BULLETIN No. 169. 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS. 



CONNECTICUT VALLEY ONION SUPPLY AND 

 DISTRIBUTION. 



BY ALEXANDER E. CANCE, WILLIAM L. MACHMER AND FREDERICK W. READ. 



Part I 



Supply and Production. 

 Quantities and Regions of Production. 



The production of onions is widely distributed. They are grown to some 

 extent, at least, in every State in the Union. Well adapted to commercial 

 production on a small scale the onion industry has shown a steady growth 

 year by year, until, in 1914, with a yield of about 22,000,000 bushels, 

 valued at $20,000,000, it ranked second among the truck crops of the 

 United States. 



The geographical distribution of the onion crop in the United States 

 for the year 1909 is shown on the accompanying map reproduced from 

 the report of the United States Census (Fig. 1). A second map (Fig. 3) 

 shows the geographical distribution of surplus production for the year 

 1914, as reported by the Bureau of Crop Estimates. 



A careful study of these maps plainly shows that the commercial onion- 

 growing area is confined to three well-defined sections: first, the tier of 

 States running westward from Massachusetts to Iowa; second, the Pacific 

 Coast States, California, Wasliington and Oregon; and third, the southern 

 States, Texas and Louisiana. The first and second groups include the 

 States producing late onions, while the third is the home of the Egyptian 

 and Bermuda varieties. 



The total onion acreage of the United States in the census year 1899 

 was 47,981 acres. Seventeen States included in the above groups had 



