ONION GROWING FOR MARKET. 133 



in clusters. It is planted in the fall, the same distance 

 apart as the Potato Onion, and starts to grow on 

 the first opening of spring, so that the crop is usually 

 marketed in May. 



VARIETIES OF THE ONION. 



We here give a short description and illustrations of the 

 leading varieties of Onions. The seeds of Onions have 

 heretofore been raised mainly in Connecticut, Massachu- 

 setts, Rhode Island, and Michigan, but of late years large 

 quantities have been raised in California. A prejudice 

 against that raised in California originated in consequence 

 of the first lots raised there being from inferior stocks, 

 but later experience has shown us beyond question that, 

 when the quality of the stock from which the seed was 

 raised has been the same as used in the Eastern States, 

 the crop has been in all respects equal. In our "trial 

 grounds," where upward of fifty stocks of Onions are 

 tested annually, we find that the California raised seed is 

 in no way inferior to that raised in Connecticut or Massa- 

 chusetts. 



Onion seed loses its germinating power sooner than 

 almost any other seed, and, unless the sample is very fine 

 indeed, it is of little use the second year. This is the 

 reason for the great disparity in the price of seeds, for as 

 the Onion seed crop is a very uncertain one, and from its 

 germinating qualities being limited so that no stock can 

 be held over, the price in different seasons fluctuates from 

 $i to $5 per pound. 



