sy of our time regard
the onion as unclean, and forbidden by the idols. The symbolization of
the universe in the concentric folds of the onion may be taken as an
explanation of the high reverence in which it was assuredly held by some
ancient races.

Whether or not the onion was sacred in Egypt, the garlic, as Herodotus
tells us, was the daily food of the Egyptian labourer. And the Jews,
when they left Egypt, looked back with fondness to these delicacies. 'We
remember the fish which we did eat freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, and
the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic,' so they told
Moses. The onion is still a common food in Egypt, and sometimes almost
the only one of the poorer classes. Moreover, the onions of Egypt are
much sweeter than, and superior in quality to, those of Europe. It is
also noteworthy that the onion grows coarser and more bitter as it is
traced northward.

Herodotus says that sixteen hundred talents were expended on garlic,
onions, and radishes for the workmen during the building of the
Pyramids; and it is recorded that an onion taken from the sarcophagus of
an Egyptian mummy two thousand years old was planted and made to grow.
We have also the authority of Pliny for what he calls the foolish
superstition of the Egyptians in swearing by garlic and onions, calling
these vegetables to witness when taking an oath.

Botanists seem now agreed that the original habitat of the onion was the
mountainous region of Central Asia; and, according to the _Gardener's
Chronicle_, it is still found in a wild state in the Himalayas.

The Mohammedans do not seem to have reverenced the _Allium_ tribe. On
the contrary, they have a tradition that when Satan stepped out of the
Garden of Eden after the fall of man, garlic sprang up where he planted
his left foot, and onion where he planted his right foot. This is the
reason alleged why Mohammed could never bear the smell of either, and
even fainted when he saw them.

Among the Greeks both onions and garlic were held in high regard, both
as articles of food and as medicaments. Theophrastus wrote a book on
onions, as did also Palladius. Then Homer tells that the onion was an
important part of the banquet that Hecamede spread before Nestor and
Machaon:

'Before them first a table fair she spread,
Well polished, and with feet of solid bronze;
On this a brazen canister she placed,
And Onions as a relish to the wine,
And pale, clear honey, an