No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 651 



tion is a part of the great Appalachian Mountain System which be- 

 comes much higher in elevation in the Southern states. The re- 

 gion consists of a series of elevations and narrow valleys just like 

 this (holding up fingers). Now, the slopes of these hills are 

 adapted, in some cases, to profitable orchard planting, though on the 

 other hand, many of these hills are not very productive. There 

 are three distinct classes of soils to be found there: First are those 

 soils derived from yellow and brown shales and sandstones which 

 are called the DelKalb soils ; second the Upshur soils which come 

 from red shale and thin-bedded sandstones of the same color; and 

 lastly the Hagerstown, or limestone, soils which occur in some of 

 the valleys. In this section of the State there are many suitable 

 locations for orchard planting, but they should be selected with care 

 as to character of the soil, and to the air and water drainage. 

 The prices for land are so exceedingly moderate that it seems un- 

 necessary for any Pennsylvanian to go out of his own State to grow 

 fruit. The old Juniata peach belt, once famed for its excellent 

 product, is in this region, and although it suffered severely from the 

 ravages of disease it still possesses some good orchards, and is cer- 

 tain to see many apple orchards planted, and at least some peaches, 

 notwithstanding the yellows. Why was this famous peach belt 

 first developed? Simply because some fellow^ living there once made 

 up his mind to grow fruit, and his efforts were rewarded with 

 some degrees of success. It is only human to think that whatever 

 my neighbor does I too can do, and the result in that locality 

 was that most everybody tried the peach business and it was this fact 

 that led in some measure at least to the great number of failures. 

 The striking illustration w^hieh the old Juniata peach belt affords is 

 its contrast to other districts not far from it that are just as well 

 adaped to peach orcharding, yet have never been developed. Land 

 prices are still very low in this whole region. . 



Going northeastward to the region arountl Wilkes-Barre similar 

 topographic conditions are found. I spoke a moment ago of the 

 series of ridges crossing the State from the northeast to southwest. 

 This green line (pointing) was put there to indicate the southern 

 extension of the glacier which is supposed to have come down from 

 the North spreading over the hills and valleys to this line. The soil 

 and rock debris left by the glacier giA^es rise to the Volusia series of 

 soils. Where the layer is so very thin that it has been of less in- 

 fluence in forming the present soils than the original materials over 

 which it passed, the soils have separated and mapped as the Warren 

 series; and again, where underlaying red shale was ground up so 

 fine by glacial action, or where the glacier left an overdeposit of 

 red soils deep enough to determine the character of the surface ma- 

 terials, the Lackawanna soil series was mapped, being named for 

 Lackawanna county where it was first found. 



In northwest Pennsylvania other areas of the Warren soils oc- 

 cur in Craw^ford and AVarren counties, in fact the series name was 

 taken from that of the latter county. Northeastern Pennsylvania, 

 it seems to me, possesses wonderfully good opportunities for or- 

 charding at the present time. I was deeply interested in finding 

 how cheap good orchard land can be purchased in that section of 

 the state. Thirty, forty, fifty dollars an acre, and sometimes even 



