HOW TO RAISE ONIONS. 



from three to five feet high, according to the variety, 

 they are apt to be prostrated by a wind, and many of 

 the seeds wasted. To prevent this, drive stakes at 

 each end of the row, and every eight or ten feet of its 

 length. Pass some cheap twine along each side of 

 the row, making it fast to the stakes. The twine 

 should be within a few inches of the seed clusters. 

 The seed is known to be mature when the capsules 

 or pods lose their green color and turn yellowish ; when 

 some of the pods break open, the heads in which this 

 occurs may be cut. If the crop ripens unevenly, it 

 may be necessary to go over it two or three times, and 

 cut those that are ready. As some of the seed will 

 shell out and be lost, it is well to receive the clusters 

 in a bucket, or in a basket in which a cloth is laid. 

 In cutting, leave six or eight inches" of the stalk at- 



I tached to the head ; the partly-matured seeds will 

 i ripen up much better than if the stem were cut close. 

 \ Spread the seed clusters upon a tight floor of an airy 

 1 loft. If the floor is not tight, spread a barn sheet or 

 other cloth, to allow the scattered seeds to be saved. 

 When the pods are quite dry, they are to be thrashed, 

 and th% seeds winnowed by running them through a 

 fanning-mill at least twice. After the mill will re- 

 move nothing more, the seeds are placed, a few 

 pounds at a time, in a bucket or tub of water, stirring 

 I for a short time ; allow the good seed to settle, and 

 | gently pour off the water with the chaff and imperfect 

 | seeds which float upon the surface. The seeds are 

 | then to be spread thinly on boards or on sieves, te 

 ! dry, and only stored away when quite free from 

 1 dampness. 



"RARE-RIPES "-TOP OR TREE ONIONS-POTATO ONIONS. 



Many are fond of green or unripe onions, which are 

 eaten raw, usually sliced in vinegar. The market- 

 gardeners near cities commonly sell a large share, if 

 not all of their crop in the partly grown, immature 

 state. When bunched in this condition, the onions 

 bring a larger price than if they were allowed to 

 ripen. Green onions of this kind are usually very 

 strong and often hard. Much milder and more suc- 

 culent green onions are produced as follows : When 

 an onion is set out for seed, several leaves are pro- 

 duced, and finally a flower stalk pushes up among 

 them. As this leaf-growth, which takes place at the 

 expense of the old bulb, goes on, a new bulb is 

 at the same time formed by the lower parts of the 

 leaves, and in the centre of the old bulb, and it is 

 this new one which bears the flowers and seeds. 

 Sometimes there are two or three of these small 

 bulbs formed within an onion. If these young bulbs 

 are pulled when the flower stalk first shows itself, or ! 

 even before, they will be found vastly preferable to 

 any other form of green onion. In New England, [ 

 where they are often found in tho markets, these are 

 known as " Rare-ripes " or " Rare-ripe Onions ;" but 

 in New York the Shallot, a different species, is the 

 first green onion in the market. Any onions that have | 

 sprouted, or those too small to be salable are set out | 

 in very early spring to produce rare-ripes. 



THE TOP OR TREE ONION. 



A number of plants are known in which there are 

 varieties that bear a cluster of green leaves in the 

 place of flowers. In one of the wild garlics, a com- 

 mon weed of our fields, flowers are rarely produced, | 

 but in their place is a cluster of minute bulbs. In the 

 top-onion the same thing takes place, and instead of 

 flowers, the stem bears a dense cluster of little onions, j 

 from the size of a boy's marble, downwards. When I 



these small bulbs are set out in the spring, they in- 

 j crease in size and form a large handsome onion. This 

 onion, when planted out the next year, will produce a 

 crop of small bulbs and so on. It possesses no ad- 

 vantage over ordinary onions, and is cultivated mainly 

 as a curiosity. 



THE POTATO ONION. 



This is a variety of the onion which has completely 

 I lost the habit of producing flowers and seeds ; it does 

 not even push up a flower stem. 



Under the erroneous impression that it was intro- 

 duced into England from Egypt it is sometimes called 

 i the "Egyptian Onion;'' in this country it is often 

 known as the "English Multiplier," and " Under- 

 ground Onion " is still another name for it. It is a 

 medium-sized, yellowish-brown onion, with a rather 

 i stronger flavor than the common kinds. If a large 

 Potato Onion be planted in spring, it will produce a 

 cluster, sometimes as many as a dozen, of smaller 

 | bulbs, varying in size, from a filbert, upwards. These 

 small onions, when planted next year, will each in- 

 crease in size to form a large bulb. The generations 

 thus alternate. One-year offsets, or small bulbs, are 

 produced, and the next year these grow to the full 

 size. Ordinarily it would take two years to grow 

 an onion of this kind, but in practice, some of the 

 bulbs in a cluster of small ones, are often large enough 

 for use, and when a small bulb is set out, it, besides 

 growing to a large bulb, often produces several small 

 ones also. So often does this occur, that, in cultiva- 

 tion on a small scale, it is not necessary to grow a lot 

 of offsets especially for "seed," as enough are usually 

 produced, attached to the large bulbs. This onion is 

 very hardy and may remain in the ground all winter, 

 It is also early. In some localities, especially near 

 Norfolk, Va., this variety is used as the market crop, 

 to the exclusion of those from seeds. 



