14 
SEED-TIME km HABVEST. 
The Onion Crop. 
Special reports from the onion-growing 
sections of the eastern and western states, 
as summarized below, indicate that the on¬ 
ion crop of 1885 will be decidedly below the’ 
average, except Connecticut, which will 
have a fair crop. Growers in New Eng¬ 
land generally expect 80 cents to $1 per 
bushel for the crop, and 50 cents is the low¬ 
est price mentioned in New York or the 
western states. A cold spring, wet sum¬ 
mer and the ravages of maggots, cut¬ 
worms, rust and blight account for the 
decreased yield. The acreage is reduced 
because of low prices in the past. Onion 
sets will generally be a light crop, but on¬ 
ion seed will be fully an average in yield 
and quality. 
NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND. 
Onions are grown but slightly in Maine 
or New Hampshire, and there is only an 
occasional patch in Vermont, except in 
Grand Isle county, where the crop will be 
large. At Waterbury and in towns about 
Montpelier, onions promise well and are 
not damaged much by the maggot; 75 cents 
to $1 per bushel are the usual prices. 
MASSACHUSETTS. 
More onions are grown in Essex county 
than in all the rest of Massachusetts put 
together. Yet evenin Essex, the acreage is 
falling off. Danvers used to be a great on¬ 
ion town, but this year grows only 100 
acres, against 200 acres in 1884. There 
will only be half a crop this year, by reason 
of insects and rot or softness in the bulbs. 
Haverhill has only 10 acres, and a half a 
crop; usual price $1.00 per bushel. At 
Rowley, early onions $1 to $1.25; the yield 
will be 300 to 400 bushels per acre, which is 
75 per cent, of a full average crop. New¬ 
bury has 75 acres, same as last year, yield¬ 
ing 250 to 300 bushels, or 70 per cent, of a 
crop. Middleton grows about as many as 
last year, nearly 25 acres; yield 300 bushels, 
400 being the average. Similar reports 
come from other towns in the county, much 
damage from the magget being generally 
reported. One patch of an acre at Methuen 
will probably yield 1000 bushels. Worces¬ 
ter county towns grow but few onions, no 
town reporting over six acres, and these 
complain that maggots have destroyed 
from 25 to 50 per cent of the crop; some 
patches were plowed up in consequence. 
At Woburn, Middlesex county, 20 acres, 
(a little more than last year), are grown 
and will yield neaily 700 bushels per acre, 
according to the present fine promise. Bur¬ 
lington 15 acres, Winchester 10 and Bed¬ 
ford five acres, report about the same acre¬ 
age and a less yield than last year. In Con¬ 
cord, as elsewhere, onions are grown less 
and less each year, owing to disease and 
insect pests, though the crop this year is 
pretty good; some sets are grown. Only 
garden patches are grown in Hampshire, 
Hampden and Berkshire counties. In 
Franklin county 40 or 45 acres of onions are 
grown in Sunderland, an increase of about 
3 per cent since last year. More than an 
average crop is promised. Deerfield, Mbn- 
tague and Conway raise a few onions, 
which are doing well. The maggot has not 
been very destructive in this section. 
CONNECTICUT. 
Wethersfield used to be the great onion 
town, but raising onion seed is the princi¬ 
pal way in which onions are now grown. 
A few onions are grown in Columbia, 
Tolland county, but the crop is a good 
deal injured and can’t yield over 200 
bushels per acre. West Hartford has 
about 8 acres, which promise well. The 
same is true at Granby, 10 acres; East 
Hartford (10 acres) and South Windsor 
(5 acres) expect a three-fourths crop, hav¬ 
ing been injured 25 per cent by maggot; 
yield from 200 to 800 bushels per acre. 
Guilford, New Haven county, has a con¬ 
siderable acreage, which, on the whole, 
promises to equal or be better than last 
year. Here, and in Clinton and East Hamp¬ 
ton, cut worms as well as maggots did 
some damage. Fairfield and Westport 
townships, however, are the great onion 
sections, thousand of barrels being shipped 
from Greens Farms district alone. In the 
two towns, between 600 and 700 acres of 
onions are raised, or about as much as last 
year. The yield is better than for the two 
past years, and can be called fair average— 
not a large crop, but a fair paying one at 
good prices. The yield will probably run 
from 100 to 150 bushels per acre. In June 
