November 4, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
851 
found on the outside of the clump. This 
species is so easily cultivated in any part of 
Britain that no gardener need be without a 
>. stock whose garden is sufficiently open to 
(i favour growth. 
The leaves are the part of the plant utilised 
in cookery for seasoning or flavouring. The 
plant is allied to Mint and Thyme, so that the 
leaves, while possessing similarly aromatic 
flavour, are quite different from either of 
those plants. It is also well adapted for 
drying, so as to furnish a supply in winter 
in the same way as Sage, Mint, Tarragon, 
I and Parsley. If grown in the form of a bed, 
the plants should be at least 6in. to 8in. 
apart, and 12in. between the lines. Those 
who have not a stock can readily obtain one 
by sowing seeds in a gentle heat in March, 
and after transplanting at least once into 
boxes and hardening them off to be planted 
j out when the weather becomes genial in May. 
Our illustration represents shoots that are 
rather too far advanced to get their best 
qualities. They should be cut just as the 
stems are covered with fresh green leaves 
and just commencing to flower. They have 
then acquired all the qualities for which they 
k are appreciated. 
Onion Holborn Exhibition. 
Some of the varieties of Onion, especially 
i the large ones, are still very liable to vary 
in shape from seeds, notwithstanding the 
r careful selection to which they have been 
.< subjected. Ailsa Craig is the chief offender 
in this respect. The typical bulb should be 
oval in outline, while others drop away at 
the neck, making them oblate or flattened. 
1 Even then there are difference's of colour, 
growth and behaviour of the different varie¬ 
ties coming into this shape. That which we 
represent was a beautiful bulb, somewhat 
flattened on the top, 4fin. in diameter and 
16in. in circumference. The skin was straw- 
coloured, with a tint of pale brown in places, 
especially near the top, but this would vary 
somewhat according to the age of the scales 
left on the bulb. Its size would place it 
amongst the giants of its kind, and all the 
race seem to uphold their traditions, while 
the popular and standard old-fashioned varie¬ 
ties still remain small. 
For exhibition purposes, or merely for the 
purpose of getting bulbs of the largest size, 
two methods are pursued. The one is to pre¬ 
pare the soil in the usual way and sow at 
the end of summer or early in autumn, pro¬ 
ducing a crop of what is known as winter 
: Onions. This method is not much pursued at 
the present day for the production of bulbs 
of the largest size for exhibition purposes. 
Our winter really puts such a check upon 
growth that the bulbs usually only reach a 
limited size at the end of the growing 
period. 
Within recent years the practice has been 
adopted of sowing seeds under glass early in 
the year, and usually this is some time in 
January, earlier or later, and even sometimes 
in February. The practice is to sow the 
seeds in boxes and place them in some house 
with a temperature of 45 degrees. This in- 
! duces the seeds to germinate, and after they 
have thrown up the second leaf they may be 
transplanted to other boxes of richer soil. 
Very careful watering is necessary at such a 
dull period of the year to prevent the young 
cnions from damping off. 
If they are sown early in January, they 
will be ready for transplanting to other boxes, 
' about 5in. deep, about the end of February. 
Good, rich soil is advantageous for this pur- 
! pose, provided the boxes are well drained 
and the soil pressed down firmly before plant¬ 
ing the Onions in them at 2m. or 3in. apart 
each way. At this period the boxes should 
be kept as close to the glass as possible, to 
give the leaves all the advantage of light. 
The temperature may now be 55 degrees to 
60 degrees at night, with a little ventilation 
at the top of the house night and day, in 
order to keep the young plants dwarf and 
sturdy. A close, moist atmosphere with a 
high temperature would cause the young 
seedlings to become drawn, and this injures 
them in their early stages, which could not 
afterwards be rectified. 
At the end of March the boxes may be 
placed in cold frames, keeping them closed 
till they get acclimatised to their new con¬ 
ditions, after which plenty of air should be 
given, especially on fine days, in order to 
keep the plants firm, sturdy, and growing 
steadily. Indeed, the value of this system 
depends upon keeping the plants growing 
steadily from the time they germinate until 
growth has been completed in the open 
ground. After thoroughly hardening off the 
young Onions by removing the lights during 
the day, they may be planted in the open 
garden in well-prepared and in rich soil about 
the second or third week of April, provided 
the weather is genial and favourable for 
the plants to get established in their per¬ 
manent position. A trowel should be used 
for lifting the Onions from the boxes, so as 
to lift them with a ball of soil and as little 
injury to the roots as possible. 
Parsnip Tender and True. 
As will be seen from our illustration, the 
root of this variety is a shapely one, and 
when well grown for exhibition purposes the 
skin is wonderfully clean and white in colour. 
