El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-11-12
SEED Of ELPA50
ONION IS LOST
Finely Favored Product OF
the Valley Disappeared
When Water Stopped.

LOST-The seed Of the Ell Paso onion
lost many years ago in the Ell Paso
valley reward if returned to MAJ. w.
J. FeweL
The ri Paso onion and the mission
grape, two of the El Paso valleys most
famous products, have disappeared
from the market and many older FL
Pasoans. who knew the fine flavor OF
the mission grapes and the equally
fine flavor of the FL Paso onion, long
for these two products Of the lower
valley which became famous through
out two republics.
The old timers differ as to the exact
date when the FL Paso onion ceased 70
he ! COMMERCIAL product of the valley.
Mai. w. J.. FeWei. who oftereu d re-
ward Of IS for anyone who WouIu
bring him the seed of the Ell Paso on
ION, says that the onion appeaIe a.
the same time that the water vas
taken ont of the river in the upper
reaches and the native ranchers were
forced to abandon their onion arms
and mission grape vineyards OIheI
pioneers saw tina it was not more IMAM
20 years ago that the FL Paso onion
disappeared and that the mlsslon
Crane NAV be found in a few places IN
the VALLEY even at this time, although
it has disappeared as a commerce.
commodity.
FL Paso onion once Famous.
The Ell Paso onion was the most ia
nous product ever grown IN tne Il
PasO valley, even eXceIled the Canta.
loupe, which became famous IN recent
wears. 1t was a silver white onion
had d fine. sweet flavor and was with
out a trace Of fire in it. The onion
grew to a large size n Al Howard
saws he has seen them which meas
ured II IL inches across. Ihey were
shipped to the east and to all parts OF
Texas and commanded the highest price
on the markets of the country, being
especially sought by the ea~sterners'
who bought them in boxes. 1t is even
said that they were sold on the Irull
stands in New York just as fruits ana
melons were Offered.
Like the cantalOupe, which took It's
place in popular favor among the prod
ucts of the EI Paso valley, the FL
Paso onions fine flavor depended upon
the quality of the seed from which 1t
was grown. Father Ortiz, the reVereu
priest of the YsIeta church, was said TO
have made it his work to raise the SEED
of the Ell Paso onion and to distribute
it among his parishioners as long as
he lived. In this way the standard OF
the onion seed was kept Up. But after
he died the older residents OF the val
lev say the SGeu UECdLuE lAllAEu win
the Bermuda and other onion stocks
and became inferior in flavor. The
onion stock is said 20 have run down
until it was finally lost entirely.
No Seed O~btHinable.
In spite of the reward, Maj. Fewel
was unable to find a single seed OF
the famous onion. He heard that there
was some in the San Lorenzo settle
ment, on the Juarez side of the river
but has never been able to obtain any
Of the seed. Several years ago q. T.
White wished to plant some of this
seed on his ranch and asked the late
D. NJ. Payne to get him some. Mr.,
Payne, who was then in b commits
sion business, sent to the interior OF
Mexico, where he had heard that the
seed was grown. But it was sterile
and failed to germinate. Charles SteF'
ems also made an effort to get some Of
the seed, but failed. although N. Low
e~nstein, of Ysleta, told him that /
could be had at one place in the Juarei
valley, but it was never found. He say
that there is an onion seed that il
shipped here from Michigan which Il
called the FL Paso onion seed, but i
did not produce the same onion as tn
One the pioneers knew.
Col. Eugene a Patten, of Las Cru
ces, says that there is an onion grow
by the indians near Mesilla Park whicl
resembles the Ell Paso onion, but which
is red in color.