The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Part 24

This is a large onion, growing from eight inches to a foot in length. It tapers rather regularly from the base to the top, and is frequently bent or curved in the form of a horn; whence the name. Skin copper-red. It is late, lacks compactness, is very liable to degenerate, decays soon after being harvested, and must be considered more curious than useful.

INTERMEDIATE RED WETHERSFIELD.

An early variety of the common Large Red. Bulb of medium size, flattened; neck small; color deep purple.

It is rather pungent, yet milder than the Large Red; keeps well; and is grown to a considerable extent, in certain localities in New England, for s.h.i.+pping.

JAMES'S KEEPING.

James's Long Keeping. De James. _Vil._

This is an English hybrid, said to have been originated by a Mr. James, an extensive market-gardener in Surrey, Eng. The bulb is pyriform, or pear-shaped; and measures four inches and upwards in depth, and two inches or more at its broadest diameter. Skin copper-yellow,--the coating next under it reddish-brown; flavor strong. It is not early, but is much prized for its long keeping; the bulbs not sprouting so early in spring as those of most varieties.

LARGE RED.

Wethersfield Large Red.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Wethersfield Large Red Onion.]

Bulb sometimes roundish, but, when pure, comparatively flat. It is of very large size; and, when grown in favorable soil, often measures five inches or more in diameter, and three inches in depth. Skin deep purplish-red; neck of medium size; flesh purplish-white, moderately fine-grained, and stronger flavored than that of the Yellow and earlier Red varieties. It is very productive; one of the best to keep; and is grown to a large extent, in many places on the seacoast of New England, for s.h.i.+pping to the South and West. It is almost everywhere seen in vegetable markets; and, with perhaps the exception of the Yellow or Danvers, is the most prominent of the sorts employed for commercial purposes. It derives its name from Wethersfield, Conn.; where it is extensively cultivated, and where it has the reputation of having originated.

A sub-variety of the foregoing is cultivated in some localities, with nearly the same variation in form that exists between the Danvers and Common Yellow. It will probably prove somewhat more productive; but it is neither better flavored, nor to be preferred for its superior keeping properties.

MADEIRA.

Large Globe Tripoli. Romain. De Madere Rond. De Belle Garde. _Vil._

This is a roundish, obovate onion, of remarkable size, often measuring six inches and a half in depth, and six inches in diameter; neck thick and large; skin reddish-brown,--the layer next within, pale red.

The variety is much prized for its extraordinary size, and for its mild, sugary flavor. The plants, however, often fail to form good bulbs; and, even when well matured, the latter are liable to decay soon after being harvested. It requires a long, warm season for its greatest perfection.

The seed should be sown early, in drills sixteen inches apart; and the plants should be thinned to eight inches apart in the rows.

Not suited to New England or the cooler sections of the United States.

NEW DEEP BLOOD-RED.

Brunswick Deep Blood-red. Rouge Tres Fonce de Brunswick. _Vil._

Bulb very small, flattened,--two inches and a quarter in diameter, and an inch and a half in depth; neck small; skin deep violet-red, approaching black. A half early variety, remarkable for its intense purplish-red color.

PALE RED.

Rouge Pale, de Niort. _Vil._

Bulb roundish, flattened on the upper side, but not so much so as the Blood-red, of which this may be considered a variety; size medium, two inches and a half in diameter, one inch and three-quarters in depth; neck small; skin copper-red, much paler than that of the Blood-red.

Compared with the last named, it is earlier and of milder flavor. This and the Blood-red are much esteemed by some for their extreme pungency and for their diuretic properties.

PARIS STRAW-COLORED.

Jaune des Vertus. _Vil._

A large, somewhat flattened variety, much cultivated about Paris; skin fine russet-yellow; neck small. It is not early, but very productive, and of excellent quality.

PEAR-SHAPED.

Bulb pyriform, measuring four inches and a half in depth, and two inches in diameter at the broadest part; neck small; skin copper-red. It is quite late, but is of good quality, and keeps well.

POTATO ONION.

Underground Onion.

Bulb flattened, from two and a half to three inches in diameter, and about two inches in depth; skin copper-yellow; flavor sugary, mild, and excellent. It does not keep so well as many other varieties; but remains sound longer, if the leaves are cut two or three inches above the top of the bulb at the time of harvesting.

The Potato Onion produces no seeds, neither small bulbs upon its stalks, in the manner of many of the species of the Onion family; but, if a full-grown bulb be set in spring, a number of bulbs of various sizes will be formed, beneath the surface of the ground, about the parent bulb. By means of these it is propagated, and an abundant supply often secured in localities where the varieties raised from seed frequently wholly fail, either from the maggot, effects of climate, or other causes.

Like the other kinds of onions, it requires a rich, deep soil, well manured, and dry at the bottom. This should be deeply and thoroughly stirred, and then raised in ridges of moderate height, fifteen inches apart. In April, select the large bulbs, and set them on the ridges, ten inches apart, with the crown of the bulbs just below the surface of the ground. The subsequent culture consists in keeping them clean from weeds, and gathering a little earth about them from time to time in the process of cultivation. As soon as the tops are entirely dead, they will be ready for harvesting.

It is very prolific, yielding from four to six fold. Such of the crop as may be too small for the table should be preserved during the winter, to be set in the following spring; planting them out in April, in drills one foot apart and three inches from each other in the drills, and sinking the crowns just below the surface of the ground. They attain their full size by September.

SILVER-SKIN.

White Portugal, of New England.

Bulb of medium size, flattened,--average specimens measuring about three inches in diameter, and an inch and a half or two inches in thickness; neck very small; skin silvery-white. After the removal of the outer envelope, the upper part of the bulb is often veined and clouded with green, while the portion produced below ground is generally clear white.

Flesh white, fine-grained, sugary, and remarkably mild flavored.

It forms its bulb early and regularly, ripens off well, and is quite productive; an average yield being about four hundred bushels per acre.

It is a very poor keeper; and this is its most serious objection. It is always preserved through the winter with much difficulty, and almost invariably decays if kept from light and exposed to dampness. The best method for its preservation is to spread the roots in a dry, light, and airy situation.

The Silver-skin Onion is much esteemed in the middle and southern sections of the United States, and is cultivated to a considerable extent in New England. It is well adapted for sowing in August, or the beginning of September, for early use, and for marketing during the ensuing spring. Where the winter are mild, the crop, with slight protection, will sustain no injury in the open ground. In Europe it is much esteemed, and extensively grown for pickling, as its "white color, in contrast with the fine green veins, or lines, gives it a very agreeable appearance. For pickling, the seed should be sown very thickly, then slightly covered with fine soil, and afterwards rolled. If the seed is covered more deeply, the bulb, from not being quite on the surface, has a larger and thicker neck; so that it loses its finely rounded form, and is, moreover, less compact."

This variety, erroneously known in New England as the "White Portugal,"

is unquestionably the true Silver-skin, as described both by English and French authors. The application of the term "Silver-skin" to the common Yellow Onion, as very extensively practised by seedsmen and market-men in the Eastern States, is neither pertinent nor authorized.

STRASBURG. _M'Int._

Yellow Strasburg. Flanders. Dutch. Ess.e.x.