10 INTRODUCTION. 



tion of fruit is already becoming appreciated in our country, 

 and especially in lower Virginia ; and many orchards of fine 

 fruit, judiciously selected, are now being cultivated in many 

 portions of the State. Some are bearing fruit which would 

 compare with that of any State in the Union, or perhaps in 

 the world. Those who examined the splendid specimens of 

 apples raised in the Valley of Virginia and exhibited at the 

 late Augusta County Fair by Mr. Robert McCormick, Jones 

 and others, will readily conclude that the Valley is the home 

 of the apple, although in high flavor and aromatic juices, the 

 Piedmont region may excel. Notwithstanding the severity of 

 the drought of the year 1869, the exhibition of apples at the 

 Virginia State Fair by those reliable and intelligent nursery- 

 men, Messrs. Allan & Johnson and Franklin Davis & Co. and 

 other gentlemen, was almost all that could be desired, as it 

 regards size, flavor and variety ; but the grand exhibition of 

 the American Society at Richmond in 18 fl surpassed any 

 other display in fruit culture. 



We wish to press this point, and recommend all who pro- 

 pose to plant trees to invest some little care and labor, ajid a 

 little money^ all to the amount of one dollar or less, for each 

 young tree for the first year, and say twenty-five cents for 

 each year afterwards, which would answer and not be extrav- 

 agant. Trees thus attended to would soon realize a profit on 

 the investment. In a very few years each tree would yield a 

 profit equal to the interest of ^100 or $200, and this interest- 

 bearing fund would be increasing for a length of years, grow- 

 ing and maturing all the while, even while the farmers were 

 asleep, abroad, or otherwise occupied. 



In an address delivered some years ago before the Ameri- 

 can Pomological Society by Mr. H. F. French, of New 

 Hampshire, we find the following suggestive remarks : 



"The fact that this (apples) is the most profitable crop 

 which can be cultivated among us, is well understood. It is 

 a fair estimate in this part of the State (Exeter), that ten 

 barrels of winter apples will generally sell for as much money 

 as a ton .of the best hay. Hay has been considered for many 

 years the most profitable crop that can be raised for sale in 



