Onion

un'yun, a bulbous plant of the lily family. It is thought that all varieties of onions under cultivation belong to the same species, and are due to differences in climate, soil, and management. The onion originated, it is thought, in Persia. It has been cultivated from antiquity in India and Egypt. It is one of our homeliest garden vegetables. Onions are propagated in three ways-by seeds, by sets, and by top onions. Seeds are obtained in the usual way during the second season. Sets are merely small onions obtained by sowing seed so thickly that the onions of the first season are exceedingly small, but start more quickly and grow faster a second season than plants from seed direct. Top onions are bulblets produced in place of flowers on the stalks of some varieties. Onions from seed are considered milder and more desirable for table use. The usual classification of onions is into onions that produce seed and onions that produce bulblets, or into seed onions and top onions. Over 4,000,000 bushels are produced yearly in the United States. New York is the banner onion-producing state, leading in ordinary years with over two million bushels. Ohio is next. The Pacific States, Iowa, and Illinois are beginning to engage in onion raising. Bermuda onions reach the market early. They are considered the finest onions grown. The region about Loredo and Brownsville, Texas, has sprung into prominence in the production of this variety. The yield of the principal onion-raising states for 1909 was: Acres Bushels Massachusetts. . . . . 1,450 580,000 Connecticut. . . . . 300 45,000 New York. . . . . 3,850 1,155,000 Ohio. . . . . 3,700 1,184,000 Illinois. . . . . 900 135,000 Indiana. . . . . 2,000 550,000 Michigan. . . . . 750 169,000 Wisconsin. . . . . 600 105,000 Texas. . . . . 2,500 800,000

The legal weight of a bushel of onions varies from state to state. In Ohio, the seller gives forty-eight pounds for a bushel. In Indiana, an adjacent state, the legal weight is fifty-six pounds.

See Vegetables; Leek; Garlic; Lily