248 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



elevator carries them upstairs, where a final sorting takes place. Here is 

 a long row of machines, before each of which an operator sits to inspect 

 the sets as they pass along the carriage, while the defective sets are cast 

 out. This double sorting insures a high-grade product. From here the 

 onions drop back to the ground floor, where they are sacked and crated for 

 shipment. All the machinery was invented by Mr. Murdock. The average 

 per acre is close to four and a half tons. The highest yield on record is 

 ten tons, while six and seven are frequent. 



Irrigation of Onions. Though our onion crops are largely 

 grown without irrigation, it is often desirable to use water to carry 

 the summer growth to satisfactory size on coarse soils prone to dry 

 out. Water can be applied by any of the methods described in 

 Chapter V. Enough water should be used to secure thrifty, but not 

 excessive, growth, and stirring of the ground after irrigation should 

 only be delayed long enough to bring the soil into proper working 

 condition. 



Sometimes transplanting is done in connection with irrigation. 

 The plants are properly trimmed and placed in the trenches along- 

 side the irrigation furrows, on a slant to keep the tops from the wet 

 ground (made so by applying the water). They will readily take 

 root, when they may be straightened up by the hoe. Sometimes the 

 water may be passed through the trenches, when the plants may be 

 put in place by hand, when the soil is in the right condition. 



Harvesting Onions. In the maturing of the crop and the har- 

 vesting California has great advantages in a warm, dry summer and 

 early fall. Mr. Murdock, of Orange county, gives these suggestions 

 on harvesting: 



When the tops have turned yellow and dried or shriveled up near the 

 bulbs, and the majority have fallen over, the crop is ripe and ready to har- 

 vest. If on moist land they should be harvested at once, for if left long in 

 the ground the moisture from below and heavy fogs of the coast region will 

 soon cause them to start new roots, also a new growth of top, which would 

 soon spoil the whole crop. On dry land, however, the summer crop can 

 remain quite a while without injury. 



Harvesting is done by pulling two or more rows ; lay the onions next 

 to the standing rows, and when across the plot, turn around and pull a 

 like number of rows and lay with the ones previously pulled. This leaves 

 them in a continuous pile across the field for topping, which is generally 

 done with a sharp knife after the onions have laid a few days to more fully 

 mature. While topping, the bulbs are usually thrown in heaps ready for 

 market or to store away, as the grower may determine. It is best to sack 

 or haul from the fields while the sun shines, as the onions should be per- 

 fectly dry in either case. 



