Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1929-03-24
Onions Pay Double
Winacy Wealth Is
Revealed AT
Fiesta
By III. G. STILWELL
Staff Correspondent
(Snecial to The Herald)

WllldCy COlIlIy . 4AoC oiiiOAi
staged as a sort of revival OF an
Gent Aztec harvest festivals
brought to the attention Of many
other residents of the Lower Rio
Grande Valley the fact that a vast
agricultural empire is opening II
all directions from this city, as
thousands of acres of land are
brought under cultivation.
The onion harvest celebration, at
which Miss Doris Clark was crown
ed as Queen Noino, a planned
and carried out in observance of a
record onion crop. This crop is
only a part Of the yield of this
county. which rapidly has grown tc
a point where it will soon rival the
other two counties of the Valley
in shipping of produce.
Irrigation is to be added as the
next feature in the development OF
Willacy county. bonds in the sum
Of 100000 having been voted in
order to finance a gigantic pro-
ject.
Startling Developments
Queen Noino and her court were
honored in the first onion fiesta
in the county at the conclusion
of a program of paradeS and drives
through the country around Ray
mondville. This drive revealed
startling DEVELOPMENTS that have
taken place within the past few
years.
Four years ago a drive was
made from Raymondville west
through the Mastenes tract. which
had just been purchased by Hard
ing and Gill. The tract was a
stretch of brushland for miles and
miles, with winding dirt roads
through it. and occasionally a clear
ed spot, with a small ranch house
or camp. The $4,000 ere tract
was practically all in the brush.
Now a high type Of concrete road
stretches through this tratc of LAND
and on to the Hidalgo county line
On each side of this road are miles
of cleared fields, the rolling sol
being planted in various vegetables
and fruits. In places there are cit
rus orchards that extend as fal
as n can see, and watermelon
and onion fields of hundreds OF
acres are visible on every hand.
Citrus Orchards Increasing
Citrus. however, is rapidly en-
croaching On other crops, as it is
doing in the rest of the Valley.
Some Of the trees which have
ben planted in this new section
have grown in a way that is sur
prising to residents Of the lower
sections of the Valley, accustomed
to irrigation. There are citrus
trees that have been planted only
three years that are five feet ir
height, covered with fruit anc
blooms. The younger trees look
healthy, and are growing at a fairly
rapid rate.
In planting the citrus trees the
growers irrigate them once, anc
after that depend on rainfall. With
completion of the large irrigation
project. however, there will bt
ample water for irrigating all citrus
fruit in the district, it is believed.
The onion crop in Willacy county
this year is estimated at about S.
900 acres. The crop is one Of the
best in quality, yield and price thai
Willacy county has ever produced
and as a result the county is re.
ceiving a large cash return. The
return from the crop is estimated
at around a million dollars, and the
major part OF this represents a net
profit to he growers.
Growers Sow Seed
Growers of onions in Willacy
county SOW the seed in rows in the
field, and do not transplant onions
This is one Of the few sections O.
the country where transplantins
is not done. The onions are thin
ned out when they reach the prop.
er size, and the Trimmings are sole
for tranSplanting and for the mar
ket consumption, usually at a price
sufficient to pay for seed used il
the onion paintings.
The present crop is bringing
return of from $3.50 to $500 a
NAoOC' o1ld Vic y1ClQ IQllS 4lOIlI W
to 125 crates to the acre. One
grower was offered $185 an acre il
the field for his crop, enough tt
pay off the purchase price of hi
land. but he refused, and is har.
vesting his crop at an even highe,
return.
In spite of the rapid inroads o
citrus fruit, onions are holdine
their own in acreage. A new stun.
in growing onions may maintain
this acreage-that is, plantins
onions in between the citrus frui
trees. There is one orchard O.
young trees near here with onion.
planted in between the trees, Will
a good return being made from
the onion crop.
Other Crops Follow
Wlllacy'S onions will be FOLLOWED
by Watermelons, cucumbers. squash
and other such crops, and cotto1
will follow as the summer crop.
The committee in charge of tn,
first Onion Fiesta of the count,
announced plans to make an an.
nual event of the fiesta. and t.
increase its scope every year.
The harvest festival will be car,
ried out along even more interest.
ing and unusual lines next year.