March 15, 1978

rROM the grassy chives with their fragrant springtime flavor to the lusty leek, from the tiniest crystal white pearl onions to the giant zlobes of Spanish onions that lend a pungent sting to salads, herrings and hamburgers, the onion and all of its odoriferous relatives make up the world's most widely used vegetable family, and one of the oldest known to man. A species of the lily and amaryllis, the onion has been used as food for at least 4,000 years; the Egyptian pyramids, it has been said, owe their existence to onions that sustained the builders. The Egyptians also regarded the onion as a symbol of eternity because of its layer within layer formation. Our name for it derived from the Latin “unio,” meaning united, because of the way dividing onion bulbs remain clustered.

GB yields in dispute with US over low-cost trans-Atlantic service; to allow unfettered competition in both scheduled and charter airline travel; aviation counselor Alexander R Gordon-Cumming comments; CAB to abolish confusing restrictions on charter service and replace them with 'public charter' that can be easily understood by travelers (M)

News that a settlement had been reached in the coal strike helped the stock market yesterday to post a modest gain in active trading.

members of Community School Dist 26 maintain their rejection of Fed jobs program for poor had been misinterpreted, int; call their suspension 'blow to community control of schools' (L)

Panel of influential scientists urges caution before banning use of nitrites in preserving meats; illus (M)