning to 
the middle of March. At the present time the 
position in which it is then proposed to place them 
will be occupied by other crops, but as these are 
cleared off as the season wears along it will also 
need some preparation. A liberal dressing of well 
decayed manure may be given, and the whole plot 
of ground dug well and deeply, throwing the surface 
soil up roughly for the frosts of winter to pulverize 
and sweeten.— Rex. 
-- 
A RAMBLE FROM MAIDENHEAD TO 
HENLEY-ON-THAMES. 
At the invitation of S. A. Sewell, Esq., chairman of 
the Ealing Gardeners’ Society, and an ardent lover 
of the British flora, I proceeded to Ealing on the 
morning of the 19th July ; and shortly after I had the 
pleasure of finding myself sea'ed with him in a Great 
Western train en route for Maidenhead. It was a 
lovely morn—one of those sweet and balmy ones 
which only occur occasionally in our erratic chime ; 
for, during the previous night, there had been a 
copious and grateful downfall of rain, which had so 
refreshed and exhilarated all nature that even the 
unconsidered trifles of the newly-ploughed fields— 
bits of glass and flint—seemed to rejoice ; for they 
gave out scintillations of light that sparkled like 
diamonds in the morning sun. Notwithstanding, 
however, the long period of drought from which we 
have suffered in the London district, the trees and 
coarser vegetation well maintain their verdurous 
hues. Ihe cereals, and other surface rooting crops, 
have, of course, declined ; but the corn, the ripening 
corn, still decks the hills with gold. Here and there, 
however, harvest has begun—sure signs of the decay 
of the season of love. 
But look, there is the Crimson Rambler Rose that 
the Queen, only four days ago, drove over from 
Windsor to see. It is not a wild Rose yet—nor a 
garden one for that matter—but it is one of those 
good ■* new ” things which must ultimately prevail. 
From Slough the train hurries on, and while we are 
looking at, and commenting on, the Royal Palace at 
Windsor, which in the clear, sweet air is distinctly 
visible, we approach the English river of rivers, and 
casting a momentary glance up and down at the 
sylvan scene, we cross over the bridge and soon come 
to rest in the station of that pretty riverside resort, 
Maidenhead. Here the houses are old and new_ 
mostly new, there is no mistake about that. Still 
there are some picturesque bits, and very interesting 
modern villas. We now strike the Bath Road, 
ascend the bill over the Wycombe branch line 
which runs through a deep chalk cutting, on the 
slopes of which grow in great luxuriance the Red 
Valerian (Centranthus ruber). My friend, Mr. 
Sewell, contends that whenever a cutting is made 
through the chalk, the Red Valerian, amongst other 
plants, is sure to appear, and that it is probably due 
to the seeds being exposed to the air and light, after 
having remained dormant, perhaps for a long period. 
away from the stimulating influences of the actinic 
rays of old father Sol. 
Anyhow, it is a fine plant, with bright rosy-red 
flowers in dense cymes, which are again disposed in 
large corymbose panicles. As to the colours of the 
flowers, they vary greatly, from deep red to pure 
white. In fact, all seedlings differ in some respects 
from their parental forms, so that the plants them¬ 
selves must change (as well as their names), until, at 
last, there can be no possible resemblance between 
the original and the modern types. It would be 
interesting to know, for instance, what the primitive 
form of the Centranthus ruber, or, as it used to be 
called, " Valeriana rubra ” was like—say, two 
millions of years ago 1 But one must not philosophise 
now ; time is on the wing ; sufficient for the day is 
the knowledge we possess. 
In the " suburbs ’’ of Maidenhead there are some 
pretty gardens and some good coniferous trees. 
Almost immediately opposite Owen’s nursery there 
are some fine shrubs of the Rush or Spanish Broom 
(Spartium junceum), which were alive with colour. 
Their clear, yellow, fragrant flowers attracted our 
attention, when an “ old gardener ’’ stepped forward 
and informed us that they were “ citizens,’ 'and that 
he had raised them from seed about fourteen years 
ago. They are allied to the Cytisus; hence the 
good man’s mistake. He, however, was very proud 
of them, and they were also much ** admired ” by 
Mr. Owen, over the way. But let us bid goodbye to 
civilisation, and plunge, so to speak, into that sea of 
animal and plant life—Maidenhead Thicket. Here, 
the entomologist as well as the botanist, may tack 
and tack about until his captures, in the one case, are 
quite out of proportion to the area covered ; while in 
the other, the vasculum will be so full that another 
specimen cannot be accommodated. It is a grand wild 
place, this open heath or common, and many are the 
wild flowers we noted mixed up with the golden 
Gorse or Furze (Ulex europaens), which the late 
winter, however, has severely tried. 
A very conspicuous plant is the common Ragwort 
(Senecio Jacobaea). It has tall stems, the tops of 
which are smothered with corymbs of rich golden- 
yellow flowers. One cannot mistake it, for the sun 
itself is reflected back from its bright and showy 
discs. Galium verum and Galium cruciatum are 
other yellows which demand a word. The former is 
the common Yellow Bedstraw, with eight leaves in 
a whorl, and dense panicles of greenish-yellow 
flowers ; while the latter produces its leaves in fours 
—as the specific name implies—and has small yellow 
corymbose heads of bloom. Then we have the 
Silver Weed (Potentilla anserina), the common 
Creeping Cinquefoil (P. reptans), and the bright 
little Tormentil (P. Tormentilla) all yellow, 
and all receiving and reflecting the bright 
beams of Sol ; for, yellow being a non-absorbent of 
light, it follows that this colour is not conducive to 
optic health, philosophic calm, or, for that matter, 
political tranquility. 
Yellow is one of the predominating colours of the 
month, and is said to divide the honours with blue. 
Certain it is that blue and gold go well together. 
Ah ! here is one of the loveliest of blues, Campanula 
rotundifolia, the " Blue-bells ” of Scotland, and 
where is the canny Scot who would nae cross the 
border to listen to their tender tunes ? Too much 
can hardly be said about this sweet little child of 
nature, for it courts only those pure and breezy 
spots which men, in the race for life, are of necessity 
obliged to shun. Its colour and its shape, each in 
their particular way, are what we must write down 
“ perfect ’’—whatever that may mean—and whether 
we call it " Blue bell " or " Hare-bell,” we must pass 
on without the range of its sweet appeal, for other 
belles " demand attention and deserve respect. 
There are the Thistles, for instance, prickly belles, 
yet still belles, and worth a moment’s consideration. 
Carduus nutans, the beautiful Musk Thistle, nods its 
purple head ; C. lanceolatus, the great Spear Thistle, 
is also purple—the highest of colours—and begs to 
be favoured [to be let alone—remember the 
legend— Ed.] ; while the modest C. acaulis, with 
bright, stemless, crimson flower-heads, impels regard. 
Scabiosa Columbaria and S. arvensis have pale 
blue or lilac flowers, 1 in. to il in. in diameter ; 
Ajuga reptans, the common Bugle—a pest in some 
places—with still less decided colours; and the 
lovely pale blue of Myosotis arvensis, go to make up 
variety, which is all the more charming wheD that 
place is some great open heath and all the occupants 
are nature’s own. 
