Fruits, Vegetables and General I?iterests. 



"The new tariff law places a duty of 40c. a bushel on on- 

 ions. About 409,597 bushels of onions were imported into 

 the United States during the six months from January 1 to July 

 1. The increased tariff on onions is a big thing for the 

 farmers engaged in truck-growing throughout the United The 

 States, and is bound to stimulate the onion industry in this onion 

 country, .especially in the southern states. Inasmuch as we lndust 

 have the soil and climate to produce good onions in our 

 different latitudes, and an additional protection is placed 

 on them by. the new tariff law, special inducements are offered 

 to make onion-growing more of a specialty, and one of the lead- 

 ing features of our southern trucking sections, especially in 

 Florida, whose only competitors can be Bermuda and Spain. 

 The only necessary thing is to obtain the proper seed and plant 

 sufficiently early, in order to compete with those localities. We 

 may not see again very soon such a continued favorable 

 market as at present. But to the American growers (who 

 have no duty to pay) prices about 50 cents per bushel lower 

 would be equally profitable, and there ought to be some 

 little advantage to them in lower freights as well. There is 

 one advantage which the onion has as a southern crop, in its 

 not being immediately perishable, and it will bear transpor- 

 tation well if properly cured and packed; its sale need not there- 

 fore be forced. Furthermore, onions have become as staple 

 an article of produce as potatoes, corn or wheat, and are 

 consumed by all classes, and there is a steady demand. 

 But the one important feature is their condition, and it is im- 

 perative that they be well cured and dry, as no immature 

 stock can be transported and disposed of profitably. The 

 following are the correct figures (which were obtained from 

 the Customs Department) of the imports, in bushels, from 

 the localities named, January 1 to July 1, 1891 : 



England 68,255 



France 14, 250 



Cuba 42,464 



British W. Indies 242,579 



Italy 4,930 



Portugal 100 



Spain 1,113 



Philippine Islands 146 



Turkey, Europe 24 



Turkey, Asia 3,93° 



Turkey, Africa 31.786 



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