506 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE . Off. Doc. 



We will now go farther south and consider the Mammoth Black 

 Twig, a variety adapted to the general region between Virginia and 

 Arkansas. It is a good apple, of so much promise that extensive 

 plantings have been made of it, and it would be very profitable if it 

 would bear good crops, but often it has been so deficient in this 

 resi>ect that it has been a great disappointment to many. If planted 

 on a rather thin soil, however, such as a shale loam, where the wood 

 growth can be held in check, if necessary, and then allowed to de- 

 velop only moderately it becomes productive and profitable. Hence 

 the soil conditions for this variety must be such as to be held in 

 control — making sure that wood growth is not too rapid. 



The next variety for our consideration is the Baldwin, which is 

 adapted in general to the northern part of Pennsylvania, along the 

 line with New York. The Baldwin prefers a surface soil ranging 

 from a heavy, fine, sandy loam to a medium mellow loam, with a 

 preference for the latter, whi-le the subsoil should be a mellow 

 medium loam, though it may be a plastic clay loam. But there 

 may be other combinations of soil texture and arrangement which 

 would also be favorable to the Baldwin, and such soils do occur in 

 this State. That is, a soil might contain from 25 to 30 per cent, 

 of clay, provided that the rest of the soil content were largely me- 

 dium sand instead of silt and very fine sand, as this would give an 

 open texture, whereas if the silt content were high it w^ould be more 

 suitable for the Rhode Island Greening, or Grimes, or Fall Pippin. 

 That is, the Baldwin soil must be moderately porous, and not com- 

 pact and heavy. 



There is one other illustration of the Baldwin adaptation that I 

 would like to call to your attention. The soil for the Baldwin should 

 not be one that produces the most luxuriant growth of forage crops, 

 but rather a moderate growth — a soil upon which some of the lower 

 corn leaves will cure dowai before time to harvest, and produce a 

 good yield of ear corn, but only a moderate crop of ensilage corn. 

 Note the contrast in this respect with the Rhode Island Greening 

 soil, which should retain the lower corn leaves green until late in 

 the season. Now, tlils same kind of soil or Baldwin soil, as we go 

 south, is found to be adapted to another variety, the Rome Beauty. 



We might pause here to illustrate the relation of soil to climate. 

 In any considerable region we find a given set of climatic conditions 

 — that is, the conditions are variable but they are consistently varia- 

 ble, and in that region certain soils may be adapted to certain varie- 

 ties of apples or peaches, for instance the adaptation of the Baldwin 

 as already described. But if we go into a different set of climatic 

 conditions, we shall find that a similar character of soil may be 

 adapted to another variet}^ such as the Rome Beauty, and, in fact, 

 we do find that southwest of here, in West Virginia for example, 

 that we have passed beyond the climatic range best suited to the 

 Baldwin as it becomes a fall apple there, but throughout that gen- 

 eral set of climatic factors the Rome Beauty is the variety best 

 adapted to that grade of soil. 



Soil for the King should be slightly heavier than for the Baldwin 

 to give a more luxuriant grow^th of tree and fruit, yet as it is a red 

 apple it must not be planted on too rich ground. Ensilage corn 

 ground is not suitable, and the lighter Baldwin soil is too light. A 



