ONION SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION. 



75 



contracts made between grower and dealer call for onions screened over 

 l|-inch screens. 



The onions that pass through the screen are called picJders. Those that 

 pass over the screen are caught in bags and crates and sold as primes. 

 The picklers are frequently rescreened over a small screen to free them from 

 dirt and the very small onions. 



Since screening is the only means of cleaning and grading onions shipped 

 to the market directly from the field, too much care cannot well be exer- 



FiG. 17. — Screening onions in the field. Note how it delivers primes 

 into the sacks. Carefully screened onions help the Connecticut 

 Valley onion trade; poorly screened onions damage it. 



cised by the grower in this operation. The men who operate the screen 

 should be given time sufficient to pick out the dirt and poor onions. Over- 

 loading the screen and failure to keep the openings free from dirt and 

 onions are practices entirely too common among growers. 



Practically all the buyers and storage men of the Connecticut Valley 

 agree that a third or intermediate grade, although unnecessarj^ for the 

 present demands of the trade, miglit be made with j^rofit. This is also 



