52 BULLETIN 1283, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF- AGRICULTURE 
WEATHER CONDITIONS IN THE CITY 
Weather conditions in consuming centers do not affect onion prices 
so much as they do prices of more perishable fruits and vegetables, as 
has already been shown. Theoretically, Bermuda onions should sell 
slightly better in cool than in warm weather, but available records do 
not prove this to be true. Onion prices seem to be rather independent 
of ordinary weather conditions in consuming centers. 
MARKET PREFERENCES 
Crystal Wax boilers (small onions) have usually sold at a discount 
of 50 cents to $1 per crate from the price paid for grade No. 1 in most 
principal markets, except New York. New York City has a large 
foreign population that wants small Crystal Wax onions, enough to 
offer a premium of 25 to 50 cents for these onions over grade No. 1. 
In 1919 the premium rose to $1. If a grower grades carefully and is 
prepared to take advantage of such market preferences, he can often 
net considerable profit for himself with little additional expense. 
So far as other grades of the two varieties are concerned, ail the 
larger markets over a period of time show about equal preferences 
for an equivalent grade of one variety over the other as measured 
by the price differential. All markets seem to pay more for Crystal 
Wax at the beginning of the season in about the same proportion ; all 
pay about equally as the season progresses; and Crystal Wax prices 
generally decline on all at the clean-up on account of the deterioration 
in quality. However, at any given time one market may be paying 
a greater premium for Crystal Wax than another on account of irregu- 
larities in local consumption or irregularity of supply. 
MISCELLANEOUS FACTORS 
Several factors which sometimes exert a considerable influence upon 
prices paid at a given point, but are difficult to measure, include good or 
bad salesmanship of the trade, extent to which onions are pushed by 
retail agencies, earning power of the people at the time, character of 
the population in a given city, and bargaining ability of traders. 
The influence of these factors varies greatly at different periods and 
no conclusions are warranted without further study. 
All of the factors discussed in the preceding pages do not operate 
simultaneously in every market ; sometimes one factor is of prevailing 
influence and sometimes another. Usually the price at a given point 
depends upon the operation of the factors that produce changes in 
seasonal conditions and changes in condition within the season even 
more than upon local conditions. On the other hand, local conditions 
react upon the broader market, for, obviously, when local conditions 
are unfavorable in several important markets prices must decline 
generally. The price paid at a given point at a given time for a 
given quantity of Bermuda onions of a certain description will depend 
upon the interaction and interrelation of the factors described, and 
will be the net resultant of these various forces. 
CONCLUSIONS 
Bermuda onions are grown in southern Texas, southern California, 
and Louisiana; principally in Texas. They supply nearly all of the 
markets during April, May, and June, but three-fourths of them are 
