42 
BULLETIN 1283, L T . S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Table 6. — Statistics of factors related to the opening and inter seasonal average price 
of Bermuda onions, 1916-1923 
[Absolute figures] 
QUANTITIES 
1916 
1919 1920 
1921 
1922 
1923 
1917- 
1922 
aver- 
age 
Estimated acreage, Texas Bermudas 
acres. 
Estimated acreage, total early (Texas, 
California, and Louisiana) acres- 
Estimated yield per acre, all early 
bushels. 
Estimated production in cars 500 bush- 
els, Texas cars. 
Estimated production in cars 500 bush- 
els, total early cars. 
Bermudas shipped, Texas do. 
Bermudas shipped, California do. 
Bermudas shipped, total do. 
Old onions on hand in storage, Feb- 
ruary 1 cars. 
Old onions shipped after April 1 do. 
Old onions shipped after opening Ber- 
muda season ' cars.. 
Imports by years in equivalents of cars 
of 500 bushels cars.. 
Imports by years in equivalents of cars 
of 500 bushels, April, May, June 
only cars.. 
PRICES 
Opening Bermuda prices per crate at 
Texas shipping points 
Opening Bermuda prices terminal mar- 
kets 2 - 
First day, 3 markets . 
First week 
Modal prices per sack of Northern and 
Middle-western Yellows, week pre- 
ceding opening of Bermuda season.. . . 
Bermuda seasonal average prices at 
Texas shipping point 
Bermuda seasonal average prices com- 
posite of six markets (principal 12- 
week period) 
Bermuda seasonal composite terminal 
average prices (all weeks reported) ... 
10, 057 
13, 957 
219 
4,500 
6,091 
4,522 
251 
4,773 
4,302 
331 
$1.22 
2.12 
1.87 
2.25 
1.67 
1.95 
12, 050 
16,350 
258 
6,000 
8,346 
5,892 
494 
6,386 
995 
82 
47 
3,870 
$2.66 
4.47 
4.24 
8.50 
2.01 
2.51 
2.37 
070 
047 
173 
746 
281 
563 
371 
934 
114 
485 
470 
522 
203 
$1.24 
2.87 
2.12 
1.00 
1.11 
1.75 
1.70 
6,590 
8,427 
3,519 
4,370 
2,835 
336 
3,171 
3,212 
360 
215 
1,481 
210 
$2. 60 
5.00 
4.91 
4.00 
2.86 
4.14 
4.19 
446 10,503 
826 13,513 
258 213 
372 4, 348 
680 I 5,744 
038 | 4,011 
177 899 
215 4,910 
798 5,996 
276 | 709 
276 952 
638 3,952 
59 
5.75 
5.79 
6.50 
2.28 
2.83 
2.58 
$1. 15 
3.08 
2.81 
1.00 
.82 
1.88 
1.87 
11,900 
15,950 
223 
4,665 
6,619 
4,439 
1,251 
5,690 
1,683 
80 
160 
2,901 
852 
$3.50 
5.37 
5.62 
11.00 
1.86 
2.94 
2.75 
12,590 
15, 030 
180 
4,149 
5,416 
2,809 
706 
3,515 
3,571 
598 
394 
$2. 75 
3.33 
3.22 
4.50 
2.03 
11,926 
i 15, 352 
231 
'■ 5,108 
! 6,840 
4,296 
755 
I 5,051 
3,300 
332 
353 
2,727 
428 
$2.49 
4.42 
4.25 
5.33 
1.82 
2. S4 2. 68 
2. 81 2. 58 
1 Season considered opened when 10 cars or more have been shipped in one week, except in 1923, when 19 
cars moved in two weeks, but real movement began the fourth week. 
2 Opening price first day at terminal markets is assumed to be the average of the day when quotations are 
received from at least three markets. The price used is the one that seems most representative of all mar- 
kets reporting at that time for ordinary first quality commercial pack yellow Bermudas. 
The relative concentration of shipments of new stock in different 
parts of the season, and in relation to other factors influences the 
average price received by growers as much perhaps as the size of the 
crop. The effect of the volume of shipments of new stock on the 
price fluctuations within the season will be described later. 
IMPORTS OF ONIONS DURING THE BERMUDA SEASON 
Imports of onions during the Bermuda season amounted to the 
equivalent of over 1,000 cars in 1917, 1920, and 1922, reaching the 
highest point in 1920. In most other years they amounted usually 
to around 200 cars and were a negligible factor. In 1920, there was 
considerable fear of Egyptian importations early in the season, but 
this did not prevent the highest opening prices of the season. Later, 
the imports may have had part in the unusually rapid decline. As a 
general rule, however, imports are a very minor factor in Bermuda 
prices. Imports do not show any definite trend in either direction, 
