ONIONS 
W. H. Exutis, Livonia, N. Y. 
This article will be confined to the 
onion business as conducted by the grow- 
ers of South Lima, N. Y.; the funda- 
mental principles are the same every- 
where. 
TUE SOUTH LIMA ONION LANDS 
Some thirty-five years ago there was a 
swamp of about seven hundred acres lo- 
cated at what was then called Hamilton 
Station, now South Lima, which for sanitary reasons was drained. 
Soon some of this land was used for the purpose of growing broom 
corn, willows, ete. Finally onions were tried on a small tract and 
the result was so satisfactory that South Lima muck sprang into 
prominence as an onion producing section, and has held a leading 
place ever since. The entire seven hundred acres have been 
cleared and nearly one-half of it is annually devoted to the cultiva- 
tion of onions. 
VARIETIES 
The varieties presented by seed houses are many but by a pro- 
cess of elimination have been reduced to very few. Ten or twelve 
years ago, growers usually sowed an equal amount of red and 
yellow seed. Sometimes the red sold better than the yellow, some- 
times the reverse. But at the present time there seems to be 
almost no demand for the former; the yellow variety is grown 
almost entirely. It is said that one reason for the change is that 
the Jews, who are among the largest consumers of onions, never 
buy red ones. 
The Yellow Globe Danver is a popular variety and for early 
maturity is probably the best. The Ohio Yellow Globe is also 
good and perhaps will yield more bushels to the acre than the other 
varieties, but the Southport Yellow Globe is the most generally 
grown here. 
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