RARERIPES. 25 



planting as high as one hundred and fifty bushels annually. 

 The quantity planted per acre varies with the size, from six 

 to ten bushels. To get mature onions of good size, the land 

 must be very rich, requiring fifteen or more cords of stable- 

 manure to the acre. 



RARERIPES. 



DARERIPES ARE ONIONS raised by planting out bulbs of 

 * ^ the growth of the previous season. The Rareripe often- 

 times differs from the onion-set only in being a matured 

 onion, as frequently they are about as small as the sets. 

 The method of raising them is the same as that of raising 

 early onions from sets, with the difference of planting them 

 at times at greater distance apart in the row proportionate 

 with their greater size. The raising of Rareripes is a very 

 profitable way of disposing of such onions as are badly 

 sprouted, are very small, or in any way unprofitable for 

 marketing. A seed-shoot may be uniformly expected from 

 each onion ; but as this greatly deteriorates the quality of 

 the Rareripe, making it tough and woody in structure, it 

 should always be cut off. If cut off before the swelled 

 growth appearg (a striking characteristic of the onion-family, 

 and a proof of the skill of the Divine Architect, in strength- 

 ening by so simple a process the tall, thin stalk designed to 

 support the heavy seed-head), it will again shoot up ; wait, 

 therefore, until this swelling begins to show itself, and then 

 cut below it, and no more trouble from this source will ensue. 

 The smaller the onions planted as Rareripes, the handsomer 

 will be the crop, — the very small ones producing each one 

 handsome round onion, while the large ones produce two or 

 more which are irregular in form. 



