CHAPTER XXV. 



THE ONION FAMILY. 



ONION. Allium cepa. 



French, ognon; German, zwiebel; Dutch, uijen; Danish, voglog; Italian, 

 cipolla; Spanish, cebolla; Portuguese, cebola. 



LEEK. Allium porrum. 



French, poireau ; German, lauch ; Dutch, prei ; Danish, porre ; Italian, 

 porro; Spanish, puerro; Portuguese, alho porro. 



GARLIC. Allium sativum. 



French, ail; German, knoblauch; Dutch, knoflook; Danish, hvidlog; 

 Italian, aglio; Spanish, ajo; Portuguese, alho. 



CHIVES. Allium schoenoprasum. 



French, ciboulette, civette; German, schnittlauch ; Dutch, bieslook; Ital- 

 ian, cipollina; Spanish, cebollino. 



CIBOULE. Allium fistulosum. 



French, ciboule; German, schnitt-zwiebel ; Dutch, bieslook; Danish, pur- 

 log; Italian, cipolleta; Spanish, cebolleta; Portuguese, cebolinah. 



SHALLOT. Allium ascalonicum. 



French, echalote; German, schalotte; Dutch, sjalot; Danish, skalottelog; 

 Italian, scalogno; Spanish, chalote; Portuguese, echalota. 



The onion is another of the great vegetables in California 

 great in the size of the tubers and in the crop, great also in the 

 ease with which a constant supply of fresh onions can be secured 

 throughout the year in the open air; greater still, perhaps, in the 

 fact that the superb local conditions for onion-seed growing have 

 given California almost the monopoly of the onion-seed trade of the 

 United States, and we have sometimes produced more seed than 

 could be sold with profit to the growers. Though the local con- 

 sumption of onions, in proportion to the population, is large, and 

 though there is *an export trade in all directions, there is now and 

 then an over-production and a reaction even to scarcity, so that 

 the market price is subject to wide fluctuations. A more trust- 

 worthy demand would develop a producing capacity which has thus 

 far hardly been entered upon although during recent years distant 

 shipment of onions has notably increased. And yet this is a mat- 

 ter in which great expectations may not be realized. In 1917, be- 

 cause of a great shipping demand owing to a partial failure of the 

 eastern crop of 1916 and to great exhortation to produce war foods, 

 California onion acreage was increased to 13,000 acres against 6100 

 acres in 1916. From an extreme high of $12 per ctl. in March, 

 1917, the price broke to $0.75 in July and much disappointment re- 

 sulted. Even without war issues onions are subject to wide fluctua- 



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