ONIONS 



W. H. Ellis, Livonia, N. Y. 



This article will be confined to the 

 onion business as conducted by the grow- 

 ers of South Lima, 1ST. Y. ; the funda- 

 mental principles are the same every- 

 where. 



THE 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, etc. 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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