ONION ONION SETS. 65 



is gently stirred, which causes heavy, good seed to fall 

 to the bottom, light seed and trash to float; the latter 

 being then skimmed off. Seed is now taken out and 

 spread thinly on cloths in the sun to dry, during which 

 it has to be stirred frequently. It is then taken to the 

 drying-room or loft, and there allowed to remain spread 

 thinly for some time until it has become thoroughly 

 dry, when final cleaning is given in the fan-mill; after 

 which it is ready to be stored. 



Market Upwards of 1,000,000 pounds of onion 

 seeds are handled annually by the American seed-trade, 

 of which 700,000 pounds are produced in Central Cali- 

 fornia; the remainder, excepting Italian and Bermuda 

 varieties, which are imported, is grown mainly in 

 Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Oregon. 



Of the Italian and Bermuda varieties, the best seeds 

 continue to be imported, as the exact location in the 

 United States has yet to be found in which seed of 

 these can be produced equal to European in quality. 



In good seasons a seed-crop runs from 600 to 700 

 pounds per acre; prices paid to growers for American 

 varieties range from thirty to forty-five cents per pound 

 for yellow and red sorts, sixty to seventy cents for 

 white. 



ONION SETS. 



For the successful production of onion sets, the soil 

 should be heavily manured, this usually being done in 

 northern latitudes in August or September. Ploughing 

 is done there late in autumn, or in January or February, 

 so as to have a good freeze for the ground before seed- 

 sowing. About the twentieth of March, say in latitude 

 of southern Ohio, the ground is gone over with a one or 

 a two-horse cultivator, and put in as fine tilth as possi- 

 5 



