THE FARMER AT HOME. 305 



pale amber color, bland to the taste, and without any smell ; it be- 

 comes rancid by age, and sooner if kept in a warm situation. 



With regard to its utility, oil, in some shape, forms a considerable 

 part of our food, both animal and vegetable, and affords much nour- 

 ishment. With some, however, oily substances do not unite with the 

 contents of the stomach, and are frequently brought up by eructation ; 

 this happens more especially to those whose stomachs abound with acid. 

 Oil, considered as a medicine, is supposed to correct acrimony, and 

 to lubricate and relax the fibres ; and therefore has been recommend- 

 ed internally, to obviate the effects of various stimuli, which produce 

 irritation, and consequent inflammation ; on this ground it has gene- 

 rally been prescribed in coughs, catarrhal affections, and erosions. 

 Oil rubbed over the body is said to be of great service in dropsies, 

 particularly ascites. Olive oil enters several officinal compositions, 

 and when united with water, bv the intervention of alkali, is usually 

 given in coughs and hoarsenesses. 



ONIONS. Of the several varieties of onions, the yellow or silver 

 skinned, and the large red, are the best for a general crop. The 

 bulbs are handsome, of firm growth, and keep well through the win- 

 ter. The New England white are handsome for the table, and are 

 very suitable for pickling, as well as to pull when quite young, and 

 generally prove a very profitable crop. The admirable Portuguese 

 onions are only raised in perfection near the seashore, in places moist- 

 ened by the tide ; hence moisture and a little salt should be secured 

 to the growing plants. It is a well established fact, that the mild or 

 strong qualities of the onion depend more on climate and cultivation 

 than on any inherent property of it ; as those grown in Spain, Portu- 

 gal, Madeira, and Teneriffe, are more benignant in their flavor than 

 those cultivated in the northern parts of Europe or of the United 

 States. And the inhabitants of the warmer climates, as in the trop- 

 ics, requiring their meats and soups highly seasoned, prefer onions of 

 the strongest flavor ; while those of more temperate and colder 

 regions, who more frequently eat them served up with melted butter 

 or white sauce, seek the opposite property, mild and sweet. 



The onion is supposed to be a native of Spain, yet that is not an 

 established fact. The history of its culture is not fully known. This, 

 however is known, that wherever the ground is duly prepared, and 

 the cultivation is properly observed, the crop is highly profitable. 

 They require a rich friable soil ; a situation enjoying the full influ- 

 ence of the sun, and entirely free from trees, which are very inimical 

 to them. If the soil be poor, or exhausted, abundance of dung should 

 be applied in the preceding autumn or winter, and the ground thrown 

 into ridges. By these means it becomes well decomposed and incor- 

 porated with the soil ; for rank, unreduced dung, is generally injurious 

 to the crop. If, therefore, the application of manure is neglected until 

 spring, it should be taken from an old hot-bed, or other source whence 



