8 SUMMER APPLES IN THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES. 



a discussion of the principal varieties now grown there, with a view 

 to indicating their relative value in the further development of the 

 early-apple industry in this region. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE COASTAL PLAIN REGION. 



On account of the relative importance of the early-apple industry 

 in the Coastal Plain region, in comparison with other sections in the 

 Middle Atlantic States, it is a matter of convenience to adopt this 

 region as a geographical unit of territory in this bulletin and to base 

 comparisons and discussions on the observations made there. Its 

 location and extent are indicated below. 



GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION. 



In a general way, the division line in the Middle Atlantic States 

 between the region commonly termed the Coastal Plain and the 

 adjacent territory is indicated on the map shown as figure 1 by a con- 

 spicuous unbroken line. This line may be said to start in New Jersey 

 at the mouth of the Raritan River where it empties into the bay of 

 that name, extending in a southwesterly direction to Trenton. The 

 Delaware River forms the division between New Jersey and Pennsyl- 

 vania south of Trenton. The dividing line then continues in a south- 

 westerly direction across northern Delaware and the eastern shore 

 of Maryland, passing in the vicinity of Chestertown. Crossing the 

 Chesapeake Bay, it reaches Anne Arundel County a few miles north 

 of Annapolis and continues in the same direction to the District of 

 Columbia. In Virginia the direction of this boundary is slightly 

 southwest from Alexandria to the vicinity of Fredericksburg and 

 includes a narrow strip of land along the Potomac River between 

 these two cities. From the latter a southerly direction is followed, 

 passing near Richmond and Emporia. A southwesterly direction is 

 followed in crossing North Carolina, passing near Raleigh and reach- 

 ing the South Carolina line at a point nearly south of Rockingham, 

 the county seat of Richmond County, N. C. In the same arbitrary 

 way the state line between North and South Carolina is taken as 

 the southern limit of the region under discussion. 



From a purely geographical standpoint the corresponding area of 

 South Carolina and Georgia should be included in this unit of terri- 

 ■ tory, but as practically no apples are grown in these sections they are 

 not specifically included in the present discussion. And further, it 

 is generally conceded that these sections are not well adapted to 

 apple culture on account of the climatic conditions which result from 

 their low elevation and low latitude. 



It is believed, however, that the development of the early-apple 

 industry is practicable in that part of the area of the Middle Atlantic 

 States which lies between the Coastal Plain and the 500-foot contour 



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