222 REPORT OF STATE BOARD OP HORTICULTURE. 



this type and age are more satisfactory and profitable in time, and suffer 

 less in transplanting, cost less, and are much more easily handled than older 

 ones. 



In this connecl.ion we would suggest the advisability of purchasing trees 

 for plani-ing from the nearest responsible nurserymen. The local nursery- 

 man, if rex*fe«^th fauTtliar with his business, will understand the needs and 

 demands of bis ]}OLne customers and should gi^ow the varieties best suited to 

 his section of country. If honest he should feel himself morally if not legally 

 respous'b'e for the correctness of his nomenclature. By securing trees at 

 the ne?i;-by rui-sery all danger from damage by long transit and injurious 

 effects of suDshine and frost are avoided ; besides, if the farmer makes his 

 purchase direct from the nurseryman, he will save expense of middleman or 

 agent, and is less liable to the mistakes and injury that may occur through 

 repeated handling. 



VARIETIES. 



Owing to the greatly diversified soil and climatic conditions that exist 

 througho'.ri the len-Hory of the United States, it would not be safe to attempt 

 to give roo) e than general advice on the subject of varieties to plant. Among 

 the very evterded list of cultivated varieties of merit, there are few, if any, 

 sections where the apple will grow that varieties may not be found that will 

 give satisfaction if they have a fair trial. But it is a well-known fact that 

 but few of these can be safely recommended for a special locality. There 

 are certain vai'ielies that have a wider range of adaptability than others. 

 Instances of tb^s character may be found in the Ben Davis variety, which has 

 a wide range of adaptability, while the success of the Yellow Newtown or 

 AlbermarJe is confined to a few localities. 



Then, again, a variety may succeed in widely separated regions, while 

 in the ictervening sections it may be an entire failure. This fact is well 

 established in the case of the Yellow Newtown, that reaches its highest state 

 of perfection in certain sections of the Pacific Coast fruit regions and in the 

 Piedmont i^ect'ons of Virginia and North Carolina, while in most of the 

 widelv diversified but intervening territory it is nearly worthless. 



Local condiiions «.s affecting choice of varieties — With these facts before the 

 reader he will readily see how unwise it would be to attempt to offer in this 

 concection other than general advice on the subject. A comparatively safe 

 guide for the iilanter to follow or to be governed by is to study well his 

 immediate environs and to take counsel of those of his neighbors who have 

 had practical experience in growing varieties on soils and exposures quite 

 similar to his own. In this way he may be able to obtain valuable infor- 

 mation in regard to varieties that have been tested and found to succeed in 

 his neighborhood. 



Present demand as affecting choice of varieties — In the jjioneer days of 

 fruit cttlfciire, especially in the Mississippi Valley section of our country, the 

 great aim and object of the enterprising planter seems to have been to 

 secure and plant all of the numerous varieties within his reach without con- 

 sidering the question of adaptability of the variety to the conditions of soil 

 and climate. For a time, at least, while the soil was new and diseases and 



