ONION SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION. 



61 



farm land was under cultivation. In 1914 the onion acreage in this 

 area was 3,965, or a little more than 9 per cent, of the cultivated acreage 

 in 1905. 



Cultivated, Uncultivated and Unimprovable Acreage in the Onion District 

 of Massachusetts, from the Massachusetts Census of 1905. 



The importance of the valley in onion production is indicated by the 

 fact that 2,955 cars of onions, including "sets," were shipped during 

 the season of 1913-14. In 1914-15 the shipments reached the remarkable 

 total of 3,826 cars, or nearly 2,000,000 bushels. In 1915-16 the shipments 

 were 3,340 cars, a decline of about 500 cars, or 250,000 bushels from the 

 1914 figures. Farm management surveys of 47 farms in Franklin County 

 and 70 in Hampshire County show that on these farms in 1914 the receipts 

 from onions constituted 31 per cent, and 23 per cent., respectively, of the 

 farm receipts from all sources. 



General Marketing Facilities. 

 The Connecticut Valley is fortunate in location. In close proximity 

 to all the large markets of the North Atlantic States with wliich it is 

 connected by numerous transportation lines, its shippers experience 

 little trouble in getting their produce to market. Comparatively short 

 hauls and direct routes make for low transportation rates and quick 

 service. The losses in transit from the valley to primary markets for 

 onions of standard quality are small indeed. Very few areas enjoy better 

 general marketing facilities. 



General History of Onion Growing in Massachusetts. 

 As late as 1885, Essex County was the center of onion production in 

 Massachusetts. Onions have been raised in this countv from colonial 



