The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-22

as is warm and fine: the wheat fields are green: the grass Is fine. and spring is here In full force. Peach and plum trees are in bloom. and all is lovely. In San Antonio.
 I reached this beautiful little city Fri day and spent a most pleasant and profit able day here. I first went out two miles Into the country to see the great trueK farm of P. F Collins. MT. Collins has his farm in a high state Of cultivation, and has an ample supply of water for irri- gating the whole farm. He has 1s0 acres planted to early vegetables, such as beans. peas. potatoes. teets. carrots cabbage. cu- cumbers, spinach. turnips and onions. He has ffteea acres in onions, which are looking we'll now though the crop will be several weeks late. owing the effect of cold weather.
 The onion is the main crop here. as well as in many other sections. For the bene- fit of our readers I will give an outline of this onion industry.
 Seed sown in Fall.
 Seed to produce these crops Of onions are being imported from the Canary Is- lands and are called Bermuda onions. These seed are sown in October and No venber in beds, which have to be well prepared before sowing, and seed are sown at the rate of sixty pounds per acre The plants are ready to set from Janu- ary to March, owing to the location. The plants have to be very carefully taken up and handled. aLd both tops and roots clip ped or before replanting. They are then set out in rows on highly enriched and prepared lands twelve or fourteen inches apart and four inches apart in the rows. This gives over 100000 plants per acra. As the fields are always flooded at the time of setting the plants, they take hold and start strong growth at once. culti- vation has to begin at once and be kept up until the crop ig matnred. Planting Is still going on here and I saw many hands today transplanting the young plants. Good crops yield from twenty to thirty thousand pounc. per acre. and the onions sell from two to three cents per pound So we see thet yen where the crop yields W.Oo pounds DOT acre and sells for two cents per pound. it means $400. and Sl00 of for expenses, leaves a profit of S300 But suppose the crop yield 30000 pounds per acre and rells for three cents per pound. This gives s900, and sl00 off for expenses leaves ne. profit of $500 per acre
 Now this may seem like q falrv story: yet such results have been obtained by several growers The net profit per acre or the Bermuda onion. as grown by the best growers ir southern Texas under ir- rigation, ranges from $300 to $500.
 l shall take the question up in detail when l have more time.
 The crop now is looking we'll and prom ises great yield. while the prospects for a good market was never better. MT Collins has fifteen acres of these onions in one field. which are fine and practically made He Is still planting The fifteen acres will be ready for the market by May 1.
 
 Irrigated By Deep We'll
 bar. Collins irrigates his crops from flowing well which is 7ol feet deep. the piping twelve inches In diameter. and the flow Is over two million gallons for twen- ty-four hours or about 10000 gallons per hour. or 1c00 gallons every minute Mr. Collins says that the well can he depend ed upon for an ample supply of water to iIrigate his BOO acres when all is planted to vegetables I shall have more to say of this farm and It's mana cement later