The Bulletin. 



apple ZONES. 



The temperate zone is the native home of the apple. All around 

 the world it finds its best general temperature for growth in this zone. 

 In the temperate zone it inclines to the north and finds there rather 

 than in the south its best or optimum condition of growth. In the 

 south temperate zone the apple deports itself much the same as in the 

 north temperate zone, and inclines to the cooler south rather than 

 towards the tropical boundary. As an evidence of the hardiness of 

 the apple tree and its love for a cool climate it may be unknown to 

 many that most magnificent apples are grown in Canada, away north 

 of the great lakes, on the forty-sixth parallel, north latitude. In this 

 region the lakes and rivers are icebound for several months of the 

 year, the ground in winter is covered with three or four feet of snow 

 and the thermometer is sometimes 30 degrees below zero. In that 

 region the apple is nearing the northern limit of its growth. Con- 

 sidering these extremes of temperature, one would begin to wonder 

 how North Carolina, with its mild climate, could raise apples at all. 

 It does show, however, why apple growing is so commonly unsuccess- 

 ful in the cotton belt. Being a cool-loving plant, the apple tree finds 

 in the cotton belt its extreme southern limit of endurance. The pecan 

 tree, on the other hand, being a southern neighbor of the cotton plant, 

 will grow and thrive well in the area of cotton production. About 

 one-third of the area of North Carolina is in the cotton belt, one-third 

 rolling piedmont and one-third high and mountainous. It is in this 

 mountainous region of the State, where altitude guarantees a cool 

 climate, that the apple grows and thrives and produces even better 

 than it does in the renowned apple regions of the North. 



MOUNTAIN REGIONS EOR APPLE CULTURE. 



It is not generally known to apple growers that a mountain region 

 in the South, which by virtue of its altitude affords the same cool tem- 

 perature that a northern region gives, has yet other advantages that a 

 northern location, with its higher latitude but lower altitude, cannot 

 give. The "Sunny South," particularly in its mountain regions, has 

 the clear air and abundant sunlight that put the rich colors on the out- 

 side of the fruit and the fine flavors within. Other things being 

 equal, the greater the amount of sunlight the higher colored the fruit. 

 In regions where cloudy skies are prevalent fruits and also flowers are 

 of dull colors. Clear, sunny weather will give bright flowers and also 

 highly tinted fruits. The maximum hours of sunlight are obtained 

 at high elevations. It is for this reason that mountain-grown fruit is 

 superior in color and flavor to that of the same varieties grown in the 

 lowlands. The best fruit grown in eastern United States is that pro- 

 duced on the slopes of the Blue Kidge and Alleghany Mountains. 



