II. 



THE LEADING QUESTION. 



DOES ONION GROWING PAY? 



Like along hair in a roll of butter, or a forgotten basting 

 thread in a newly-made dress, the question, *' Does it pay?" 

 or, *' How does it pay?" strings itself along, seemingly 

 without end, and just as annoyingly, through the stacks of 

 letters received by me from people in need of horticultural 

 advice. It is the question of all questions, and before I go 

 further, I will try to give an intelligent answer to it. I 

 hope it will save me the necessity of writing some personal 

 letters on the same question in future. 



" Does onion growing pay? " 



Here one has a fine chance of doing some plausible 

 figuring on paper. "A thousand bushels per acre is not an 

 extraordinary crop ; one dollar per bushel not an extra- 

 ordinary price. One thousand bushels, at $i each, make 



^lOOO. 



This, however, tempting as the prospect may be, is deal- 

 ing with possibilities, not with probabilities. The skilled 

 grower, under favorable circumstances, can grow looo 

 bushels per acre. I propose to show that even twice that 

 number of bushels is within our reach, and has actually been 

 obtained on limited areas ; but I would not guarantee half 

 that yield to the new beginner, especially not if he be one 

 of those young fellows that " know it all." The average 

 yield vacillates between 200 and 300 bushels per acre. 



Thus it is with the price. We often get ^i a bushel, and 

 sometimes two and three times that amount ; yet, while 

 I again propose to point out how you can manage to 



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