The root from which our illustration was pre¬ 
pared was over 2ft. in length, even after the 
removal of the tip, so that this will give 
some idea of how much it was reduced. It 
was 3^in. in diameter at the crown, and 
though not the largest to which a Parsnip 
may be grown, it was, nevertheless, a clean 
and shapely root. The. variety belongs to the 
hollow crown section, though that is not re¬ 
presented in the figure. The points which 
characterise Tender and True are its perfect 
form, beautifully white and smooth skin, 
while it is moderate in size and excellent 
either for cooking purposes or for exhibition. 
Parsnips require a long season for growing 
in order to attain their full size, and early 
sowing is justified from the fact that roots 
of large size have not the fault which a Beet¬ 
root of large size would have. They do not 
become coarse, so that full development may 
be encouraged. For exhibition purposes the 
soil must be trenched to a depth at least of 
24ft., and well pulverised, as for deep-rooted 
Carrots. It is not every garden soil that 
will suit these deep-rooted plants, especially 
where the original material is stiff and in¬ 
clined to clay. In such a case, it is well to 
prepare the bed for Parsnips by taking out 
the original material entirely and filling in 
with soil of a lighter character from beneath 
the potting benches and that which may be 
obtained, whether in the garden or in the 
neighbourhood, which is of a light and rich 
character, and therefore suitable for the 
growing of long and clean taproots. 
Even in ordinary garden soil, or in that 
of a heavy nature, the difficulty may be over¬ 
come by adopting the same method as for 
Carrots, namely, to have a dibble that will 
make a hole at least 2Jft. to 3ft. deep and 
6in. or 8in. wide at the top. The compost 
for filling these holes may be rich in the 
bottom, so as to encourage the root down¬ 
wards. It should be sifted before mixing, 
so as to remove stones and other lumpy 
material, and mixed with sand, leaf mould, 
and well-decayed cow manure. The soil to¬ 
wards the top of the hole need not be so 
rich, as the Parsnip feeds largely from the 
main root. Care should also be taken not to 
mtioduce too much wood ashes, as that has 
been found in some eases to injure the colour 
ol the skin. A little soot may, however, be 
introduced in the compost with advantage. 
One of the chief difficulties with which the 
cultivator has to contend is rust, which dis¬ 
colours the skin to the root. 
A few seeds may be sown in each hole, and 
the strongest seedling retained. This should 
be done as early in February as the condition 
ol the soil will permit. Even for ordinary 
home use great attention should be given to 
good tillage, so as to ensure a fine and well- 
pulverised soil, as, even in the kitchen, roots 
of good form are of primary importance. At 
tiie present season the most important matter 
in routine .cultivation is the lifting and stor- 
mg of the roots in sand and in some shed 
or other protected place, so that supplies for 
the house may be obtainable even during 
severe frost, and likewise that the roots may 
be protected from frost. 
This very widely-cultivated herb is in almost 
universal request for stuffing and other pur¬ 
poses, such as are well known to the cook. 
Botamcally the common Sage is known as 
Salvia officinalis, and belongs to the same 
genus which supplies so many beautiful plants 
ior the decoration of greenhouses and conser¬ 
vatories, and for bedding purposes in summer 
As an ornamental plant, this south European 
species has little to recommend it, but has 
been grown in this country to a greater or 
less extent since 1597. The leaves are the 
part in request by the cook. 
Conectly speaking, it is a small shrub as 
the stems are of woody growth, but it is 
perfectly hardy and easily grown in any part 
of the British Islands, as far as we have been 
able to observe. It is sometimes propagated 
i rom seeds, but the usual method is to°take 
cuttings of the short side shoots and insert 
them in sandy soil, placing them under hand- 
lights oi in a cold frame during the summer 
months. The shoots for this purpose should 
be selected from those that are not likely 
to produce flowers. They may be taken off 
u it i a slight heel if they are in any way 
soft so as to prevent them damping until they 
have formed roots. ' 
lo the skilled gardener the propagation 
°‘ the plant offers no difficulty whatever, and 
after he has once had plants they furnish a 
supply of leaves for many years to come, pro¬ 
vided care has been exercised in selecting a 
iigl.t and lather open soil and well-exposed 
position, so that the plants will be in a con¬ 
dition to pass through the winter and make 
a fairly liberal growth during the summer 
Inueed, any fairly good and well-tilled garden 
soil will suffice for the wants of Sage When 
rooted cuttings are employed for "fiflincr the 
bed? they should be planted at least° 1ft 
apart each way, and should they ultimately 
get crowded every alternate plant in the lines 
may be removed to the advantage of those 
Globe Artichoke. 
The above vegetable is well known in pri¬ 
vate establishments of some size, but there 
is no reason why it should not be grown in 
small gardens for the purpose of supplviim 
a vegetable for the table quite distinct from 
anything else in cultivation. The variety 
lllustiated is knovn as Green Globe, in contra¬ 
distinction to those in which the scales 
forming the head are more or less tinted 
purple. The edible portion of the Globe 4rti- 
choke is really the scales, or rather the fleshy 
part of them which surround the flower head 
