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 frequentlv. 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 
