OKRA ONION. 63 



all plants which are not true to variety as respects 

 dwarfness or tallness, shape and color of pods. 



In Alabama, where the most of the seed now sold by 

 the trade is grown, sowing is done from April 15th to 

 May 15th; good cotton land is preferred for the crop. 

 Harvest begins there in the latter part of October and is 

 continued into November, or until after plants have 

 been killed by frost, for okra keeps on bearing fruit 

 until frost. 



The ripe pods are cut by hand, the use of a machine 

 for harvesting not being possible, owing to the thickness 

 of the stalks, which frequently attain to two inches in 

 diameter. Pods are taken at once to the barn or shed 

 to be dried, after which they are shelled in a thresher or 

 a cow-pea huller; a corn-sheller does the work very well. 



A small quantity may either be threshed in a bag or 

 shelled by hand. Clean in the fan-mill. Store, when 

 seed is perfectly dry, in sacks. 



All seed -dealers handle okra seed, the heaviest de- 

 mand being from the Southern States. It is all grown 

 in this country; mostly in Alabama and Georgia, some 

 in New Jersey. In a good season a seed-yield is from 

 750 to 1,000 pounds per acre, at an average price to the 

 grower of ten cents per pound. 



ONION. 



Onion seed can be grown with success in most any 

 section of the United States. Soil for it should be 

 moderately rich; if too rich, blossoms are liable to 

 blight. 



Bulbs for a seed-crop should be sorted carefully, 

 throwing out all which, in shape and color, are not 

 according to variety. No bulb under the size of a 

 walnut should be planted for seed. Full-grown bulbs, 



