1468 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



Fig. 7. Onion Storehouses. 



weather, but so long as the temperature 

 in the house does not fall below 33 de- 

 grees there will be no danger of injury. 

 A temperature of from 34 to 36 degrees 

 will give best results. 



Methods of Storing 



The best method of storing onions is 

 in standard-size slat crates 20 inches 

 long, 16 inches wide and 14 inches deep, 

 outside measurements. The material for 

 the sides and bottom is about % inch 

 thick and 2l^ inches wide, four pieces 

 being used to form a side. The corners 

 are reinforced on the inside by means 

 of three-cornered pieces of oak, to which 

 the slats are nailed. These dimensions 

 provide crates that are interchangeable, 

 the width of five being equal to the 

 length of four. These crates will also 

 nest together when empty, with one in- 

 side of two turned together. The full 

 crates are stacked in the storehouse with 

 1 by 3-inch strips between them to allow 

 for the circulation of air, as shown in 

 Fig. 8. 



Marketing 



Large quantities of onions are sold and 

 shipped direct from the fields where 

 they are grown. A part of the crop is 

 held in temporary storage until late 



autumn or early winter. During recent 

 years the winter storage of onions has 

 become of great importance and the finest 

 stock is held for late winter deliveries. 

 The Bermuda crop from the southwest- 

 ern part of the country comes upon the 

 market during April and May, so that 

 most of the storage onions are disposed 

 of before that time. 



Grading 



In marketing onions the first essential 

 is to properly grade and clean the bulbs, 

 in order that they may present an attrac- 

 tive appearance when offered for sale. 

 Ordinarily the bulbs are separated into 

 three grades — primes, seconds and 

 "picklers." The primes include all those 

 of liy4 inches in diameter and larger, 

 and the seconds consist of those from 

 % inch to 11/4 inches in diameter, while 

 all those that will pass through a %-inch 

 screen are sold for pickling purposes. 

 The grading is generally done in the 

 field during the cleaning process, but as 

 onions shrink considerably while in stor- 

 age it is necessary to regrade before 

 placing upon the market. The type of 

 screen used for grading onions is shown 

 in Fig. 9. For cleaning the pickling 

 onions an ordinary fanning mill is em- 



