1172 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



and that an area of 7,500 acres, exclusive of market-gardens, is estimated 

 to be annually under the crop. 



" The small white Onions, known as ' Silverskins,' the competition of 

 which was more immediately the subject of complaint, are grown mainly 

 in the provinces of Gelderland and North Brabant, though in recent years 

 they have also been cultivated on a small scale in South Holland and 

 Zeeland. The total acreage sown with this variety does not, however, 

 exceed 125 acres. The growers are mostly small market-gardeners or 

 peasant farmers occupying about 2^ acres of land ; a few of them rent 

 larger areas, but the holdings seldom exceed 5 acres. They are nearly all 

 tenants paying rents ranging from 3/. 7s. to 51. per acre according to the 

 quality of the land, and their cottages are rented at 2s. to 3s. 6c7. per week. 



" On the holdings of 2^ acres little outside labour is required, as the 

 occupier is usually able to work the land with the aid of his wife and 

 children : and large families are the rule rather than the exception among 

 the small growers. It is the practice to put children to work on the land at 

 10 or 11 years of age, when they are taken away from school. Sometimes, 

 however, and especially in cases where the area cultivated amounts to 5 

 acres, occasional labourers are employed to help in digging and clearing 

 the land, and again at harvest, sufficient work being found for two men 

 for about three months in the year. But, wherever it is possible, women 

 and children are employed, as their labour is cheaper. Children are 

 largely employed for pulling the Onions. 



" Adult male labourers earn from 2s. Qd. to 3s. 4cZ. per day. Women 

 are paid 2s., and children Is. a day. No food or other perquisites are 

 given by the employers." 



" After the Onions have been pulled and dried they are sold raw and 

 unpeeled to the agents of the brining factories. The price paid for them 

 varies with the supply and with the quality. This year the average price 

 paid for the greater part of the crop was exceptionally low, amounting to 

 only 3s. id. per bag of 110 lbs. Last year the growers received from 5s. 

 to 5s. lOd. per 110 lb. ; and in 1900, when Silverskins were scarce, as 

 much as 16s. 8d. per bag was paid in some cases. These prices are paid 

 for the crop when pulled on the holding, all expenses for bags and transport 

 to the factories being borne by the factories. 



" Owing to the frequent variations in the crop and the fluctuations in 

 prices, the cultivation of Silverskins is looked upon as a speculative business. 

 On this season's crop, for example, with prices as low as 3s. id. per bag, 

 cultivators have incurred a loss. 



" The Dutch growers, however, are a sober, hard-working class with 

 few wants beyond the bare necessaries of life. They remain, as a rule, 

 very poor, and their food consists for the most part of bread, milk, and 

 potatos. They usually fatten a pig, and grow sufficient Potatos and other 

 vegetables to meet their own requirements. 



The peeling is chiefly done by women and children at their own 

 homes in the towns where the factories are situated. The peelers fetch 

 the raw Onions from the canal wharf and deliver them peeled and washed 

 to the factories. The usual price paid for peeling is Id. per kilo, of 2*2 lbs. 

 for Silverskins, and '\d. per 22 lbs. for large white and brown Onions, 

 known as ' bread and cheese Onions.' 



