The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1909-08-15
FORTUNE IN ONIONS
Texas Woman Sets Pace in
Raising BermudaS.
SHE BEGINS IN A SMALL WAY
Left n Widow with Arid Ranch on
the Rio Grande, Mrs. DOdd Hits
High Mark I'm ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Sam Calls Her "Onion Queen"
Her Venture Quite Successful.

Laredo. Tex, Aug. 4-One Of the inter-
esting achievements in Texas Is that Of
Mrs Edward c. Dodd. OF this city. who
has made fortune out Of the onion. She
was once q school teacher on a small
salary. but she now has a much easier
time Of it and her income is counted an
nually in FIVE figures instead OF four
Mrs. Dodd's husband died and left a
farm Of several hundred acres near the
Rio Grande that were as dry as a bone
and nearly as poor
Around her ranch were various people
who were already proving that if they
could only get water on their soil and
Bermuda onions under the water dozen
times or so during the season they could
grow a lot Of onions and. naturally, make
a lot Of money.
Fortune in One Crop.
Three years the Laredo widow with the
school teachers training began 90 pump
the Rio Grande up 20 a small section OF
her COO acres. She was moderate in her
ambition; seventy acres OF irrigated land
would satisfy her for a start.
She marketed a crop Of Bermuda onions
from those seventy acres that brought
her $4,000 after all expenses were paid.
Il was too easy. there in Laredo. With
a square mile OF ground to plant pretty
nearly any way she cared 10. she decided
10 go long on her friends and allies. those
delectable Bermuda onions.
She installed an electrical pumping
plant capable Of shaking up the patient
Rio Grande at the rate OF $500 gallons a
minute and distributing il over the face
or the thirsty earth she owned.
She planted 135 acres in onions. irrigat-
ed them amply by means OF her $500
gallon-per pump. and now takes
Off $625 worth OF onions from every acre
OF the 135 she has under cultivation for
the bulbs.
1t costs her $z25 an acre to grow and
market her crops but at that she has
S40C 10 the acre clear. or $4,000 a year
She sells water to her neighbors for the
irrigation OF hfty acres outside Of her
own farm, irrigRtes siXty-five acres Of
grain and varied crops besides besides
her onions. and so reduces her expenses
and provides for the sustenance Of her
farm labor and working stock that a con-
siderable addition appears on the credit
side OF her account over and above the
So 900 profit on the onions.
Being pretty nearly the most extensive
planters OF onions I'm the world, not ex-
cepting growers on the island Of Bermuda
itself. admiring Texas FASTENED TO entite
her The onion Queen" and wonders
what she is going 10 do next
She VIII start SnIeSwOmen.
What she is going to do is this: AL
though member OF the local association
Of growers. she feels convinced that the
statesmen OF the association are too ex-
pensive for a planter Of her large enter
prise. She had 20 pay them 10 cents
crate Of fifty pounds. 5000 in all. for
marketing her onion crop last season.
mo-" Mrs. Dodd the onion queen, has
declared. mo. and double no, I'm GO
ing 10 establish my individual headduar-
tiers in New York and hire women sell
ing agents Of my own 10 operate in
Philadelphia, Boston. Baltimore, and per-
haps some other large cities OF the East.
MY farm organization is now perfect:
my superintendent knows the whole rou-
tine 1 can be free 10 handle the end
where the real money grows shall stay
in New York during the season, watch
the market like a hawk. and when my
judgment tells me prices suit have my
onions shipped to me directly and so get
the full benefit Of the enterprise"
Uncle Sam has dwelt upon this. aston
shing achievement Of the Laredo onion
queen. probably for the excellent reason
that, while she may deserve her title as
other onion growers in the
extent Of her operations, she does not
make any more money in proportion to
her cultivated acreage than do the other
planters. His queen, whom he lauds so
loyalty, is the onion itself
Come from Texas Now.
Time was when the Bermuda onion had
10 come from Bermuda, although we paid |
IN appreciable tribute to the hard-work- |
ng peasants OF Spain. the fallaheen Of
Egypt. and the natives OF the South Sea
Stands for onions we couldn't raise our
selves.
But that time is so definitely past that I
he whole Importation OF onions now
amounts 10 only 10000 bushels. all Of |
hem inferior 70 the crops we raise on /
,ur own soil, while our domestic produc- |
ion amounts TO 100000 bushels. precise
y ten times as much as we import