124 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 



in every instance California seed produced as good onions 

 as they had been using before. From that time on Cali- 

 fornia onion seed has constantly grown in favor, and this 

 State has .become almost the only source of supplies, 

 though there are some Eastern States in which a consid- 

 erable amount is still grown. This popularity secured a 

 price which was quite profitable, and many grew onion 

 seed -too many, in fact, for there is occasionally disas- 

 trous overproduction. 



Lettuce. Lettuce seed is a leading crop with California 

 seed growers. The climate of some parts of the coast val- 

 leys is admirably adapted to it. It requires careful, pains- 

 taking work to maintain choice varieties. Unfortunately, 

 the plant seeds most freely in a semi-wild condition, and 

 some of the less critical growers have allowed it to grow 

 in this way, thereby increasing yield and profit. The care- 

 ful grower proceeds with cultivation fitted to retain the 

 characters of the variety, thins out the plants so that each 

 will form a perfect head and be true to the type, and then 

 the heading or cabbage varieties must have the head cut 

 open with a knife to allow the seed stem to come through ; 

 otherwise the plant will rot without running to seed. This 

 method of growing is not conducive to a large seed pro- 

 duct, but it improves the strain, while the work of the 

 careless grower tends to reversion. 



Other Plants. Carrot, celery, leek, endive, kale, kohl- 

 rabi, parsnip, and parsley are all grown by California 

 seed growers, though their demand is limited, owing to 

 keen competition with European growers, who are usu- 

 ally able to contract these crops at less than the cost of 

 production here. Peas, beans (except Limas), corn, and 

 some other seeds are not profitable because of competition 

 with growers in the middle Western States. Egg plant, in 

 spite of the excellence of the vegetable as noted in a later 

 chapter, has disappointed the seed growers, and okra has 

 done likewise. Turnips and Brussels sprouts have not 

 prospered as seed crops, while cabbage does excellently. 



