November, 1 906 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



31 I 



Second Gathering in a Six-Hundred-and-Forty-Acre Onion Field 



A California Onion Seed Farm 



By Walter Garrison 



y S with so many of our other industries, the 

 >r|| tendency in agriculture to-day appears to 

 r\ Um ^ e t0 centra l' ze >ts various phases in certain 

 regions particularly suited for special cul- 

 tivation. This tendency, too, is aggra- 

 i-^ilS^MJUs!^ vated as the means of transportation are 

 improved and increased throughout the farming and agri- 

 cultural districts. Thus it is, that at the present time Cali- 

 fornia produces almost the entire output of seeds, both veg- 



etable and flower, for the United States, and for export as 

 well, which are grown in this country. The seed-raising 

 industry in California has grown to huge proportions in 

 the last few years and in consequence, the numerous small 

 seed farms scattered over the eastern and middle western 

 states have almost disappeared entirely. The main reason 

 for California's leadership in this industry is its climate, 

 which is so admirably suited for this cultivation that it is 

 practically hopeless for other states to compete. 



Threshing and Carrying Onion Seed 



